Thanks. I don't sell on etsy yet, but I do look at prices a lot. I am a knitter and it is disheartening to see socks for say, $20, when most socks take 10 or more hours to knit. I am a very fast and accurate knitter, but I could never make a pair of socks for that small amount of money. And, if I were to sell on etsy, I would feel a pressure to do so. So, I sell my handknits elsewhere where the market will pay me closer to the correct amount. I really appreciate this article and the comments by the various sellers. I might not sell yet...but I certainly buy! :)

Nice food for thought Beth. Viva la Tiny! Mikey and Mona

these articles are great! thank you so much Beth! (i hope you don't mind, i put a link to this article on our team's blog?) :)

great pricing articles, Beth! This is really, really helpful! Pricing is something that all artist struggle with- thanks for all the great info!

Thanks so much for this. Pricing is always a difficult subject, and lots of us Etsy sellers need all the help we can get to set a good price for our products.

Smashing, put it on your blog! Spread the pricing love around!

Absolutely link to this article! And forward to anyone you think this might help. Also, please post your questions. I will do my best to answer them here - or include them in anothe part of the series. Thanks!

thanks bethela for using my shop as an example. I'm blushing! I really like these articles... they are so invaluable to me!

thanks guys! the pricing love has been officially spread! :)

Thank for this wonderfully written in-depth article on pricing. I hate to see talented artists price themselves right out of business, not because they charge too much, but because they grossly undervalue their work.

This is really really helpful! I've been slowly raising my prices (due to increased skill, better source materials, etc.) and have not noticed a change in demand, much to my surprise! Thanks a billion! xo! Liz

Thanks for your great beginning to this wonderful series. I'd love to hear your thoughts (or anyone's!) about pricing with regards to wholesale and consignment and also on/off Etsy. I sell in a few different situations and it gets confusing trying to maintain fairly consistent overall prices in the face of very different arrangements. craft...the ultimate extreme lifestyle choice. Lindsay

I know this comment is a little late but I just found the article. Thanks for all the info on pricing it helps a lot. I still consider myself to be new to etsy and selling my items. Pricing is the thing I have the most trouble with. I do mostly crochet and I love making hanging crochet towels but the price I would need to charge to cover cost and time is to high compared to what other sellers on etsy and elswhere charge for them. I am finding that crochet is just not one of those crafts that you can get paid for your time on, what do you think? In looking at prices by other sellers, I have found I can charge just enough to cover cost of material x2, most of the time. If you have any suggestions please let me know. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Thank you so much for this article. After reading the article that you pointed us to, I found out that I am way under pricing my jewelry. In the article, however, she uses x4. Is that a have to? Can we use x2, x2.5, x3. I say that because that is what I found in an About.com article for pricing jewelry.

I'm a new seller on ETSY. I know I priced my products too low but I hope to sell a few so people can get to know me. But, the perceptions of "you get what you paid for" make it hard to price an item for sale. If you price them too high, it may not sale. If the price is low, people may think the product is cheaply made. So what can one do?

Handcrafter, I hope you see this. I'm a crocheter/knitter, and the ABSOLUTE ROCK BOTTOM MINIMUM you should be charging is THREE times the cost of materials. THEN add in consideration for the time involved. I've had some trouble figuring out a price point for hand-knitted dishcloths. A pair takes fully as much time - and the materials cost more - than one of my adult size Strawberry or Watermelon hats. And I'm one heck of a fast worker. But who'd pay $18 for two dishcloths? *sigh* I'm getting requests for them, so there's definitely a desire. Took much effort, I figured out something, and will be listing the first pair soonest.

VERY HELPFUL! I am going to say something and hope I don't offend the male crafters and artists. Woman have a tendency to under value themselves but it is so important to VALUE ONES WORK and feel good when we sell something rather than have sellers remorse. THANKS

end2, I think you're right. We women are too nice a lot of the time!

I completely second what you wrote edn2. I think we all need to be reminded of that more often!

I'm just trying to get started, so this info is great. I always told my son he didn't charge enough for his work, I guess I should follow my own advice! Thanks Beth, your wisedom is appreciated.

hello!

a great article, thanku. i find pricing really tricky – original artwork pricing is so subjective! i'm new to selling art on etsy so have made my prices quite low and also varied. i'm aware that there is an enormous amount of comeptition for the $20 mark with the availability of so many beautiful prints of original work. the other thing that has been mentioned and i often think about as a buyer is the too low prices indicating lack of self worth or indeed bad work! i'll definitely read on, thanks.

Great ideas. Thanks so much. I have read Rena's article and this concept of price and value is so complex. Thank you so much.

