Adding production time to listings

Has anyone considered adding the time (roughly) taken to produce the item listed to the description? I’m wondering if it would go some way to explain some of the prices - I know people say if someone really wants your item they will pay whatever you ask for it, but I’m sure a lot of people simply don’t realise how long it can take to make these gorgeous things for sale on Folksy.

But would you add the time it should have taken to make it or the actual time taken?! I sometimes spend many hours getting something just right only to realise at the end that I could have achieved the same result in a few minutes!

To answer the question - I’m not sure stating the amount of time taken will make any difference. People shopping on Folksy generally already appreciate hand made and the time taken - its the general public we need to educate! I don’t think people will be swayed one way or the other, like you say if they want it they will buy it whether it took 5 mins or 20 hours to make. Also unless you are very strict on pricing things according to the time taken to make them it could show up some huge anomalies. I know some of the items in my shop are priced well below the minimum wage rate while others probably give me a pretty good rate of return for the hours put into them.

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I sometimes think that certain types of item would benefit from having the creation process outlined in the listing or inspiration section. Take your lovely yarns for example - I vaguely know what has to be done to turn a fibre into a yarn but I have no idea how long each step takes and I’m sure it takes significantly longer to do it all by hand compared to the machine done yarns that are available on the high street. If I were to include a time taken I’m not sure how I would factor in the hours spent searching the internet for interesting stones and beads or indeed if I should admit to it.
Sasha

Thank you ladies :smile:
I was just kind of thinking out loud, and you both raise valid points that I’d been mulling over too; what counts as “time spent” and would it be a disincentive to buy for some people.

@SashaGarrett I think your idea about adding more about the process to the description might be a good compromise.

I spent the weekend taking part in an open studios event, and I know it is perhaps something to be expected with this type of event, but I’ve been amazed just how interested people are in the different processes. I shall definitely be thinking about adding more info to my listings.

I agree the processes involved will be of interest to some people but would avoid putting a definitive time on any item. People will then do a mental calculation of the time taken and equate that to a hour wage, without realising you also have to compensate yourself for the mechanics and admin of running a business etc. You could say very broadly it takes many many hours making this item blah blah blah without being too specific and then detail a little about each process (if of course you want to give that much info away!).

Heidi

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One thing I have done is put an album on my facebook page with a photo taken at each stage of making my little cloud pendants and then put a link in the listing to the FB album. Some things are much easier to describe with a picture and it makes for a nice story as you can start off with a pile of materials and end up with the finished product.
Here’s the link to the FB album so you can see what I mean.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.489556507801928.1073741831.435372479886998&type=3
if you have a blog you could probably do something similar.
Sasha

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i think if you add about the process and your skills then this will explain the pricing. i don’t think time taken should be added to a description.