Pricing for “novelty” items

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HawksFeather

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Sep 24, 2005
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Location
Defiance, OH
I did a quick search which only tuned up pricing on key chains so I will go ahead with this post. Moderators, if this is not the proper place for this post feel free to move or delete it. I have been having fun with my lathe and really enjoy making predator calls, but a couple of years ago I got started making wine stoppers. This led me this year to some of the other "novelty" items for lack of a better term. By that I mean the perfume containers, pill containers, ornaments, plumb bobs, tops, key rings, kaleidoscopes, etc. My wine stoppers allowed me to become a member of a jury show in the area and I made some additional items for the shows this November and December. At the one show I did last year there were no other turners and I really don't know what fair pricing would be. I realize that there are MANY considerations when it comes to pricing such as: the material turned, quality of the kit (if used), who you are selling to (your relatives, small show, large show, etc.), and last but definitely not least, the quality of your turning. With the exception of the kaleidoscopes, pricing on most of the kits (no turning material included) is between $3.00 and $4.50 each. So, any ideas?

Thanks,

Jerry


Here is a sample picture to give you an idea of what I am making.

NoveltyItems.jpg
 
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Easiest way I can say it is:

Take all the materials into consideration, including tool wear and finish, add it up.
Figure out how much time it took you to do the work.
Put a dollar amount on how much an hour of your life is worth.
Add the first amount to the second, there's your bottom dollar price.
Anything above that is considered profit.
 
There has been a great deal of discussion about pen pricing, but I don't remember all that much having been written about "novelty" pricing. However, the same thinking applies. I'm a value pricer, not a formula pricer. The finished product should be priced at the value the buyer determines it is worth based on the benefits that the buyer perceives it will provide. (making someone look and feel like a knowledgable, smart, and successful art aficionado with great taste is worth a lot, selling a key chain to carry toothpicks in is not worth much)

Given that starting point I sell ornaments at $19-$29, depending on the wood and quality. I sell key chains (get chrome key chains, the finish on gold rubs off) for $19-$39 depending on material (I wish the key chains were available in titanium, platinum, rhodium, sterling, etc, I think I could sell them in the $75 plus range). I sell stoppers from $32 to $75 and I haven't been able to get more than that even though I tried.

I don't sell any of the other "novelties" because I make more money by spending my time making high price points pens. In the same amount of time it takes to make four key chains that I can sell for $80 more than my materials investment, I can make two pens that I can sell for $200 more than the materials investment.
 
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