Hi Gav,
Just to add my view - I started pen-making because I get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from woodworking, and from the finished product. That's the hobby side, for which the reward is the sheer joy of doing it. However, after the first year of turning out more professionally-finished pens my wife said, "Ere, I've just had a count of all the stuff you've made and there's about 200 pens laying about! We'll be in the bloody Poor House at this rate, you cretin!!!" I was astonished at this amount, partly because I had been giving many of them away to friends and relations, and because I still had so many kits waiting to be made, and literally hundreds of blanks I'd been buying from e-bay, etc. (See, this is what happens when you retire and have too much time on your hands!) Anyway, it was time to decide what to do - reduce the number of pens I make, or find an outlook for them. I approached several friends and asked them to be brutally truthful with me - were my pens good enough to sell? I got assurances from everyone that they were. After this I booked several craft fairs - and my pens took off like moon-shots!!! My first takings were, if I recall, £350, £375 and £400, with Slimlines going out at £15-18, Euros at £18-20, Jnr Gents at £20-25, and the prices were about £25 for single fountain pens. When selling matched sets I discounted the price to "give the customer something back", so to speak. EVERY pen was supplied in a nylon case or presentation box, depending on the style. Without sounding big-headed about it, people were gob-smacked at the beauty of my stuff. Neil, Woody, and anyone else who sell their pens will confirm that they, too, have had the same reactions. See, these folks were used to getting their Bic pens from WH Smith's and had never seen a pen not made from cheap see-through plastic. I laugh about it now but looking back to those first craft fairs, and seeing how I was nearly out of stock after the first two, I panicked and spent hours in the workshop making pens, LOL! The main reason for the panic was that the third one was just a week before Xmas, and going by the previous two, I was heading for a sell-out! How embarrassing to man a stall with only half-a-dozen pens!
So anyway, I cracked the problem of how to continue to make pens for enjoyment but be able to recoup the outlay by selling them. I think this answers your question, Gav? Ok, yeah, one other thing...I have tried selling pens at various times throughout the year but have had no success. For me it is the Oct, Nov and Dec periods - pens are ideally suited as presents for ANYONE because we all use 'em, and are in price ranges to suit most pockets. Another thing I've learnt - rarely do folks buy a decent pen for themselves - but will quite happily buy one for someone else. (Husbands and Wives are typical examples of this. Be prepared for both of them to admire your pens and then walk away, and then have one of them slip back on their own and quickly buy a pen for the other partner, and then minutes later, the OTHER partner does exactly the same thing. I swear this is true! I bet they both have a chuckle on Xmas Day!)
Anyway I hope this helps, and I wish you every success and much happiness from our wonderful hobby.
Regards, Bob.
