Someone outsmarted themselves

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edicehouse

edicehouse

Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
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Location
Suffolk, VA
Someone at work disagreed with the $25 I charge for a stylus pen, because I found the stuff to make it for a total $8.00. I said oh they are offerin free shipping??? He looked at me like I was speaking greek, well come to find out he found one the blank from one site and the kit from another. So I told him you are looking at at least $14 shipping. Well suddenly my $25 doesn't sound so bad. Then I said I tell you what the perishables I use, you buy a set for me, excluding saw blade for cutting blank and drill bit, and also the components I will make you a pen at no charge. He jumped at the offer. Well some reason I am not getting 2 oz of CA glue, a set of abarat sandpaper, and a set of micromesh, and a set of polish, the carbide tip on my turning tool, and a bottle of starters paint and paint brush. He started pricing it on woodcraft (cuz of earlier said shipping fee), and he decided my $25 is not that bad of a price. LOL.
 
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If it were me I would try to avoid the sale.
You will be forever dealing with every little detail.
Either that or make the customer sign off on 'all sales are final'.
 
I get that all the Time. That whole you charge that for a pen?!! Luckily my true customers know and appreciate what goes into what we do and don't mind paying it.
 
I had someone at work try to give me the same line of nonsense.

Didn't want to pay $35 for a gun metal bolt action with a Jack Daniel's barrel blank and certificate to match.

He said he found the pen parts online for $11.

I told him to go ahead and find the wood, sand paper, finish, epoxy, paper towels, and some bushings, I suggested he figure my labor in at half what I make per hour at the office. I also suggested that he calculate wear and tear on the carbide tip for my tool, my lathe belt, and the MicroMesh pads I use. And don't forget to throw in some electricity.

He cam back the next day and asked me how I was making any money. I told him I wasn't and that's why that price was only for people at the office.

He ended up buying two.
 
I think one of the many problems in making and selling pens is that prices are all too readily available to the public. Prices are Retail to all, is probably the reason, but to no help to the pen maker, when marketing/selling pens.

Folks, who have no inclination but to check out what price the pen maker's profit margin might be-or close to it.

In my opinion, prices should be a confidential part of the process. I would guess that most of us might have a Fed Tax ID. They are relative easy to get.

When I made custom rods, I would usually get a 33% builder's discount, off retail price, from Mudhole and another tackle wholesaler from New York(can't remember the name). Of course published, catalog and online, retail prices were higher, but the upshot was prices to me were kept relatively confidential. The end price of the product was not so easy to figure out by the buyer.

I had very few comments regarding custom fishing rods being too high. I have had too many regarding custom pens. I have sold custom rods that were priced in line with the prices charged for custom pens.

In this way we don't have to defend our prices. IMHO, when you enter into the game of defending why you are charging some amount, you are made to "cheapen"(for want of a better word) your craft.

I don't defend or justify prices. My prices are just that. Of course, this is not only my opinion, but my experiences also. But, I should also mention, I don't sell pens any longer. I give them away. I usually don't have to defend that action.(a little bit of humorous sarcasm-hopefully)

Russ
 
One good thing is people at times check the prices at wood craft, since it is local, and they are higher than we can get from many venders on here.

But my train of thought is if someone is going to try and "negotiate" the sale is not worth it. I know what I have in a pen in money (relatively speaking), and I set my prices as to what I can settle on.

The ones that want to haggle will complain because in a year the ink ran out and they have pens they have used for 3 years and the ink never ran out... Honestly the best customers are the ones you tell them a price, and they seem "wow that is less than I expected" and they come back for more. Often they want an "emergency gift if you can get it" and find out what they like, and oh man I can guide them to one allready made, but they think I will be making it that night.... I don't lie, just say all right since you have been a good customer I will get the black and gold cigar on chrome together for you tonight.... There isn't a lie in that, so what if they draw conclusions that you made it the night before....
 