Thanks for all the ideas~ great info

Ok, I can see that I'm a little late to comment (I know you wrote this article a while ago). But isn't it great to know sellers are still getting use out of the info.? Thank you so much for these guidelines. Now I can put some clear concepts into practice!

thank you for this information, i've been considering changing my pricing lately and these articles are very informative.

Thanks for the info it's really hard to price my wreaths because of the vintage items in them, so I've been comparing them to other "regular" wreaths and I believe my prices are fair to the customer.

What valuable info! I've always wondered about pricing, and have had a hard time with it, so I'm glad to have this article to look at!

Yes, putting items in various price categories is a very good idea for the new shop.

Thanks soooo much for the info!

Very interesting and helpful. And yet, how to generate sales and traffic to get your store off the ground? If the pricing is too high for the market regardless of what your time is really worth (and it's a tight market right now) your items won't move and inventory just sites there...

I am always amazed at how low my competitors' prices are for fine art prints. I just gotta wonder what corners they are cutting to make their prices so low.

Thanks for the intelligent article, Beth. I'm in the planning stages for my shop, and pondering my pricing. I live in a pricey area (Westchester County, NY) and I know I can charge a higher amount for my item locally than the prices I see for similiar items on Etsy. It's a quandary!

Great article.It is always an easy option to put prices low but it doesn't mean it will sell well.To be far with pricing as well as earning has always been my policy.

i must print it

This is something I've struggled with - thanks for the formula. - S

I've always wondered about lowering the rates of my prints since they're a few dollars higher than what most stores charge. My store is very new and it really is tempting to make a few adjustments. But then I had to consider my costs since my photos aren't digital. There's film, developing and traditional printing from a custom lab. I will have orders printed only after sale so I also have to consider going to and from the lab. It's a process, and clients really get more than they paid for :)

good article, thanks. I am a new seller and I might be wrong, but I feel that Etsy buyers are more or less the same people as sellers...very young. Which keeps the price range at the lower end. Can Etsy become known outside of its present market?

Wonderful article! As a new seller on Etsy, I too have wondered about pricing. This is definately a keeper!

Great article,I am a buyer on etsy as well as a seller I do love a bargain.The markets vary in pricing alot so you do have to have some knowledge of how much you want to spend for whatever your buying!I love etsy because of all the wonderful idea's and One of a kind items you can call your own,there's so much to see it's endless.

I loved the article! Never forget that all items are HANDMADE. We are not machines, it takes time, efort and creativity to make things. And that has a price! Good Sales to everyone! I hope i have my own store on Etsy soon :)

Thanks as always for the tips! Good luck all.

Really good article...thanks for the help

A bit late, but just found this article. Very helpful because I agree that many women and artists under price their work in order to make a sale. yes, it's great to close the sale, but when one prices low, it brings down the rest of the market and makes it harder for the rest of artists who price their work for what it's worth. good article! Sue

very informative. thanks

Thankyou for the article. For some items or businesses, competitive-based pricing is going to be more accurate than cost-based pricing. In my case, I wildcraft (gather from the wild) quite a few of my supplies in the pursuit of leisure, and wouldn't really want to calculate a per-unit price or time on those supplies. However, seeing as this makes my products a lot more unique and has a "grassroots" appeal, I go straight to looking at what the market will bear for something like that - cut-throat comparisons with other items don't work quite as well. Obviously time taken to actually craft is important, though, but I won't try to sell an item if I can't make it for less labour than the market will bear if it's priced to reflect that labour. That is one of the bummers about selling craft - sometimes people will just not buy for a fair price what you love making, no matter how you present it. Especially on the internet. I'm trying to focus on commercially developing the more "profitable" "value-added" areas within my crafting scope- - but hey, I can always make the unprofitable items for myself. For FUN. I don't need the "ego boost" of selling those things.

hello!!

good article thanks

Great food for thought, thank you! Alien Grace, I think that is a great point, there is not necessarily a market for everything...but making for the love of it is still Art.

good one

You also have to consider other sellers of your goods. I have recently sold some items to shops and they double the price. My etsy price was also my wholesale or trade price..but I have had to change that. The stockists are not happy for me to be selling online at a lower price than they do. After much discussion with other more long standing professional crafts people I have decided to have a recommended minimum retail price and that will slowly be introduced into my etsy shop. the recent small increase hasn't stopped buyers. I have to have confidence in my work..(I'm told)!!

