Christmas Ornaments - Agriculture Museum

[Joe W.]

Last month I got an order for a piece (she settled on a hummingbird) and during the transaction she suggested I contact the agriculture museum in our city, thinking they might be interested in some of the items I make, especially the Christmas ornaments.

I brought samples of the Christmas ornaments in for their consideration and it has resulted in an order for 10 different patterns, totaling 50 ornaments.

Thought I'd pass this on as another avenue for your sales in/around your area.
P.S.  I also brought in my book of patterns and they expressed an interest in some of the Farm Signs (i.e.; "Farmers Feed The World").

  

[Gene Howe]

How do you all arrive at prices for your work? 

[Joe W.]

52 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

How do you all arrive at prices for your work? 

In this case they are buying them outright - no commission - and my price to them is the same price as I charged customers at this past summer's Farmer's Market spot.

But more to the point - I calculate the cost of materials (wood/blades, and ball-parked cost of minor things like paper, printer ink, tape, stain, etc.).
Using that as a starting point, I'll start by multiplying that by 4 to come up with an initial cost.
From there I add on to that cost a subjective cost based on the complexity of the pattern, factoring in things like stack cutting, amount of time to cut out, and time for doing the finishing (paint vs. stain, assembly, etc.).  Spoiler alert:  it's not even close to minimum wage 

That part is purely an estimate for me.
I could likely charge more for what I sell, but I'm just a retired guy who likes to scroll. 
I'm happy if I can make a few bucks to cover my costs.
It's also very satisfying for me to see people like what I make enough to buy it.
And it keeps the stuff from building up in the house.
Hope that helps.

[meflick]

Congratulations on another revenue source for you.

[Gene Howe]

Thanks, Joe.

[kmmcrafts]

Ornaments in large quantities is what my bread and butter of my business is. Christmas is a big event every year. Companies, and schools is where I reach out too or they have reached out to me. I have a air force basic training person that reaches out to me to make their graduates ornaments with a fighter jet or whatever every year. Typically 300 ornaments ordered and they know I’m busy so fortunately they order early. Just finished my 300 piece order a couple weeks ago. I do slight discounts for them. Several local companies have me make ornaments and or centerpieces for tables at their Christmas parties etc. This all keeps me real busy on top of just selling my items to individuals on Etsy and Amazon. One reason my prices are high on those sites because I get asked quite a lot for bulk / wholesale pricing, if I started low and then they ask for bulk prices I can’t. If I price high then I can drop to a bottom dollar. Anyway, good work bulk company orders sold in gift boxes like I do with my website either printed on the box or a business card in each box is also advertising for me as some of those people look me up. It has drummed up a busy business for me especially this time of year.

[Millwab]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:39 AM, Joe W. said:

I could likely charge more for what I sell, but I'm just a retired guy who likes to scroll. 
I'm happy if I can make a few bucks to cover my costs.
It's also very satisfying for me to see people like what I make enough to buy it.

Joe, couldn’t have said it better myself.  I was invited to be at our county fair last year and went with a display of things you could make with a scrollsaw but went just as an educational demonstrator.  Many of the other vendors there encouraged me to come back this year with things to sell. I did (for the first time ever) and was blown away by the interest in what I had. I was also chastised for setting my prices too low!  As I explained to one customer, I’m a hobbyist and not a business and enjoy sharing my skills with others.  Besides selling most of what I took with me I came home with orders for 19 other projects.  Made enough (even with my "too low prices") to keep me in blades and wood for years to come.  Yes, very satisfying.

Edited November 7, 2022 by Millwab