I mean I don't usually price my stuff to sell.
Don't get me wrong, I want to sell it, I just don't price it that way.
One of the great mysteries of ceramics.
What should I ask for my stuff.
There are a couple of schools of thought on this: blue light special and ridiculous.
Oh, and there is the in between.
Otto Heino, a pottery big shot, developed this yellow glaze way back when. The glaze was so revered, the Japanese offered to buy it from him.
Nix on that says he.
I'll loan it to you, for like half a million bucks.
That's half a million, dollars like.
For just using the glaze.
Where do we send the check says the Japanese.
Now my name isn't Otto and I'm not famous and I don't have my own yellow glaze, so I'm not getting six figures for my pottery.
Hell, not a lot of folks are getting six figures either. Pottery is just, well, pots to most folks.
In the East, It's considered more of an art form than it is here. Besides, the Japanese don't like perfection in their pottery, they like it to be eccentric.
So anyways, getting back to moi, if you've been following along at home, you know that I don't make a whole lotta stuff.
Functional stuff I mean. Stuff you can actually use is just not my cup of well, tea.
I have a friend who sits at his wheel and cranks stuff out in prolific quantities and does the local craft fairs.
Okay, not prolific but enough to keep him busy and his kiln filled.
He must price out at market value. Meaning he can't sell his bowls for twenty bucks if the dude next door is selling his for ten.
Economics.
Well, I have my own sort of Flat Tire Economics.
I price my stuff so outrageously high, you have to think twice about even picking it up.
Trust me on this, I've seen the double takes.
Since I've put a selling price on the Industrial Teapot(40w Tea), I'll use it as an example:
First of all, I take into consideration how many folks could make a particular piece.
Well, the pot in question is sort of one of a kind so it's stock goes up. It's a triptych of sorts since it is made up of three matching pieces.
Then I factor in the size and how much time went into the creating part.
This is tricky for most folks don't take that into consideration. I mean there are elements that only another ceramic person would understand.
Finally, I ask myself if I really really want to sell it. Has it spent enough time in The Flat Tire Gallery? Am I tired of looking it yet?
Okay enough already Mr. Flat Tire, what do want for it?
Well, the folks at the show take forty percent, though I usually don't take that into consideration.
So I put down the whopping price of $500.
Wow Mr. Flat! you must be outta your mind!
Sort of.
Mainly, I want the buyer to be out of his or her mind.
What I'm doing is creating value.
A cheap pot is just that, a cheap pot.
Sort of like getting one of those cheap Wally World bikes. Do you really care?
Now if you are plunking down beaucoup bucksage on that carbon fibre Speziale, you know you are taking care of it.
It has value.
You had to think twice about buying it.
You spent more than you wanted to.
See where I'm going?
Now economics says I don't sell a whole lot of my stuff and I'm okay with that.
I know that the stuff I do sell, has a nice home and someone that really really appreciates it.
That, makes me happy.
Now, the mugs.
Dilemmasvile.
Seeing as how they are functional items, they should be priced at market value.
On the other hand, they are one of a kind, meaning no two are exactly alike, so they are unique.
They also take a long time to make.
So I haven't yet decided on a price, or even if I'm going to put em out there for sale. Then of course, I have to think about economics.
Supply and demand, don't you know.
Anyways, these are just a few of the things an artist/craft person thinks about when pricing out their stuff.
We'll take another look at this when the show opens on Friday.
Setting a value on your work is not as easy at it sounds.
Unless of course, you're just pricing it to sell.
No comments:
Post a Comment