Pens for craft shows

[handmadekrafts]

Hi there I have been an ambitious pen turner for a while now. I am looking to do my first craft show and here is an example of one of my slimline twist pens. I charge anyone £9.99 for these at the show and this also includes a black velvet sleeve Am I over charging? Thank you for your help as always

 

[ni9eofse7en]

That to me is a good price, if anything slightly undervalued, but going by my efforts so far, I know nothing. You will get many a valuable reply in the coming days from those who have been out there in selling land for many a while.

 

[rayf6604]

Looks like a Streamline pen rather than a slimline and I charge £11.95, so keep clear of my fairs
Seriously, though, be prepared to be disappointed with sales. I've been doing them since March and I generally count myself lucky if I sell between 1 and 3 pens. Maybe you'll be a better salesman than I am but I don't like being pushy. Good luck with it and I hope you do well. I'm looking forward to the Xmas fairs in Oct, Nov, and Dec to see if they prove the better times of the year for selling pens.

 

[bellringer]

I would change £20 but I in Surrey

 

[Jim]

£10 is what i sell them for, but at the end of the day it is about how much you can get for them ..

 

[Vic Perrin]

It's all about how much you can get for them in the area that you live. You can either sell one or two at £10-£12 or a load at £7.50.

I go at £7.50 for Slimlines in my area and sell a lot but I am not trying to make a living it's my hobby and what money I take goes straight back into buying stock.

Vic

 

[johns486]

I normally get £17.50 a tenner sounds a bit cheap but if it works for you. If these are the prices at fairs I don't think I will be doing them.

 

[rayf6604]

I normally get £17.50 a tenner sounds a bit cheap but if it works for you. If these are the prices at fairs I don't think I will be doing them.

Usually you're the only one selling pens at fairs, in fact I won't do a fair if there is another pen seller there as well as me. It is all about where you are so it's entirely possible you could get your price at a fair in the right place. It's more about the majority of punters who don't want to buy a pen at any price. It's the few who show an interest that generally buy, I find at any rate

 

[yorkshireman]

I'd charge £15 for a slimline in a box and spare refill

 

[chas_41_uk]

£10 sounds like a very low price to me. I charge between £15 and £17.50 for a streamline in a cardboard box

 

[silver]

I charge anyone £9.99 for these at the show and this also includes a black velvet sleeve Am I over charging?

welcome to the forum, to answer your question?

Are you selling any? If so how many?

If you are selling only one a day then they may well be overpriced for your customer base, or they may think that they are cheap and made from cheap products.

Are you selling 20 and 30 a day if so then they may be too cheap or your customer base may believe they are getting great products and fair price..

The answer is in there somewhere, may sound like a politicians answer, but it's there..

The pen will only sell if the customer wants to buy it...

So glad I don't sell at fairs...

 

[glenpen]

Hi Jamie
Welcome to life of selling at a Fair. I took the plunge just over 12 month ago after travelling round my area visiting different Fairs watching how much people were willing to spend on items not just pens but other similar things. I was invited by Neil to go with him to a show he was at, I learnt that much from him teaching me how to sell for that is what you are doing. From my observations I realised in my area people did not spend a lot of money perhaps they didn't have it. I came to the conclusion that as this was my hobby I would make a little profit and hopefully sell more and put the money straight back into my kitty and that seems to work for me.
The following formula works for me and I am happy and the customers are happy. I work out the cost of making the pen and then add between 100% to 150% I then make a decision if I think they would sell at this figure and fine tune. I gain on some and loose on others but over-all I make enough to be happy. I sell different pens at the same price eg. Slimline & Streamline all at £10, it makes it so much easier to sell on the stall. The other thing I do ( just doing now ) I work out the price and keep to that price for 12month and then revue them again after the 12 month.
Your lovely pen is a Streamline or now called Broad by some suppliers.
Glen

 

[handmadekrafts]

Thank you folks for your guidance I agree with Vic this is a hobby for me to but I would love to share my projects with other people

 

[Penpal]

Jamie two things I admire your post for one is your great pen only makers define the kit from one to another its not compulsory or needed to sell and the other you named your price congratulations respect you for it, now the suggestions will follow you indeed invited that. Thank you for showing your pen and from now on awareness is there I would be guided by those who do this for a living for market awareness. A recent forum member related showing his wares here before a sales day and also gave a frank assessment of his day these are guides as well.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

The price sound right for, if start selling a lot then it would be the time to raise the price a bit.

 

[Neil]

£10 is far too cheap, you are effectively loosing money, at best drawing evens. The visible costs are easy to work out, but I did a calculation on the hidden costs, and that includes everything from bandsaw blades, all consumables etc, but I did not include depreciation, so just the costs of actually making the pen, and one cost that often gets overlooked, the cost of sale, the cost of the pen stands, the cost of the spare refills, the cost of the box, the cost of the coffee whilst at a show, it all adds up, in fact, with table fees it costs five quid to sell a pen before you've even costed in the cost of the kit, the wood, and the profit, if in deed you are really making a profit, or are you invisibly loosing money?

Don't go along with the variation in cost according to wear you live, sorry, but have sold streamlines successfully at shows from Scotland to Germany and all counties in England and Wales in between. Never been to Anglesey. Pen cost £15, always.

 

[paulm]

£17.99... sell it cheap and its a cheap pen, make em want it and its a piece to talk about.

 

[Neil]

£17.99... sell it cheap and its a cheap pen, make em want it and its a piece to talk about.

Spot on Paul, even though you are a diver, CD does stand for criminally deranged by the way!

Lesson from Gary Rance, a pen is a pen, put it in a box and its a gift.
One bit of experience I'll pass on, when I was asked if I sold pens, I said no, I sold stories!

 

[paulm]

Spot on Paul, even though you are a diver, CD does stand for criminally deranged by the way!

Lesson from Gary Rance, a pen is a pen, put it in a box and its a gift.
One bit of experience I'll pass on, when I was asked if I sold pens, I said no, I sold stories!

Oi... I resemble that remark!!!!

 

[Neil]

Pressure always did funny things to ones brain