[clay lover]

I introduced new item at a sale this past weekend, and it did not move. The sale was down 3o% from last year over all due to poor attendance. Other pieces in my line sold, but not as well as other weekends.
Question, do I use this sales' results to adjust the price that my market will bear on the new item?

I sold a few test pieces of this item last fall when I was still struggling with the form. I am MUCH more efficient with this piece, due to making a jillion one week. Now that I have a jillion to sell and can make them faster, should I drop the $ a bit to see if it moves ? I don't do a lot of sales so I can't test this every weekend , only have a few shots at it this spring.

I have improved my production greatly, do I use that to increase my profit per item, or drop the price by 12% to sell more?
I am in a VERY depressed part of the country. The higher priced pieces I do, in the $35-$60 range did the same as other years. And the occational $90 $125 does the same. They go to galleries around me that pull a different buyer than craft fairs usually do. The people that had bigger $$$ still have bigger $$$, it's everybody else that is struggling. I usually pay my both rent with these under $20 items, and that's what most people come to spend.

All opinions appreciated and considered.

[Mark C.]

If you can make an item fast and it is quick to glaze andtakes little kiln space than it should sell for less in my mind.

The other thing is you have a zillion of this item and its not selling then by all means lower the price. I feel its selling pottery that allows me to go make more so when its not selling then price may be one of the reasons. Not always but sometimes. Say a left handed mustache mugs with uncle George on the side will be a slow seller no matter what the price. That market will be small.

My pottery sells well because its well made and priced right.

Mark

[Chris Campbell]

Without knowing what the item is it's almost impossible to say if it would sell at a lower or higher price. Can you post an image?

[clay lover]

Ha Ha, probably not, I'm a way better potter that a computer geek, haven't slowed down long enough to figure out posting pictures.
Any item I sell will need to be lower in this land of the lost area where I live. No art, no pottery, A real "I can buy that at Wal Mart." mentality. Training them slowly. What you could sell it for and what I can sell it for would never come close, I'm afraid.

[TJR]

This is a classic dilemma, one that all artists face. If your item is a low end product and you have a jillion of them, you should lower the price to move your product. Do not fall into the trap of cranking out a low end object which takes away from making the really good work that you are interested in. None of us wants to compete with Walmart, or China, but we are living in tough times.I find that people still want a good product at a decent/fair price.
I hope you can figure this out for yourself and let the rest of us know your decision. An image would be nice.
TJR.

[GEP]

As long as you can make the item efficiently, and you have a lot of them on hand right now, then go ahead and lower the price. I'm doing the same with my dinner plates this year. I can make them and fire them more efficiently now, and honestly I haven't sold as many as I'd hoped recently, so the price is coming down.

The larger question for you to figure out during your spring shows is ... do I still enjoy making this item when I sell them for a lower price?

It seems I've heard a lot of artists, not so much potters but fine artists, complaining like "nobody wants to buy $1000 original paintings these days" and I think "why don't you try lowering the price. It's a recession, for crying out loud!" I guess their pride prevents that. But I don't see any downside to being flexible when necessary.

Mea

[Chris Campbell]

Yes, that is key ... and only you know the answer.
Will you still enjoy making them if you only get a x$ for them? ... if they do sell like crazy at a low, low price ... will making them break your spirit after a while?
Also ... its very easy to upload images. Go to the bottom of the message screen and hit the "attach this file" button, browse for the image which you can have on your computer desktop ... then hit upload this file. Done!

[Pres]

Chris Campbell, on 23 April 2012 - 10:40 AM, said:

Yes, that is key ... and only you know the answer.
Will you still enjoy making them if you only get a x$ for them? ... if they do sell like crazy at a low, low price ... will making them break your spirit after a while?
Also ... its very easy to upload images. Go to the bottom of the message screen and hit the "attach this file" button, browse for the image which you can have on your computer desktop ... then hit upload this file. Done!

