Thread: hand made goods

well i would like to pose this to you all. why when you make something by hand its is so hard to get any money out of it. for example, i turn pens. i use high end figured wood with a mirror finish on them. but pretty much for me to make anything off them i would have to charge about 20 bucks for one. all said and done the supplies run me about 11 bucks for a nice kit and he wood and finishing materials. well when you tell a person that you would like 20 dollars for a pen they scoof at the idea of that. i enjoy what i do but when you cant recoup your cost sometimes and try to pass on a nice product it is a bit discouraging. well this is just my 2 cents. anyone else got any thoughts on this one

I guess the folks that are looking at your pens are not collectors. There was a program on a while ago and this fellow was a pen collector and had a $300k fountain pen that would never be used. Just for looks. So there is a market for everyone. You just need to find those that appreciate your skills at turning blanks into a thing of beauty and quality.

i would say pretty much any nicely made item, not just pen. just food for thought

People walk into the tattoo shop and ask for a price on a sleeve or a back piece. When I tell them it is $150 an hour some look at me like I'm from the moon. Others say okay, lets get started. I wouldn't want to admit what I've paid for some of the custom razors I've gotten and worth every penny to me. I'm not into pens but I know there is a market for them for some folks. Hang in there and if you build a better mousetrap I hear that the world will beat a path to your door.... or so Ralph Waldo Emerson said.

I'm only 40, so I'm not old enough to have spanned several generations, but I wonder if it's a product of our current culture and the virtually universal drive in consumers to buy the lowest cost (almost invariably the lowest quality item at that) products available. The Walmart planet.

Many people shop primarily at Walmart, at least in my area. I've literally never purchased a single thing there. But, what are the odds that anyone could convince a die hard Walmart shopper to buy something of high quality, handmade and at a fair price? About nil.

Maybe I'm negative on the subject, but I agree with you.

I have a friend who is retired and is a cabinet maker and woodworker as an income generating hobby to supplement his social security income. A few weeks ago he bid a kitchen cabinet job for a local homeowner. The homeowner did not want to pay more than what would have amounted to the cost of materials plus fifty cents per hour. My friend couldn't/didn't do the job because of that reason.

Chris L

Chris, if Emerson were alive today maybe he would have said build a cheaper mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

There are people who are willing to pay for good craftsmanship. The trick is finding someone who appreciates your work and can also afford it. Plenty of people appreciate my boxes, but not all can afford them.

There will always be people who scoff at your prices. Look for those who like your work but cannot pay for it. That's the reason places like museums and galleries exist. On the other hand, if everyone honestly thinks you're charging too much, maybe you should rethink your pricing (though I don't think that's an issue for you).

Let's be honest with ourselves, we spend money on handmade goods like custom razors because we like razors. We care far less about other things.

I don't buy expensive pens because a plastic bic does just fine for me.
I don't buy handmade clothes because off the shelf clothes can fit just fine if you look around and try them on.
I don't buy an Italian hand made car because my 8 year old french car serves me just fine, dents, scrapes and busted plastic rims notwithstanding.
I don't buy an expensive handmade pocketknife because my 100$ spyderco is just fine.

Get the idea?
Just because you provide fine handcrafted good does not mean that anyone will buy them unless they have a special interest in said goods. anyone else just buys the most cost effective thing. As for pens: my wife and I always use pens that you get with advertising, with seminars, etc. We haven't bought pens, ever.

and if you are honest with yourself: that is how you live too. Only you happen to care about pens. But there are loads of other things where you don't really care about handmade quality and go for the cost effective solution.

I think it does depend on where your interests lie.

I'll throw money at the things I'm interested in; Razors, guitars, guns, cars...

I have a really high quality fountain pen that my parents got my when I started work. I like the idea that I'll have this pen my whole career and I really love it. It has real sentimental value to me, but I dont think I'd necessarily go out and spend a lot on another pen, just because I have this one. But if I didnt, then I would, but I'd only buy one because I'm not a collector of pens.

The thing is with high quality items like this is that they dont wear out. If you get an expensive quality wrist watch, it'll last you the rest of your life. And you won't buy another one unless you're a collector.

Originally Posted by jballs918

well i would like to pose this to you all. why when you make something by hand its is so hard to get any money out of it. for example, i turn pens. i use high end figured wood with a mirror finish on them. but pretty much for me to make anything off them i would have to charge about 20 bucks for one. all said and done the supplies run me about 11 bucks for a nice kit and he wood and finishing materials. well when you tell a person that you would like 20 dollars for a pen they scoof at the idea of that. i enjoy what i do but when you cant recoup your cost sometimes and try to pass on a nice product it is a bit discouraging. well this is just my 2 cents. anyone else got any thoughts on this one

I've seen kit pens priced MUCH hihger than that.

It's the same with custom knives though. A while back I sold a damascus knife with special custom made micarta handle scales on it. I did fileworking on it. I spent a LOT of time on it. Say close to 12 hours I think. Included a nice sheath.

Ended up selling for 50 euro's. There was at least 40 euros on materials in there. So yeah.....0,50 euro's an hour....sounds pretty normal if you're not one of the big names.