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beginners being too underpriced?

Eyeheart Pokemanz avatar
Eyeheart Pokemanz from EyeheartsStuff 11:50 pm Jan 9, 2013 EST edited
I'm being dealing with this for a bit...
I do underprice myself a bit, but I know I'm not the only person on Etsy who does so because we just started out.
I'm always a almost embarrassed when I put up my prices because I feel people won't want to buy something full price off someone who hasn't been here long and hasn't had that many sales...
I know my mum, who is not on Etsy but has been a proffessional textile artist for years, told me that she was contacted by a very well known professional in the textiles telling her to up her prices because she made the whole industry look bad.
I kinda thought that I should start off low, which would bring in hopefully more sales, then when I get a bit more well-known I'd increase them...
I don't exactly know how to formulate my question...Is it a bad thing to start your shop off with lower prices and then gradually increase them? Is it because the marker is slowly filling with newbies like me that the handmade has been de-valued?
sigh, I don't even....

55 Responses

Laila avatar
Laila from LailaLilac 11:54 pm Jan 9, 2013 EST edited
I actually think the pricing in your shop looks fair (although to be honest only you know how long each item took/cost of materials etc...so don't sell yourself short!) Something I noticed right away about your shop is that you offer a range of prices, which is great! That way, people who want to buy the "premium items" can pay the premium price, while people who're looking for a small phone charm etc can still get a deal...

Also people usually say that if you're making sales, you can afford to up the price a little (ie. "If there's demand...")
Also just a heads up be careful with copyrighted items.
:)
Best of luck selling!
nodsu avatar
nodsu from nodsu 11:57 pm Jan 9, 2013 EST
People have different reasons for pricing lower - some live in areas where its considered good money, some want to get the sales going, some do it for hobby and want the space back, some just don't know "better"...


Pricing is hard for me as well.
there's the formula etsy recommends (I'm sure someone can link it)..

But price it where all your expenses are covered and you make enough profit to be comfortable / happy with it.

Your critters are cute :)

(...and there's the copyright stuffs to think about ;))
CafeParisien avatar
CafeParisien from CafeParisien 12:00 am Jan 10, 2013 EST
I can understand where you are coming from. We all had to start somewhere and if it brings buyers in selling what you consider to be under priced so be it.

Once up and running increase your prices, makes sense to me.

Some handmade items are saturated on Etsy and you sometimes need to be very competitive to get sales.

What you are doing would be my strategy if I was starting out, in fact I used it when I started.

Good luck with your shop.
Eyeheart Pokemanz avatar
Eyeheart Pokemanz from EyeheartsStuff 12:03 am Jan 10, 2013 EST
Thanks guys :)
and yeah...copyright .
I had it at some point...must have deleted it by accident while frantically editing my listing 73 times a day...
memoriesofus avatar
memoriesofus 12:03 am Jan 10, 2013 EST
I think underpricing makes it hard for handmade to be taken seriously and can make an item look lesser quality in the eyes/mind of the buyer.

I think a bigger issue though is the use of licensed characters. Once I see that in a shop I click away.
CafeParisien avatar
CafeParisien from CafeParisien 12:13 am Jan 10, 2013 EST
I think its a very fine balance, if handmade is too pricey buyers will not buy, One can buy mass produced items which look the same often for a fraction of the price. This is especially true in the knitted goods dept and Jewelery sections.

One only has too look at how well the re-sellers that get through the net do on here..

Sure some will pay a lot for handmade, but, in today's harsh economic times I think they are an exception to the rule.

I think, in all honesty one has to be very competitive today whatever one sells.

Steph avatar
Steph from OneStitchDesigns 12:15 am Jan 10, 2013 EST
people really don't like it when you tell them that they devalue others.

Laila avatar
Laila from LailaLilac 12:19 am Jan 10, 2013 EST edited
The OP did say "like me" so I don't think that they were trying to comment on newbies in general, but rather express a worry that their personal underpricing specifically might be hurting other sellers?
That's what I read it as, but I do see where you're coming from.
Terrance Lazaroff avatar
Terrance Lazaroff from zalt57 12:23 am Jan 10, 2013 EST
Here is something to read while you contemplate your pricing strategy.


etsy-extended.blogspot.ca/2011/04/what-is-real-costs-to-make-craft....

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