Pricing question and critique needed...

Do not use Tigertail. It breaks...painfully. Upgrade to Beadalon or
SoftFlex/SoftTouch 49 strand. You and your customer's won't regret it.
Tiger tail is good for temporarily stringing beads for sale, and that's
about it, IMO.

Barbara
Beader and Polymer Clay Crusader

http://www.penguintrax.com and http://www.backseatgrammarian.com

There is a very fine line between a hobby and mental illness. (Dave Barry)

Need quality, inexpensive web hosting with site builder and 50 apps? Check out http://www.lyonshost.com.



wrote:

TOO LOW!!!!!!!!! HOLY COW!



Hi Dr. Sooz!

Ok, I hear ya (loud and clear :-D)

Here is how I arrived at the cost of the mixed Czech glass necklaces on
flexible steel cable (I think this is Tigertail? The lady at Beadzu
didn't say. I asked for something flexible and sturdy that wasn't
nylon). The findings came from Beadzu and the cable is securely
crimped.

The bag of mixed Czech glass cost $6.99; I can get three and a half
necklaces out of each bag (the necklaces are about 18" long). So
there's ~$2.30 worth of beads in each necklace. IIRC, the findings work
out to be about 50 cents each. I can't remember how much the cable cost
me, but let's assume it works out to about $1.50 as well. It takes me
an hour to make each necklace. So I factor in Alberta's minimum wage
($5.90). That works out to be $10.20 for time and materials. $15 if I
add on a little to make a profit.

But...somehow I doubt someone at a craft sale is going to pay $15 for
these. They'll just look at it and say "I could make that myself!" or
pass it up. I have heard it said that if you don't price your work at
what you value it, others won't value it...but in my heart I know the
shoppers may not value it as much as I do. I'm definitely not a
"Wal-Mart" shopper, and I have paid for artisan jewellery and other
artwork - hehe, I own a jug of a nude female torso that I paid $225 for
:-). I'm not afraid to pay the price because I appreciate the time,
work and education of the artist. But not everyone is, unfortunately,
so I have to knock off a few bucks. Don't get me started on the craft
show hagglers :-D

If you have any pricing ideas, I would be happy to hear them.

Thanks,
Christine

There are perfectly wonderful and talented beadmakers in Canada, UK and
Europe. Don't spurn them out of fear. You just need to know what to look
for regarding quality and price.

Barbara
Beader and Polymer Clay Crusader

http://www.penguintrax.com and http://www.backseatgrammarian.com

There is a very fine line between a hobby and mental illness. (Dave Barry)

Need quality, inexpensive web hosting with site builder and 50 apps? Check out http://www.lyonshost.com.



mermaidscove_com wrote:

I agree that US made lampwork is better to buy, because it supports a
good way of life, artists being able to do work they enjoy. But that
being said- I carry some lampwork from China and so far have had no
breakage at all. I did have some with pressed chevrons I bought, about
1 in 200 but none of the others so far. Maybe I am just lucky but I
didn't think it was right to say that they will break for sure or at
even a really high rate. My experaince so far is no worse than venetian
glass which is also not annealed.

Ingrid

wrote:


First of all I am happy that you are using lampwork beads in your
creations, but in all honesty I wouldn't buy them at any price because
you are using lampwork made in china which is very probably going to
break in the future. They don't anneal their beads and so they aren't
very sturdy at all. I would love to see you using artisan made
lampwork, which costs a bit more, but they are annealed, are not likely
to break unless they are handled roughly, dropped on a hard surface
etc. You can find some great deals on artisan lampwork on ebay.

Since these are chinese beads though, I think your price is fair. I am
not a jewelry designer so I can't really give you much feedback as far
as design or pricing goes. I just wanted to give you my honest answer
regarding the beads you are using.


Hi Teresa,

Thanks for replying :-) Your input was very helpful. I didn't know that
about beads made in China. I checked the packaging on all my beads and
it looks like the most of the ones I have are Czech glass or Mill Hill
seed beads from Japan. The lampwork ones do come from China, and I
suspect the loose ones I bought at the bead store have as well :\ I
have passed over a lot of lampwork beads in the store because they had
air bubbles in them, but I didn't know they were more prone to
breakage.