I just name off the most complete list I can think of to do it themselves and assure them they will enjoy doing it like I do. After they spend a great deal of time finding the info. and learning how to do it. Even offer to answer some question along the way. Which we on here know we enjoy doing anyway. I fugure that is what we do on here. But I also know very few who look in to this will ever follow through. Though I would enjoy helping them. But most likely I have at least gained a friend. Maybe a little raspect. Perhaps a Costumer.


I am looking forward to being able to offer more help here as I learn more. Thank you one and all for letting me learn by all the great anwers you freely give to all who ask.I have not been needing to ask.Some one always asks my question when I have one. Pluss I try to read every thing I can find here.
 
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Other things all these argumentative types often forget... "Expertise & Knowledge"
Sure you can buy all the bits for a $30 pen for $8.00. Now you have them, go home & make a pen with nothing more than the manufacturers supplied instructions.
Tools? Mandrels? Lathe? Glue? How long will it take? How many kits will they ruin? How much research will they have to do & most importantly what will that first pen look like?
Personally I can't be bothered with these nay-sayers, if you want to argue price go to Staples etc & buy your pen, see how negotiable they are on the cost of a one off! Quite honestly I don't want someone like that to have one of my pens! I'd really would rather give it away to someone who really appreciates it for what it is.
 
You are forgetting I work with a lot off retired senior chiefs, and they built a career of having to know everything. (realize I am saying that with respect not condescending, eventhough it could be taken that way)
 
In the past I had a boss that had the best reply when asked how he could charge that much for an item when he got it so cheap, he would fire back at them "Do you work for free? No? well neither do I"
 
Try having someone watch while you do a job that takes 15 minutes and you charge them $200.00. That is why I hate having anyone watch me at my trade. When they do, I hear them scream for miles afterwards. I then explain to them I have years of trade experience. Over $50,000.00 on 4 wheels....another $25,000.00 in equipment at home. And I just spent two days on the road getting to the work site.

Even after all that, I still have people that decide I have ripped them off. It is has gotten to the point that some people I will not work for without payment in advance.

My 4 favorite words in life......." All you can eat. "
The 4 words I hate to hear..... " Can you fix that? " And it is always while they point at my competitors work.

As one of my friends would say............ " PEOPLE STINK! " His opinion, not mine.
 
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
~breath~
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
~chortle~
~snort~

Yeah, I love people like this.
I really enjoy teaching people how to do this. Teaching someone new to turning is a great illustration on how proficient I've become.

Do they know how to hold a lathe chisel?

Oh yeah, let them go buy that beautiful blank and then stab it with the tool. Puff, crack, smack! (old batman cartoons anyone?) blank is suddenly in pieces and the tube is spinning on the lathe. Maybe I'm the only one that this ever happened to when learning how to turn...probably.

Oh and let's just go ahead and point them to the 1 or 2 CA application threads out there. Well maybe there are 3 or 4 threads but there can't be more than that on this forum, right?

</endSarcasm>
 
Kretzky said:
Other things all these argumentative types often forget... "Expertise & Knowledge"
Sure you can buy all the bits for a $30 pen for $8.00. Now you have them, go home & make a pen with nothing more than the manufacturers supplied instructions.
Tools? Mandrels? Lathe? Glue? How long will it take? How many kits will they ruin? How much research will they have to do & most importantly what will that first pen look like?
Personally I can't be bothered with these nay-sayers, if you want to argue price go to Staples etc & buy your pen, see how negotiable they are on the cost of a one off! Quite honestly I don't want someone like that to have one of my pens! I'd really would rather give it away to someone who really appreciates it for what it is.
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If you are going to enter the business world keep in mind - you need the customer a lot more than he needs you.
Without a buyer your good are worth absolutely nothing regardless of how much time you put in, how much expertise you have or anything else.

People selling items one-on-one are always going to have potential customers who want to haggle on price. Just as you might well want to haggle when you buy a car or a house. To those customers it's part of the buying experience. They may well think that you set your price higher than you really want to sell for.

