If you’re like most jewelry artisans, raising prices is anxiety-provoking. Jewelry makers fear if they raise prices, people will stop buying, that they will price themselves out of reach, and other negative outcomes. On the other hand, many who raise prices find they start selling even more than before. Here are five thoughts about raising […]
No topic is more vexing for jewelry makers than how to price their jewelry. At one of my seminars, a jewelry maker admitted she had priced her bracelets “intuitively” based on what she thought people would pay for them. Until her husband added up the cost of the parts and told her she was losing […]
The most common advice I give jewelry makers is to charge more. That’s because so many of you are underpricing yourselves. I know you may not feel you’re worth it. But consider this: People often associate the VALUE of something with its PRICE. They think a bottle of vodka should be better because it costs more. Even if […]
If you haven’t raised your prices in a while, now’s the time. Why? Because I have met few artisan jewelers (that’s you) who are charging enough for their jewelry. How do you know if it’s worth more than you’re currently charging? You won’t know until you start charging more for it and people buy it. […]
Every once in a while I get a question from a handmade jewelry artist that goes something like this: “I want to show people what my jewelry is REALLY worth, so I’d like to put one stunning piece out at my booth that has a much higher price than my typical work. I’ll write “sold” […]
One of the more common questions I get is whether or not an artisan jewelry maker should create a “lower priced” line ($5-15) to capture the lowest end of the jewelry buying market. My answer is: No. Why? Because the very best designs come from the passion you have for designing and making jewelry. As […]
What can you learn from supermarkets about pricing your jewelry? PLENTY! There is no better place to study consumer buying habits than the aisles of supermarkets, where consumers have quite literally thousands of choices in a single store. One of the things that supermarkets know is that little things make a big difference. And that […]
A friend of mine who is a big guy likes telling me that in American restaurants, “quantity is quality.” And in jewelry — and many other things, like consumer products — PRICE is quality. Why is this? Most people you sell to cannot judge the true qualities of a piece of jewelry. They don’t know […]
For artisan jewelry makers, selling can be like “A Tale of Two Cities” — the best of times, and the worst of times. Here’s an example: A student (we’ll call her “Susan” — not her real name) at one of my marketing seminars made free-form “caged” pendants in sterling silver wire, wrapped around beautiful polished […]
This past Friday, I did my seminar, The 5 Keys to Selling Handcrafted Jewelry at Bead Fest. We ALWAYS have some great discussions at these live seminars. And one of the liveliest discussions was about the use of formulas to price your jewelry. Most people who know me know that I am against formulas. I’m […]