It's a nasty subject to think about, but it's been on my mind for quite some time now. For me, Etsy is a hobby. I do it to justify spending some time on myself and to have an outlet for my occasional bursts of creativity. These first few months have been quite successful, relatively speaking, but a few things just aren't sitting well.The easy decision: shipping. Since I've figured out how to use Paypal shipping, it's become quite apparent that I'm not charging enough. Most of my packages are under 2oz, costing what I charge just to ship. That doesn't take into account envelopes, paper, packaging, wrapping, or tape. Seems silly, but it's true. So, shipping charges are going to go up a bit.
Product pricing, however, is a whole new ballgame. I came across a formula somewhere along the way that talked about pricing. According to the formula, prices should be equal to {[supplies + time(wage)] x2} + fees. You know what my pricing is missing? The x2 factor! That's a pretty big piece. Let's face it, I'm not trying to pay my mortgage, but I do need to be able to buy supplies when I run out (and paying an occasional bill would be nice, too). Due to the nature of my pieces, I'm having a really difficult time with the idea of raising my prices. It's not like I'm the only one in the Etsy marketplace selling these items and some of the others are actually selling for less than I am.
The majority of my shop, and sales, are my polymer clay pendants. Within the last week I have had two people ask me whether or not they were handmade! These take an enormous amount of time! I use some techniques that are by no means the fastest, but that I am committed to for various reasons. First of all, the clay is all rolled and cut by hand. No machines, no cookie cutters, just a rolling pin and a great big knife. After each one is cut, it is pierced all the way through with a headpin so that the pendant doesn't fall apart the first time it's worn. Next, the magical transfer/baking combination occurs and that takes a bit of time, too, along with cooling and pressing. What takes the longest however is the huge amount of time spent sanding, filing, filing finer, finer yet, and finally wet sanding before they are sealed twice and eventually assembled into the finished pieces. A single batch of clay makes about 10 pendants and takes six hours over the course of 3 or 4 days. So in order to figure out a reasonable price, not only do I have to figure out how much I deserve per hour, but I have to weigh that against the market value and (possibly?) the prices that others are charging.
The formula says that my $10 necklaces should be selling for $15 for the pendant alone. I don't know that I necessarily agree with the formula, but I do know that something isn't adding up in the end and that just isn't sitting well.
None of this takes into account the sheer amount of time that it would take to go through and edit 150 listings. :/
Comments, suggestions, horror stories, loving support, and random acts of kindness always appreciated . . .
♥ Jaimi @ Eli N Opus