Personally I'm not into "bargaining" over price - if the asking price is too high, I don't buy. If the seller asks why I tell him/her "I just don't want it that bad"
 
Lol, It's amazing what people think. I actually had a woman tell me she wouldn't buy a pen from me because $10 for an acrylic cigar pen was too much. I was just trying to make some pens for a couple friends at work and told them I would do it for the cost of kit and blank. Guess we're supposed to give them away.
 
JohnU said:
Lol, It's amazing what people think. I actually had a woman tell me she wouldn't buy a pen from me because $10 for an acrylic cigar pen was too much. I was just trying to make some pens for a couple friends at work and told them I would do it for the cost of kit and blank. Guess we're supposed to give them away.
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This just proves "Some people are "Born Bic-ers"!!:biggrin::biggrin:
 
ed4copies said:
JohnU said:
Lol, It's amazing what people think. I actually had a woman tell me she wouldn't buy a pen from me because $10 for an acrylic cigar pen was too much. I was just trying to make some pens for a couple friends at work and told them I would do it for the cost of kit and blank. Guess we're supposed to give them away.
Click to expand...


This just proves "Some people are "Born Bic-ers"!!:biggrin::biggrin:
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You might be amazed (probably not though) at how many people there are in this country who wouldn't buy a 10 cent Bic - too many places and organizations hand them out free. Truth is that until I started making them I considered that paying a dollar for a rollerball was more than enough and would wait until Reliable put them on sale for a penny.
 
How true Smitty, Growing up in farming country nobody ever bought a hat because every feed store, farm implement store, hatchery, grain elevator, fuel sellers, and garages gave them away for free. When I bought my third truck I was shocked that I didn't get a free hat and if I wanted one they wanted me to buy it.
 
Displaced Canadian said:
How true Smitty, Growing up in farming country nobody ever bought a hat because every feed store, farm implement store, hatchery, grain elevator, fuel sellers, and garages gave them away for free. When I bought my third truck I was shocked that I didn't get a free hat and if I wanted one they wanted me to buy it.
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Yep - Kasco Feed in my home town.
 
Displaced Canadian said:
How true Smitty, Growing up in farming country nobody ever bought a hat because every feed store, farm implement store, hatchery, grain elevator, fuel sellers, and garages gave them away for free. When I bought my third truck I was shocked that I didn't get a free hat and if I wanted one they wanted me to buy it.
Click to expand...

I grew up in Iowa and we used to joke that the only reason farmers didn't wear sneakers is that Pioneer seed corn didn't give them away. :biggrin:
 
Displaced Canadian said:
How true Smitty, Growing up in farming country nobody ever bought a hat because every feed store, farm implement store, hatchery, grain elevator, fuel sellers, and garages gave them away for free. When I bought my third truck I was shocked that I didn't get a free hat and if I wanted one they wanted me to buy it.
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I don't wear caps, but why should I pay for the privilege of advertising for them?
Some marketing person must have said "Hey, why are we giving these caps away? We can sell them and the people will advertise for us with out costing us money."
 
Monty said:
Displaced Canadian said:
How true Smitty, Growing up in farming country nobody ever bought a hat because every feed store, farm implement store, hatchery, grain elevator, fuel sellers, and garages gave them away for free. When I bought my third truck I was shocked that I didn't get a free hat and if I wanted one they wanted me to buy it.
Click to expand...
I don't wear caps, but why should I pay for the privilege of advertising for them?
Some marketing person must have said "Hey, why are we giving these caps away? We can sell them and the people will advertise for us with out costing us money."
Click to expand...
Hey, I don't buy hats with a company name on them - if I have one, someone gave it to me. I don't buy anything that is designed to advertise for the company I buy it from - I usually don't let a car dealer put his name on a car I buy and I have my own license plate holders. I've had dealers ask me why and I tell them if they want me to advertise their business, they can pay me.
 
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