I have been selling my nuno felted scarves on here, the other side and at craft fairs for about a year now and have had regular sales and good feedback. I sell them at £20 for the shorter scarves and £25 for longer ones regardless of the intricacy of the design. I have noticed recently that similar scarves sell for a lot more on the other side (not quite so many for sale here so difficult to judge) and am wondering whether my scarves appear “cheap” and whether I should increase my prices to reflect the amount of work that goes into them, one scarf with a detailed design could take several hours to make.
Having a relatively low income myself I know I would personally never be able to justify spending even my current price on a scarf so I always struggle with pricing but I’m sure there are people with a higher disposable income who appreciate the time and effort that goes into making handmade items.
My dilemma is this … I’m thinking it wouldn’t be right to sell a specific scarf for one price on here and a higher price elsewhere but would it be OK to remove a selection of scarves from my Folksy shop and try selling them on the other side for an increased price while keeping similar on here at the original price just to see how things go. I am reluctant to go for an overall price increase until I know whether people think its acceptable. I would rather sell at the lower price than have a boxful of unsold scarves under my bench!
Just thinking out loud - any comments much appreciated.
I’d put your prices up for the intricate ones Roz, you are selling an artisan product that people are prepared to pay good money for.
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Your scarves are lovely Roz but I do think your prices are too low. I worked in a craft gallery up to a couple of years ago and handmade felted scarves were priced at between £50 to £80 and we sold lots.
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I read on one of the other threads that you shouldn’t assume that ‘you’ are your target market, people who like beautiful things have all sorts of budgets, and as @StephanieGuy says it’s an artisan product. Think about how long you spend making them, would you be able to pay yourself the minimum wage?
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I know it’s a hard one to feel comfortable with Roz. I couldn’t afford many of my makes either, but then I have to remember I’m trying to run as a business (with all the added overheads) so have to be business like when it comes to pricing.
Could you perhaps consider a “new range” so to speak (maybe a Christmas one?) and up the price for that new range? That way test it out?
There’s a lot to be said for the psychology of pricing luxury handmade items. If people think it’s too cheap they may not buy, and if they do, they may not put the value on it that it should have. For example, buy a cushion from Primark for £5 and it may be lovely, but buy one from John Lewis and many will feel the John Lewis one is more luxurious and take more care of it! People like to feel they are spoiling themselves a bit. I bought a perfume from Jo Malone this week - I could’ve got a body spray from a supermarket and smelt just as nice, but I feel special with my new perfume!
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Roz @Rozcraftz, I have a brilliant tweet that I have pinned to my pinterest board ‘Thoughts’ about putting your prices up, selling less but making loads more money, If I knew how to send you the pin or indeed forward the tweet I would but I have no idea, so if you pin me it is the first pin on my thoughts box!!!
It is because of you and what you have posted in the past about including the amount of time it takes to make a product in the description that made me look at my prices. My hubby dispairs at the little amount I ‘make’ when I sell. Other people who cannot make, place so much more worth on an item than we crafters do as we feel Oh I can do that, but they cannot, so they are willing to pay for it.
Dont under value your ability, dont sell yourself short. You have a fantastic talent, that for some is priceless. Maybe when you launch your new shop name, you launch your new shop prices?
Suzzie x
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Roz your work is beautiful, but I appreciate you might not want to scare people away for an experiment.
I would say that the detailed designs, and especially those based on silk, you could increase the price. Maybe to £45? That way you would still have some £20-25 scarves, but people could see that you have a “luxury range” as well.
Thanks for all your encouraging comments - still in thinking mode.
Unfortunately I live in an area of the country where people are reluctant to pay premium prices for anything. House prices are some of the cheapest in the country (one of the reasons I live here!) and even in my main job (self employed chiropodist) payment for a visit is probably about 50% of what I could charge if I lived in a different area. I think this influences my pricing quite a lot but I must start looking at the bigger picture and realise that not all my online customers are from this area or even this country!
I managed to find your quote Suzzie @thistledownandHOPE which is encouraging. I know I often tell people not to undersell themselves but I am not very good at practicing what I preach!
I think I might take advantage of my rebranding, which I hope will happen in the next couple of weeks, to give my prices a good rethink. I am thinking I might increase prices but have a discount code available on Folksy until Christmas. That way people who buy from Folksy will still be able to buy at my current prices but I might get an indication of whether others are prepared to pay more on the other side without it looking like I have got items on at different prices in different shops.
Fingers crossed I get a positive result 
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I would always suggest having things right across the price range. If you are selling comfortably at the current price keep some at that price. The scarves that take more of your money and time should be priced accordingly, people will pay the higher prices for them. Most importantly you are getting a fair price for the work you put into them. Don’t feel you need to justify the higher prices, just because you are an artist/craftsman it doesn’t mean you have to settle for less than minimum wage. You are exactly right in what you said about the area you live in, but the internet is an amazing resource and if you cater for all household income threshold this broadens your market.
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I think you really must put your prices up for the ones which take longer to make.
Even if just to be fair tou yourself. They are well worth quite a bit more than you are charging for them. Don’t sell yourself or your time short.
You should definitely put your prices up! One of the worst things you can do for your business is undersell yourself.
An awful lot of people are willing to pay more for branded goods even if those branded goods are made from near identical materials, in exactly the same factories, by exactly the same underpaid staff, as non-branded goods that sell for cheaper … we certainly don’t live in a world where people always shop logically, with only their bank balances in mind.
Whether it be because of necessity or inclination, people who shop specifically for lower priced goods are almost certainly not going to be your ideal target market. People who shop specifically for handmade goods, on the other hand, do it because they’re looking for something unique, made by an artisan. And the vast majority of those people are going to be willing to pay more for your handmade scarf than they would for a mass-produced scarf because they know that they’re buying something special.
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