Hate to say this Chris, but this implied that he was familiar with digital cameras. I know several people that still have not made the jump to digital spending huge amounts of money on film and processing. Depends how long it takes one to get out of their comfort zone.

[OffCenter]

Pres, on 23 April 2012 - 04:15 PM, said:

Chris Campbell, on 23 April 2012 - 10:40 AM, said:

Yes, that is key ... and only you know the answer.
Will you still enjoy making them if you only get a x$ for them? ... if they do sell like crazy at a low, low price ... will making them break your spirit after a while?
Also ... its very easy to upload images. Go to the bottom of the message screen and hit the "attach this file" button, browse for the image which you can have on your computer desktop ... then hit upload this file. Done!

Hate to say this Chris, but this implied that he was familiar with digital cameras. I know several people that still have not made the jump to digital spending huge amounts of money on film and processing. Depends how long it takes one to get out of their comfort zone.

Maybe... but even a descriptive name like mug, plate, weed pot, is avoided. Don't understand the need for such a degree of secrecy.

Jim

[clay lover]

Mea, Chris, Mark, thanks, I've thought about this a good bit, and it is really about what Chris said, will I still feel good about making the piece with the price lower? Some lower, 12% drop,yes, because as Mea said, It is efficient to make. and I like making it.
The market here is still very depressed . I'm interestred to hear Mea say she is facing the same thing in her area. I've seen her work in VERY classy shop near NYC, I believe, and that is a higher $$ market for sure,.

TJR, I absolutely understand what you are refering to. The lower end pieces pay my studio bills while they give me time to make the more speculative art pieces that take longer to move. I am aware that falling slave to the low dollar sale will rob me of the time to do the better work. That is not my goal and I do keep an eye on it.

[Chris Campbell]

It might be time for option C ... Getting your work out of your sales depressed area and into other markets.

[Mark C.]

Chris Campbell, on 23 April 2012 - 07:45 PM, said:

It might be time for option C ... Getting your work out of your sales depressed area and into other markets.

I'm with Chris on this one get into another art show far away and drive to it-my commutes to shows are measured in days-1/2 day is a rare one.Two days one way is a long one.
Mark

[GEP]

I've always used a flexible pricing plan, recession or not. If something doesn't sell, the price goes down. If the price goes down to a point where it's no longer worth the time to make the item, the item gets discontinued. And it works the other way too, when something sells too fast. My first dinner plates years ago were $15 each. Over the years the price crept up. I found I could still sell them at $30, but at $35 the sales really slowed. I'm going back to $30.

I also agree with Chris and Mark that you should start venturing a little further into bigger and more upscale venues. Keep selling at your local venue, but if this is not exactly your audience, offer your wares to different audiences too!

Mea

[JBaymore]

Looking at the title of this thread there is a bit of an implicit approach to the whole thought process in there somewhere.

How about "Adjusting the market to fit the prices"? Very different approach. Depends a lot on the nature and qulaity of the work. But important to think about a bit.

best,

....................john

[clay lover]

Thanks for the thoughts, guys.
I have found a few galleries in better off areas that are interested, but only want to do commission. Doesn't that put the risk all in my court? With owners I don't know, in towns where I don't have contacts, at some distance away, how do I protect myself?
Do I toss things out there and hope the the people are reliable? In a town where I don't know people, how do I know if things move in that gallery? If the owner says he has insurance, and one has, do I ask to see the policy? I just don't want to get nailed through being too trusting, or inexperienced. I would be sending off the best , most expensive of my work.

[Chris Campbell]

STOP!! Proceed at once to my website and read "Marketing your Pottery".
When I said to sell elsewhere, I was not talking about out of town consignment ... NO!
Wholesale is more my theme.

[INYA]

Chris Campbell, on 25 April 2012 - 03:04 AM, said:

STOP!! Proceed at once to my website and read "Marketing your Pottery".
When I said to sell elsewhere, I was not talking about out of town consignment ... NO!
Wholesale is more my theme.

Great article Chris!
...and beautiful pieces...