I think, quite naturally, I will progress to beads made by artisans.
What was on the link I posted is just a fraction of the necklaces I
have made :-) I see a lot that I like on eBay, that's for sure! I am
finding that the selection at the local bead shop and Michaels to be
limited and not as unique of course. I would like to learn this
technique myself. The local art college has a lampwork class, but I
don't have $400 to plunk down on it ATM (I already plunked down that
much for the Art History course I'm taking :-))

I'm glad you think that the prices are fair :-) Craft sales can be so
hit or miss - it's hard to know what people will like. For instance, my
mom does a lot of knitting, and she always tries to pick colours that
people will like, but there's always someone out there who wants brown
or orange. I can't wait until November to see how I do. This is the
first year I have included beadwork with my other crafts and photos.
Thanks for the luck!

Christine

Hi again Su,

I'm sorry to get in this thread so slowly

No worries, I wasn't expect my little topic to take off, I still have a
lot of messages to read :-)

[snip] That way if you wish to present your work as using a
named artist's glass you can.

Thanks for the suggestion...I have bookmarked a few local peeps that I
found and I'll get in touch with them. People really do like locally
made things too. Sometimes I get the "Did you draw this?" response,
which is always nice to hear (even if it seems obvious). Sometimes
importers show up at these sales, so people are a little wary as well.

That said, your necklace that I could see on your site was lovely, a
nice design and that counts for a lot.

Thanks Su :-) I'm trying to be a little more adventurous with my
designs. I had a small collection of Mill Hill beads from when I did
needlework (it seems I have a completion problem when it comes to
x-stitch, heehee) and I was really inspired by a couple of copies of
BeadStyle (one on colour, one on basic stitches). There's some really
complicated designs in those, and I would really like to try them!

Best,
Christine

Thanks, I will!

Best,
Christine

Hi Barbara,

Do not use Tigertail. It breaks...painfully. Upgrade to Beadalon or
SoftFlex/SoftTouch 49 strand. You and your customer's won't regret it.
Tiger tail is good for temporarily stringing beads for sale, and that's
about it, IMO.

Eeek...OK...I'll look for Beadalon next time. I'm not sure what the
lady at Beazu sold me, but I'll phone and check.

At least I'm not using fishing line :-D

I am beginning to understand this now. It's like having pet birds. Pet
stores sell many "bird products" but that doesn't mean that because you
can buy them they are good.

Best,
Christine

Whoops, I probably should have phrased that better (shouldn't write so
late at night). I'm not adverse to buying beads online, but what had
happened was that someone plunked the beads down on a scanner and took
the picture that way. The colour was very distorted. What I thought was
a nice light green turned out to be blindingly bright instead :-)

Best,
Christine

See, to me a craft sale is a juried show attended by people who know
the crafts are a serious endeavor. It's probably geographical in
nature -- it's where I live as opposed to where you live. I didn't
mean to ram it down your throat.

I worry about people looking at my work and thinking, "Holy hell! Why
is she charging so much when the other person I bought from charged
about 10% of this?!?" I find that if something isn't selling, and I
mark it up, it sells immediately. Worth is perceived here in a
different way from what your customers see. Plus I think my area has
better-informed customers, probably.

Do charge what you want -- what you said. If it works for you, go for
it.

```````````````````````````````````````````````
wrote:
TOO LOW!!!!!!!!! HOLY COW!

Hi Dr. Sooz!

Ok, I hear ya (loud and clear :-D)

Here is how I arrived at the cost of the mixed Czech glass necklaces on
flexible steel cable (I think this is Tigertail? The lady at Beadzu
didn't say. I asked for something flexible and sturdy that wasn't
nylon). The findings came from Beadzu and the cable is securely
crimped.

The bag of mixed Czech glass cost $6.99; I can get three and a half
necklaces out of each bag (the necklaces are about 18" long). So
there's ~$2.30 worth of beads in each necklace. IIRC, the findings work
out to be about 50 cents each. I can't remember how much the cable cost
me, but let's assume it works out to about $1.50 as well. It takes me
an hour to make each necklace. So I factor in Alberta's minimum wage
($5.90). That works out to be $10.20 for time and materials. $15 if I
add on a little to make a profit.

But...somehow I doubt someone at a craft sale is going to pay $15 for
these. They'll just look at it and say "I could make that myself!" or
pass it up. I have heard it said that if you don't price your work at
what you value it, others won't value it...but in my heart I know the
shoppers may not value it as much as I do. I'm definitely not a
"Wal-Mart" shopper, and I have paid for artisan jewellery and other
artwork - hehe, I own a jug of a nude female torso that I paid $225 for
:-). I'm not afraid to pay the price because I appreciate the time,
work and education of the artist. But not everyone is, unfortunately,
so I have to knock off a few bucks. Don't get me started on the craft
show hagglers :-D

If you have any pricing ideas, I would be happy to hear them.

Thanks,
Christine

People HAGGLE?!?!? Oh my GAWD!!

