How much do you sell sierra pens for ?

[johnny5]

I have put the cost of the kit , time making it , wood lighting and heating and presentation box.

I sell them for £15 to £20 each depending on wood.

On ebay at the moment hand made olive wood Sierras for sale £7.50 with free p&p :nonono:

How do you make any money for that price ?

 

[yorkshireman]

Anybody selling sierras for that price is insane, they may just as well burn money and save the effort of turning. I sell mine for £20 irrespective of the blank used.

 

[bellringer]

I sell them for between £30-£40 the customers pay it so that all the matters

 

[Terry]

I sell mine for £25 which I think is a fair price for the costs that go into making them !!!!

 

[PhillH]

20 for me extra for the presentation case.

 

[fionaspens]

We sell Sierra's at £25 ~ postage is extra. If it's an inlay we charge £20 + the price of the inlay in US dollars. If the inlay costs 19$ we add on £19 ~ if it's $40 we add on £40 etc. By the time you've paid postage and import duties the price in dollars is virtually the same in pounds unless you bulk buy.

Hope this helps Fiona

 

[johnny5]

We sell Sierra's at £25 ~ postage is extra. If it's an inlay we charge £20 + the price of the inlay in US dollars. If the inlay costs 19$ we add on £19 ~ if it's $40 we add on £40 etc. By the time you've paid postage and import duties the price in dollars is virtually the same in pounds unless you bulk buy.

Hope this helps Fiona

Thanks Fiona,
I am looking to open an online shop with web page.
Any ideas on what service provider to use and how much a month to arrange, all I want is a thumbnail arrangement with paypal facility for orders.

 

[silver]

I agree with Fiona, the price works out to about that if you buy in small quantities, that is less than £100.

If you buy in larger quantities above £250 then that's when you can start saving a little bit on postage and handling fees.

If you do buy large quantities then use xe.com for a reference of exchange rates and then add 23% for import costs including VAT?

That's about what it will cost to import from USA. Australia Is a different cost again.

I use e-mail shop for my server, it costs less than £10 a year to run..

 

[edlea]

Mine are £23.99 including Black velvet presentation case and UK postage

 

[Penpal]

Prices sound fair to me the low low one is familiar the world over one to watch out for if you find yourself next door at a fair for example.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[silver]

The price of allot of the pens on e bay are such as that because there are allot of turners that just sell them to finace a hobby and keep them active in their retirement. I'm aware of a couple of them but they won't change as all they want to it turn a pen, sell it for what it costs for parts only..

I believe that some of them even make a loss. but do they realise that, I'm not sure they do.

Sad as it is, but there will always be some of them and what they sell is cheap pens, and that is probably what they have become known for.

All you need to do is concentrate on selling good quality pens at a price to match..

I would market the sierra at anything from £18 to £50, depending on the kit, blank, finish and what presentation box it comes in.

 

[Jim]

£7.50 does look a tad on the low side, to me it looks as though the guy just want his money back to keep paying for his hobby??

Just seen what Eamonn wrote while i was fannying about writing mu one liner ...

 

[Doug]

The main thing is to sell your pens for what you are happy to receive for them, too late after you've taken the money to think I've sold it too cheaply & only the maker knows what its taken to produce a pen. I doubt any of us make a Sierra exactly the same way, in the same time with the same finish etc.

As long as you're happy,what others charge is irrelevant that's the way I look at it.

 

[stevenw1963]

Between £15 & £20 is what I charge for the sierra's.

 

[rowdyyates115]

The main thing is to sell your pens for what you are happy to receive for them, too late after you've taken the money to think I've sold it too cheaply & only the maker knows what its taken to produce a pen. I doubt any of us make a Sierra exactly the same way, in the same time with the same finish etc.

As long as you're happy,what others charge is irrelevant that's the way I look at it.

I agree Doug, I know its a bad feeling to realise that you have sold it too cheaply... But it sure don't take long to learn...

 

[silver]

I know that Ian, dots lad regularly sells them on e bay for relatively low prices, however it suits him and keep Ian occupied which he probably needs even more so now under his circumstances.

But as Doug says, it's not what other sell pens for, it's what you can sell your pens for is the the most important part of being what you expect from your sales.

We can support anyone on here, regardless if what they sell pens for, it's important to support them in what they do and help them to realise what they want to achieve in life.

If that is to help them maintain an active life and sell pens for zero profit, then we (I) support them in that..

 

[dotslad]

I read this topic with great interest and agree with most of your comments especially the comment by Silver who I think has hit the nail on the head.
The reason for selling on e bay at non profit prices was to clear a stock of some 90 pens (of which I have 7 left ) this enabled me to purchase more kits and wood blanks which means that the operation was a complete success and I shall be turning pens well into the new year.

 

[Doug]

I read this topic with great interest and agree with most of your comments especially the comment by Silver who I think has hit the nail on the head.
The reason for selling on e bay at non profit prices was to clear a stock of some 90 pens (of which I have 7 left ) this enabled me to purchase more kits and wood blanks which means that the operation was a complete success and I shall be turning pens well into the new year.

Good for you Ian
There's a lot more to life than just earning money, important as that is.

 

[paulm]

I sell mine depending on how much I have to pay for the wood but they start at £20 and work up. I have been told by people that they're too cheap and others that they're lovely but too expensive. The people who pay a reasonable amount of money for their pens cherish them and they treat them as an item of quality and something they love. People who pay £8 chuck them in the drawer alongside the Bics... sell pens cheap and they're cheap pens.

 

[amazilia]

I've made pens for all the relatives this year, about 40, my first 40 ! The quality of the early ones is definately lacking but I am improving now. I have looked (in my hand) at craft fairs near me at a number of £7 - £10 pens and mostly they are poor ! I am hoping to sell a few in the future and it seems to me for any kit, once some quality is there,and at the bottom of the market, the price needs to be £12 ++ with many variables.
Regards Terry