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How much does your bowl cost?

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Doug Barratt:
I agree at face value it does seem foolish to loose money on a piece.

That said how long do you hold onto a piece if it`s not selling?
Also whilst the present price may be £24 he may have bought the timber years ago, I certainly have blanks that I bought 7 years ago that still have the price on & they were considerably cheaper than I`d have to pay today.

There are lots of reasons why people do craft fairs & sell at the prices they do & whilst I might think they undersell themselves I don`t see it as my right to criticise them.
Indeed I have no knowledge of their situation, I once wrote some articles for woodwork magazines when work was thin on the ground in 2009, the money was pathetic for the work involved but I had a family to keep so I did it, I also at that time sold some of my wood turning at lower prices than I`d have liked but that was the situation I found myself in.

It`s easy to criticise & belittle others when we don`t know the reasoning behind their actions.

Cheers.    

woody:
This subject could be quite a mine field I have sold at craft fairs, flower festivals,school fetes and in Galleries and to be honest I have seen some very good quality workmanship and some very shoddy workmanship in all of them and some dodgy prices at both ends of the scale.
I have sold at some places with people opposite me selling at half the prices I was selling at but I still sold a lot more than he did why quality will always sell itself we all have the right to ask what we want for an item and we all have a right to an opinion on the quality and the price but  I can still remember when I first started selling my hand crafted goods and the quality wasn't as good as it should have been but I was chuffed to pieces when someone wanted to pay for them also I can remember when I had a family to support and times were hard you had to take what ever you could get so I am very slow to judge others on what they sell and the price they charge at the end of the day I can just walk away and still demand what I want for my goods after all it is a free world and competition is healthy and we all want a bargain even in the high street or for the tools of our trade
The retail world is the same wherever you go a rolls for the rich a ford for those not so rich a tailor made suit or one of the peg so why should woodturning be any different

woody:
I remember a shop who had for year sold a guys turnings and he got old and his turning had suffered so they ask me to put my stuff in there shop which I declined how could I take an 80 year old mans purpose away from him I knew this man and all he had left in life was his turning I couldn't take that from him nor could I begrudge him selling them
A farm shop on the A17 was selling turnings that to be kind were rustic and when I got talking to the woman it turns out it was her old Dad who made them and he was blind and every penny raised from selling them went to charity so I purchased one and was thankful for the lesson
I  also had a friend who no matter what could not get the hang of turning well not to a good standard but he got a lot of pleasure from trying and he gave every thing away or sold them and he did for charity
Do we tell these old men they have got to give up just because we the so called pro's can hope to sell more ? I am now an old man and I have had to give up due to ill health and I know how much it hurt and who knows were we will all end up 

thebowlerhattedturner:
So I have read all of the replies and I must admit to feeling a little bit guilty after reading them,not a lot mind you. If you make an item and it comes out the shape you want it to then you have achieved a goal, it is not for me to criticise the shape just to say if I like it or not, if it works for me etc. If you turn a piece to the shape you want and you end up with torn grain, attempt to sand it out and then give up I will criticise your work.That is poor workmanship. I still feel that basic supplies should reflect present day prices but can see how timber bought years ago can be cheaper. If you are making stuff for charity why don't you have a sign up that says it's for charity, I might even buy a piece myself or just donate. I do not have a problem with shabby chic work if it is intended to look like that but I do have a problem when there has been a half arsed attempt to finish it with the final attitude of "that will do".
 If we want to advance the craft, raise standards and show that our work is just as valuable as ceramics or glass , (apart from a boot sale or such like and the seconds shop when was the last time you saw a glass makers work being sold off cheap?) we must do all we can to show woodturning in a good light.
This was not a craft fair or market this was a shop that I visited, everything in the shop was made locally and showed the skill of local makers in a good light, the only area let down was the woodturners.
Regards
John
BHT

arcos:
For my tuppence worth...

I asked some weeks ago the price of a bowl I had turned, I suspect some of you may remember the post? I was thinking of a price of around 10 Euros max for a little spalted olive bowl and got a LOT of flack for undercharging!

Now, I would happily ship the bowl to a gallery and charge double (I think the minimum suggested price was £25 from you guys). I simply cannot charge that sort of money here, it would sit on a shelf for YEARS, literally!

Free market economy was suggested in a previous post. Absolutely right! Perhaps, for me, a way of looking at my situation is similar to the housing market in the UK. A 2 bed semi in the south east is going to be CONSIDERABLY more expensive for the same house in the North East!

I had some great comments last night about my 'rustic' tea light holders, from an evening FULL of Brits... Not one was interested in buying as they felt that 15 Euros for a set of 3 was too expensive! When asked how much they would pay they came back with anything between 3 and 7 euros... Sorry that would just about cover the electricity used for the lathe and lighting! So they will stay on the bar and receive compliments!

The same with the little pendants I have turned. Asking price 5 Euros. Not one sold, why? Too expensive! Now, the 5 euro asking price was suggested by someone who I actually gave one to. That is how much they would pay for something like this. It seems that others have different ideas. I was thinking of selling them for 3.50 without fittings and 4.00 with fittings... This is likely to generate a little more interest and hopefully sell a few. After all, I didn't turn them to look nice for the next 6 months gathering dust! I really have NO idea what they would sell for in the UK but here I think that is going to be about the market price.

I am going to be sending a number over to London in two weeks time to be advertised on a friends craft website. The clientele are 95% 'society Londonites' and, I hope, will pay a premium price. I have someone who is going to take my wares to every market possible here and sell them for me on a commission. I will be looking at selling at the 3.50 - 4.00 Euros per piece AND paying a commission! If I can sell the volume then it will be worth while. If not then whats the point?

And, no, I'm not looking at this as a business but yes, I would like to earn a few beer tokens! Oh and yes I will have to register myself as a legal business here and pay tax and accountant etc etc etc.

There are a couple of pieces that I have been asked to sell and refused. Not on the basis of price but on the basis of quality. One piece in particular which I am very happy with as a display piece, simply does not work as a practical piece for sale. I have told this particular client that, when I get the right piece of wood I will turn one especially for them but it will be to a saleable quality!

Quality, 90% of the time, will outsell over price BUT there must be a limit, thats just economics, and finding the ceiling is the trick for your market.

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