``````````````````````````````
wrote:
Hi Dr. Sooz!

Don't get me started on the craft
show hagglers :-D

True, I do give stuff away. I'm a bit too sick to do marketing and
stuff. And I don't give jewelry away to just anyone.

But when I do sell, I know what my materials are, I know where to buy
them, and I charge for the worth of my time. I do get $300+ for my
bracelets. I do get over $100 for earrings (and sometimes less). But
I also live in California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a city
full of craftspeople who understand the worth of a handcrafted item.
Becki is right about it all except that I don't give all that much away
(because I don't MAKE all that much stuff). We do agree. (We spoke
via email)

Kudos to *her*. She is more successful than I am, anyway, so listen to
her!
:-D Definitely -- take what you need and leave the rest.

``````````````````````````````````````
wrote:
Blue Moon Beads are just Czech glass beads, repackaged. At least that
is what I have seen at Michaels and other crafts stores around here.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, beat yourself up for what you do not
know. We all start somewhere. I used to make all my jewelry from what
I could get at the craft store, and didn't know the parts weren't as
good as others until I was told, in no uncertain terms, on the AOL
crafts board. They kicked me out of a bead swap for having inferior
quality beads -- what did I know? Don't waste time kicking yourself,
Christine. Women do that too easily and too often. You grow and you
learn.

The reason I suggested you shop at your local bead store (often
referred to in the beading community as LBS) is to get an idea of what
is out there, quality and price. THEN you can come online and know
what you are looking at, and what you are buying. You can get most
everything cheaper from a catalog or online. However, you have to know
what you are buying first. Again, it is a learning process.

Also, I disagree directly with Sooz on pricing. Price it for what you
want to price it. People are always telling me my prices are too low.
When I want to raise them, I will. Make sure you are getting back what
you paid and a profit, and put the price point where you want. Sooz
gives away so many beads and beaded jewelry that she would have to sell
her work for thousands of dollars to ever recoup her costs (hats off to
my friend). Listen to all the advice and like all advice? Take what
you need, and leave the rest. Be thankful to all for their points of
view. The world would be a boring place if we all agreed.

my .02 cents, take it or leave it and either way, thanks for coming to
rec.crafts beads and sharing with us!!!

Becki

Su -- I don't really do stringing, but if I have to, I use
SoftFlex/SoftTouch, yup. Most of my work is beadweaving, and then I do
some wirework (mostly earrings). I string about once every two years,
if that.

````````````````````````````````````
Su wrote:
Sooz, do you still feel SoftFlex/SoftTouch is the best or is there
something you like more for general stringing?

I've not made it into beadweaving yet in any significant way so I don't
have to enter the great beadweaving material problem but I suppose when
I do it will be time to start looking into ordering internationally
again as prices here are still so stiff for whatever I want.

I agree wholeheartedly, use the best materials including your findings.
When we're at a craft/art fair and we explain that ALL our findings
are sterling, all our accents are sterling or Bali silver and we do NOT
use silver-plate (but for the teeny exception of the cell/mobile phone
lanyards as they're only available in plate) the expressions on the
faces of the customers tells the story. It means a lot to them.

If you buy your findings online in bulk, even if you buy 100 or 500
crimps in sterling, they're not horribly expensive and it makes a huge
difference.

I wouldn't buy something now that is plated metal and I wouldn't sell
it either.

We're definitely not WalMart.

-Su

www.tillermanbeads.co.uk
www.britishlampwork.co.uk