I'm Back...

[Jon Lanier]

..and whew, had a good time down in Pigeon Forge area.

Although it was not tourist season and it was at times a bit nippy, we enjoyed the convention and the getting away from home for awhile.

Good new is that I was able to sell over $400.00 worth of pens in about 4 hours time. I've got 3 bullet pens ordered I need to make and a screw cap Americana box elder Red. I'll be working on those this coming week.

I think I like this pen selling gig... much easier to sell than scroll work. Now all I need to do is slowly add some other turnings like bowls, toothpick holders and peppermills. Any other good selling items I should add?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on the sales Jon. Sounds like you did rather well and more orders to boot.

[Ben Gastfriend]

Pens will always be your biggest sellers. People also like bowls and such. People also love a matching peppermill/saltshaker/napkin holder set. Bet they'd be good sellers.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats Jon! Bottlestoppers are a quick and easy project and they sell well too!

[robert hainstock]

Congrats onthe sucessful show.
DEEPER AND SEEPER----:eek:
bOB

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jon - congrats on all of your sales - even more so on your commissions!

[Richard A. Rivera, M.D.]

Good morning Gents...I am new to the Vortex. I have floating around the edges but I am fully in. Is there a "guide" on how to figure the price of a turned pen or other turned object. i know you can but a price on and if it is not selling then you are to high...but is there a range i can start at.

So far I have made pens and calls for friends and my wife keeps givig my green wood bowls away....My frist love is i though clay on a wheel and have found pottery and turning on the lathe to have a lot in common.

Thanks to all for the free advice in the past...i finally decided to sign up and join last night.

[David Walser]

Jon,

Congrats on the sales. It must be rewarding to have people like what you do enough to buy it!

As for items for future sales, I've heard that bottle stoppers, tea lights, boxes, and other small items sell well. (I stress that this is only faith promoting rumor. I've never sold any of my work -- I'm trying to preserve my amateur status for the Olympics.) These have the advantage of using little wood and taking little time per item to turn (once you have the knack). This should allow you to sell the items for little money while still making a nice profit.

Being small is also an advantage at most shows since one of the primary reasons my wife doesn't buy bulky items is she doesn't want to carry them while browsing the rest of the booths. (We might intend to buy the items on the way out, but seldom do.)

You should also consider your clientèle. (The spell checker added the accent mark.) People drawn to your pens might be interested in similar items, such as letter openers and other desk accessories.

Good luck!

[Greg Just]

Jon:

Great news on you pen sales. Out of curiousity, what type of pens did you sell and what was the price range? Also, what was the convention like? Did you have any competition? I have thought about selling out of a booth, but I wondered if it is worth the investment. You insights would be appreciated.

Greg

[Jon Lanier]

Jon:

Great news on you pen sales. Out of curiousity, what type of pens did you sell and what was the price range? Also, what was the convention like? Did you have any competition? I have thought about selling out of a booth, but I wondered if it is worth the investment. You insights would be appreciated.

Greg

Greg,

Don't know if this will help, but the convention I went to was, "Winter Worship and Workshop" in Pigeon Forge. I was the only one with anything made with wood. (And it might be helpful that much of the craft places in that area were closed due to off-season) Everything Red and Purple went almost immediately. It didn't matter if it was acrylic, corian, dyed wood or regular wood of that color. I had two blue acrylic's and they went pretty quick as well. The styles I had with me were: Euro, Screw Cap Americana, Atlas, Cigar and slimlines. They all went equally well...if it was the right color. And of course the bullet pens went and I got orders for more of those. The price ranges for the pens were $18 -$55.

I decided to set my prices at 4 times the cost of a kit. Then I will add $ anything special.. like the cost of the blank or if it took more time to make than average. I'm sure at a pure "Craft Show" I could sell for higher cost but I knew I was in the right price range for this group. We often set up for Scroll Saw work at these 'conventions.' But my wife didn't let me take all of that this time. We were to spend more time with each other rather than me trying to sell. So pens were an easy thing to take down and set up. And Karen and I did get to spend some good time together. Worked out great.

[Greg Just]

Thanks Jon - good information