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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

On Line Lab meets Real World

I know there are a lot of Etsy Sellers out there in cyberspace somewhere. Maybe even a few attended the on-line lab last night a 7:00pm entitled "How to Price for Profit". 

I heard all sorts of things any motivational speaker would say and then some.


One particular word I heard over and over again was "Value". "Your work has value". (Yes, I know my work has value, who cares about the value if the buyer doesn't see it). For example, my work is currently featured in 5 different Etsy Treasuries, I have ad space on a very active sight, I participate in banner exchanges, I am active in numerous teams and groups, I use LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, and I have my stuff on Pinterest. (All this and still Nada!)
The only explanation I received for this was to get a new group of followers that are more high end. (Ok, sure, where do I find them? The few I know want nothing to do with me. I am the Chevy to their Porshe!)  


 (What about the other shop that sells a similar item for $2.00?, Why would a potential customer pay $15 when they could pay $2) According to the Workshop, "Value". 


You are not competing with the other shop. Customers that want to buy something for nothing are not the type of customers you want....(Ok, AGAIN, where am I supposed to find these magical people who do not care how much they spend on an item?)

I heard so many ideas on how to charge for your work, how to add in labor, overhead, set goals for the future, yet HOW to implement them was not really addressed.


Yes, I want my business to be a profitable one. I just do not want to be laughed out of cyberspace for charging my customers, (you know, the magical ones I do not have yet), what I think the value of my work is.

There is also that pesky little thing called "Supply and Demand". What kind of value is your work worth if there is no demand for it? You have to make your item valuable. ....(how to do this was not exactly addressed in the  workshop). 


It is said the definition of "Insanity" is repeating the same task over and over again expecting a different result.  

My question then is this: How do you stop the insanity?

Comments and Suggestions are Welcome!





7 comments:

  1. LOL... I too am a "Chevie" ... well more like a VW Bug lol the old version... to answer your question.. perseverance will win! Not what you want to hear but true!!! xoxo

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  2. I hear you sister. Nice blog. I am following you through Linky now. I own the blog "It's A Handmade World" for handmade artisans. It is completely free to you. I have pages for buttons to your handmade shops and blogs. Please feel free to use it. You can also post some of your handmade items weekly to my front page.
    Sincerely,
    Jacque
    Hopes And Dreams Studio

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have to agree everyone has ideas on pricing but not on finding the customers comfortable with paying the price. The thing though is to remember that you are not doing anyone a favour by giving your talent away either if you undervalue yourself the people around you will do the same. Stick to your guns persevere your creations are beautiful you will find your niche.

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  4. Thank you all for the input. I guess the magic genie is unavailable at this time.

    I am just going to have to be patient and until everything "clicks" together.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry Tracie seems the magic genie is missing and I cannot seem to find the elves either so patience is the only thing for all of us - here's hoping it "clicks" soon

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  6. When from Etsy for Artfire !!!!! more sales there (for me),but not a lot either *SIGH* it's been 2 years now ,make more money selling to my friends and colleges at work LOL....
    I am trying this one (mysupadupa) take a look ,it is free for now .
    Good Luck

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  7. Good question...how 'do' you stop the insanity?!!...I'm sorry I missed that lab! I had it marked to make it too! Pricing to sell my crocheted items has been a challenge. I put a lot of work into everything I make...whether people think so or not! In fact, my crochet flowers have crocheted backs on them. Something I don't see anybody else doing! TIME CONSUMING, intensive work! But I can't get any kind of flow as to sales!...So if you find those customers waiting to buy value...send them my way will ya!! LOL

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Thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think!! I Love your comments!

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