How do you decide to set a price for your turning?

[Roger Chandler]

It is likely that this subject has come up on this forum at some time or another, but I was wondering how you as an individual turner decide on a price for a given piece of your work.

Do you decide on a price based upon similar turnings you have seen in your area, or does your "market" have any determination for you?

Do you take into consideration the uniqueness of the work....something that really stands out as a unique work of art?

Do you ask for an appraisal from a gallery owner?

I am thinking more of larger turnings rather than bottle stoppers, but feel free to include any turning you make.....examples game calls, ice cream scoops, bowls, vases.........most any form.

I would just like to understand the approach you take to setting a price for your work.

Thanks in advance for your input. :)

[Terry Quiram]

I have heard that $10 per inch of diameter is a good starting point. In the area where I live that is too high unless the bowl is highly figured, colored or has significant decoration. For my average bowls I charge $5 to $7 per inch. I try not to carry bowls to a show and then bring them back home. It really depends on the quality of your work and what the market will bear. You will always do better at large shows with huge amounts of people attending. Have a range of prices with some products priced low like tops for $3-$5 and some upper end stuff with big prices on them. I do better in the $25-$50 range. Varity is the answer. Have lots of items for people to choose from.

One time I attended an art guild event and a turner sold 2 pieces over the course of a 3 day show. One for $60 and one for $10,000.

Good luck.

[Barry Elder]

There have been so few sales in the last 3 or 4 years that I have given up my sales tax exemption and decided that if a piece should sell, the money is going to go to the Club, Treasure Coast Woodturning Guild. Other than that, I give them away to deserving people or Causes. Best wishes to you if you plan on supporting yourself and/or your family with woodturning. To me it is awesome fun and a worthwhile hobby.

[William Hutchinson]

The obvious starting point is to determine all your costs to produce the object. I'll assume that you have your business organization in place and know these expenses, costs, taxes and fees. This includes material, finish, supplies, tool/equipment depreciation along with shop overhead, (utilities, insurance, maintenance, etc.) and your labor charges. Also include travel expenses to obtain material, any shipping fees and design time. Marketing and sales expenses will need to be incorporated into the final total as well. Once every cost associated with production are determined you will know the break-even point.

From there, the 'market' value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay-- which is the crux of your question. Excluding art speculators and investors, most artistic works are purchased for intrinsic desires and to enrich the life experience for the owner. I never understood the value of a Jackson Pollock but plenty of others did and were willing to caught up big bucks to get one. The determination of the perceived value of your piece and to price accordingly is a slippery objective, but I do know it is better to price high than low. Not being flippant, but with art objects if the price is set low, so will be the perceived value. A Maloof rocker commands premium prices for all the obvious reasons-- your exact copy will not. All of this is to say that there is no exact formula to set prices that will maximize sales. Your idea of searching your local market to see how similar items are priced is good. But the question becomes- are the $15,000 hollow forms sitting pretty in the gallery or are they moving into someone’s bungalow? Too high they won’t sell, too low you will loose money. You will have to find that sweet spot by jumping into the waters.


To specifically answer your question, for the few things I’ve sold, I just triple my costs and if my Mom balks I just give it to her.:D

[Aaron Wingert]

I make and sell game calls and an occasional bottle stopper. Most of my sales are online and by word or mouth so I can't weigh in on craft shows and the like. My calls are not priced inexpensively by any means, but they sell. There are a lot of guys that sell calls for $30, whereas I sell mine for well over twice that. If the work looks good (and sounds good in the case of calls), I am a firm believer that the seller can help establish the customer's perceived value of a piece by not pricing it too low.

People certainly compare products and producers/artists. I may lose sales to the $30 guy. But he's losing sales to me too, which goes to show you that perceived value (and often real tangible value in the quality of the work) carries some weight with the customer.

I'm a firm believer that if your storefront looks good, artistic and professional it'll make a huge difference in what you can get away with charging. A professional-looking website or craft show display will often lend more credibility to the artist than a amateurish website or hacked together mom-and-pop-looking craft show display booth.

I guess I'm saying don't underprice your work unless you feel the need to sell everything you brought.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I've always believed you can determine your costs. The market determines the price.
fmr

[David DeCristoforo]

Depends. Are you selling salad bowls or art? Most of the "standard formulas" will work for salad bowls. Pricing art is an art in itself.

[Ken Glass]

Roger,
I can never get a good price for bowls unless they are N.E. or very burled or spalted. With Hollow Forms including finials, I seem to be able to get much more, and in the right showing even a superior price. I have two Galleries that I am showing in and the Gallery in the larger city with more traffic will bring a higher price on almost all pieces. This summer has been a down market in my area of the country, but I see some signs of it picking up here lately.

[David Woodruff]

This was difficult in early days of the art fairs beginning 1996 when folks still collected and spent $$ on 3D art forms. Know that collectors of hot glass, ceramic, blown glass, marble, travertine sculptures also collect wood from the lathe. Evaluate your work in a very objective comparison to other work you see at art fairs. Be very critical of your creative form and the finishing. For me that was the magic ingredient. I have sold to many collectors that believed my work to be glass or ceramic until we talked and they examined the piece. For about 10 years in active selling my pieces averaged a bit over $1k each. The highest price I received was $3,000. That was an arbitrary price I placed on the HF because I did not want to sell the at that time. It was a 16" x 7" HF with Coco Bolo rim and foot. Gorgeous piece of White Oak Burl from the thread I posted yesterday. I truly struggled with finishing techniques for 2-3 years until I was happy. An absolutely level finish is needed to succeed in the higher price points. When a finish is level, no orange peel, no pores, no grain, then you can polish from satin to high gloss that suits the piece. Often a piece will stand out with minimal finish, and wax buffing. Provide diversity in form and finish, the sales will follow. Visit several art fairs and judge your work comparative to what is selling. I have seen many turners with creative forms not sell well because the finishing looked the same. Again diversity in form and finish and woods. Don't forget many wood choices, light to dark. Good Luck, it is a fun ride

[Roger Chandler]

Gentlemen,

Each of you that have responded so far to my question has given some good information. I felt that I would get a variety of approaches to setting a price, and some of you have given me things to think about that I had not even considered to date, all of it useful!