Great advice, I have been told my pieces are way underpriced for the quality and going rate but I am afraid of pricing too high and disappointing someone or not getting the sale. I havent sold anything yet on etsy mostly to friends friends and family. After reading this I am definetly rethinking my strategy though. I guess it's sort of a trial and error process. Thanks for the great tips!

It would be a great addition to Etsy to have a survey function that let shoppers who do noy buy leave a comment on price (or any other reason why they didn't buy). I know people are looking at my handmade handbags and I have many people compliment them when I'm out and about with one on my arm, but few sales online or off. Would love to get some feedback on whether price is a barrier!

I have to agree with the comment on pricing. I am fairly new to Etsy (aprox 2 months) I have many people looking at my jewelery and other items but have not made any sales. I have lowered pricing on many of the items listed, but that hasn't made a difference. I have also looked at similar items and found mine to be fairly competitive. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you for the tips. It's inspiring to read what others already know about selling on etsy.

Thanks...I agree with AngelWolfsartwork..I have lowered my prices with no results. I am having trouble moving my items. I have gotten over 100 looks on most of my stuff but no buys?? I am baffled...thanks again for the article..

Pricing has been the biggest problem for me. There is such a wide variation on the prices of similar items sold by different sellers. As a seller of childrens clothing I find it hard to believe a seller can buy fabric and devote time to sewing a garment and sell it for $10 or $12 and still turn a profit. It seriously undercuts the sales of other sellers. People think nothing of paying $20 and up for a 15 minute haircut. Is the time I spend behind a sewing machine any less valuable?

I found this article very helpful! thank you so much! I am new on here and I have read the comments about fine art prints and I have to say I understand the others' difficulties with pricing their pieces of art. I personally do the printing myself in the dark room so I put on sale only a very limited amount of prints per photograph. I could not charge significantly less than what I do simply because of the time and efforts it take me to do what I love to do. I thought about doing some opening discounts but I am not too sure yet.. Anyways, I will keep on reading your material and I really like the etsy community in general.

I recently took a BATH on a sale because I charged $4.00 for mailing and the buyer lived in a rural area. It cost me over $10.00 to mail the package. How do I avoid this in the future? I know on Ebay there is a way to ask someone their zip code at purchase, figure costs and send them an invoice. Thanks Meg

Great material...great advice. Etsy is easier to showcase my jewelry than art fairs and I feel like my prices need to reflect that.

great tips thanks..lot of things to keep in mind that i didn't always consider..so much to learn!

Wow...I never considered the fact that pricing too low may make people feel cheap when buying my products. I guess as a new seller, I am looking at pricing from my point of view only. Now I need to work on getting into the buyer's head.

The first commenter hit the nail on the head! 10 hours to knit one pair of socks as a gifted knitter selling at only $10 ..a bargin for the buyer! There definately needs to be a clear distinction between mass produced and real handmade items. Sellers should not feel awkward about pricing their great work for a decent price..but they do because of the lack of knowledge about craft and handmade.. I've even noticed mass produced items tagged as 'handmade'. lol

Another good article! Lots of good advice. As far as I'm thinking, when you first open your shop, if you price low to get the sales how hard will it be to get what your product is actually worth? I am new to Etsy, my shop is open, no sales pending. But I'm worth my prices and I can afford to sit on my products for a while until the right buyer comes along. Like you mentioned in your article: LEAVE THE CUTRATE PRICING TO WALMART. Each of my creations is exactly that, a creation that is one of a kind and may not appeal to mass buyers out there. I don't have wholesale pricing because I won't do wholesale. My target buyers are the individuals out there looking for that one special something and I just have to have faith they will find me.

This is a really helpful article. I am a knitter and people have been telling me that I should knit items to sell. This has often been a hard concept for me because I develop an attachment to the items I make. In a few weeks I will have more time to devote to knitting so I am going to create a few samples and gauge the time each item takes with the price. I'm hoping I might be able to be distinctive from other knitters because unfortunately I am allergic to wool and alpaca so hopefully I can target the buyer who wants the warmth of wool without the hives. haha.

Great information for those of us just starting out on Etsy! I hate pricing. I wish I could just give things away and share the joy with people, mais il n'est pas pratique :( The Etsy concept is a new one for me, as I have until now worked on a custom/commission basis or out of exclusive boutiques. Thanks for the info!!

I don't sell with Etsy yet but hope to in the future. It would be a GREAT help if the sold items still had the price on them. Many times the sold items are one of a kind and it would be such a help to know what they sold for. Millie

I just started selling on etsy and have been debating with myself about the right price. It is complicated but I think it will just take some trial and error and I want to make sure I am paying myself fairly for all the time and work I put into my products. :)