Variations on a theme

[gilljc]

Got my first craft fair of the year coming up this weekend, amongst other stuff, have made these, originally inspired by a plain oval candle tray, and then the stool that has been shown recently in the forum.
I have no clue how to charge for stuff at craft fairs, so usually just go on how long they took me to make at something less than minimum wage rate :roll:
Does anyone have a proper method of pricing?

 

[nadnerb]

Hi Gill
Pricing can be very tricky, if you over price no one will buy, under price and you are a very busy pauper!!
What I do is I work on the price of the wood and add the price of other pieces like candles, key chains etc and multiply by 5.
If something is selling very well at the next fair I will charge €2.00 extra for it.
Sometimes I take a hit on larger items knowing that if some of my smaller items sell well the profits even out.
I try to stay away from anything that takes more than two hours to make from start to finish as it is too hard to get the price such pieces deserve.
As a rule of thumb ,if I sell enough to pay for the stall,(over here a stall can cost €60.00 for a day) petrol money there and back, food and coffee for the day and have enough left over to buy wood for the following week and have a few bob to put away for the day when a saw or sander packs up, I consider the day a success.
One of my best sellers is the "Smile" http://www.stevedgood.com/smile.pdf from Steve Goods page. I started selling them at €12.00 each and sold 2 or 3 at every fair and now I charge €20.00 each and they are still a great seller.
Best of luck with the day, don't forget to let us know how it went
Regards
Brendan

 

[Claymore]

........

 

[AES]

Those look really lovely. Thanks for showing.

I know nothing about the pricing of such stuff but wish you all the best with your first craft fair. Please let us know how it goes (I'm just interested).

All the best
AES

 

[skronk]

Best of luck my friend. Nice work.

 

[gilljc]

Thanks guys, I know I went to a couple of 'real' craft fairs last year, but still feels like this will be first one. Can't believe how nervous I get Think it is almost worse because the first ones were so good (apart from the charity one that wasn't advertised and was miles from anywhere and nobody came :roll: :wink: )