Thanks for your willingness to share.........I appreciate your time!

[Don Jarvie]

I have heard this approach used..

Cost of goods and add 10% to that. Give yourself and hourly rate and include any other costs such as traveling, shop costs like electric, etc and add them up.

Compare what your selling price is to other comparable items and see how you stack up.

[David Woodruff]

How could I not mention the inside finish. I believed it to be very significant from the beginning. If one can see inside the vessel, HF, and one can insert one or two fingers to feel down the neck or under the shoulder, that finish shoud feel just as the outside. How often have you looked at a HF and spontaneously presented one or two fingers to evaluate the interior smoothness and as well looked inside. So what do you see, bare wood?, ripples from the gouge/scraper, etc. I am not certain what inspired me to finish the interior almost as well as the exterior, but I believed that to be a significant selling point/attraction to a collector of 3d art. So I did it. My Dad who was a master gunstock carver taught me at an early age the techniques, patience, and satisfaction of a well sanded piece of wood. Some times I think it is an OCD curse but mostly not. The interior finish truly differentiated my work from others. So in the final evaluation my pieces were different in exterior and exterior finish. The wood was always exceptional in my humble opinion and the forms diverse. Thats all for now.

[John Hart]

David...I think your two responses are the most comprehensive that I've read in a long time.

The fact that markets vary, depending on venue, geographic location, events, and the type of people who attend, there is no real certain way of setting a price prior to that knowledge.

But here, you have nailed the fundamentals of the individuals that might come by and look.
It is true...the first thing they do, is look inside, then come the fingers....then they turn it over and look at the foot...then they admire the form. The colors, finish, and presentation are probably the initial attractant.

A few years ago, someone posted a comment they overheard at a craftshow.....that a potential customer made to her companion...."Why would I spend Thirty Dollars on a Wooden Bowl?"

As turners...we think, "Well...do you have any idea what goes into that bowl?" The answer is generally....No...they have no idea.

They want it to be attractive....something to collect....something that will look good in their decor...something different...where obvious care went into its making. They want to see a reflection of the artist in the character of the piece.

Sheesh..I type a lot. :o Ok...Shuttin' up

[Sean Hughto]

My works are priceless. Therefore, I only give them away.

[John Hart]

I'm with you Sean. I think I sold something once...but it wasn't my fault. :)

[Sean Hughto]

I think the answer would be very different for a turner trying to make a living off their work and a hobbiest who occasionally set up a booth at a craft show.

If you are just trying to perpetuate your hobby - money for new toys and blanks, I'm guess you could stand some low prices. If it was your sole livelihood and had to pay food, shelter, clothes, retirement etc., I'm guessing you better write some books, teach some classes, and otherwise figure ways to make money beyond the income from the sales of turnings.

Most folks don't value high quality craft and art of any kind enough. Luckily their are a few. Krenov wrote a few chapters about this. I think he had it figured out pretty well.

[Greg Just]

Pricing is a very difficult thing to do. Depends on the audience. I had a bowl for sale for $50 for a long time, raised it to $75 and it sold within a few days. Probably luck, but who know. The person that purchased it was very happy and that is all that counts.

[David Woodruff]

David...I think your two responses are the most comprehensive that I've read in a long time.

The fact that markets vary, depending on venue, geographic location, events, and the type of people who attend, there is no real certain way of setting a price prior to that knowledge.

But here, you have nailed the fundamentals of the individuals that might come by and look.
It is true...the first thing they do, is look inside, then come the fingers....then they turn it over and look at the foot...then they admire the form. The colors, finish, and presentation are probably the initial attractant.

A few years ago, someone posted a comment they overheard at a craftshow.....that a potential customer made to her companion...."Why would I spend Thirty Dollars on a Wooden Bowl?"

As turners...we think, "Well...do you have any idea what goes into that bowl?" The answer is generally....No...they have no idea.

They want it to be attractive....something to collect....something that will look good in their decor...something different...where obvious care went into its making. They want to see a reflection of the artist in the character of the piece.

Sheesh..I type a lot. :o Ok...Shuttin' up

Thanks for your comments John and I like Jeremiah Johnson

[Jim Roberts Port Orchard WA]

I just finished a 3 day show this weekend. I make and sell cutting boards, wine bottle stoppers, wine caddies, cribbage boards, bowls and peppermills. In my estimation I had a GREAT show this weekend. My good work is confinscated by my wife. This week I told her she had to choose between two peppermills. After she chose I told her I was going to take the one she chose to the show and place a price on it that NO ONE would buy:D. OOPS, someone did (she doesn't know it yet):eek:. I had a cherry burl bowl that I packed around for a year and finally a guy that had been checking it for 6 mos finally bought it. I sell my bottle stoppers for $5 (cork style) more like a loss leader and uses up my scraps.;) The peppermills go for between $30 and $90 (the wife's special one went for $120, cherry burl 14" H). Don't sell many bowls because as stated before, people just don't know what it takes and don't value it. Plus the economy isn't great either. I guess the best answer for the original question is, "What ever the market will bear and you can live with".

[John Hart]

Welcome to the Creek Jim!!:)