Ideas and Inspiration for
Artisan Jewelry Designers
for Vintage Jewelry Supplies
Pricing Your Work
You will find that the cost of the items used to make your jewelry has no bearing on the price you charge for your creations.
The degree of difficulty and time it took for you to make the design should be your first consideration. This lesson will guide you in making pricing decisions when you start to sell your work to the public or to stores and galleries.
The wholesale cost of these earrings is $37.50.
The boutique selling these earrings will offer them at a retail cost of more than $75.00.
This lesson will be very helpful if you wish to sell your jewelry to stores. Never undercut your wholesale client's prices. When you sell to the public also, you must sell at the same price the stores sell your items. This is wholesale.
Now consider that if it takes you five hours to make something, selling it for $12.00 means you worked for $2.40 per hour and paid for the parts yourself. Your time, your talent and the fact that you are selling an original work means the item is worth more than a mass produced item. You are not competing with that market. If you don't charge enough to both pay yourself and replenish your supplies, you will not be in business for very long.
I recently heard about artists who search eBay for sellers who list their work very cheaply. The bidder gets the item for very little money and then takes it apart to use the components in their own work.
Perceived value - Often the price a piece commands at auction will help you to determine the value of what you create. This is how the market value of antiques and collectibles is determined. The amount of money a buyer is willing to pay for an object becomes the value of that object.
This necklace was sold for $250 at a fund raiser silent auction. The intrinsic value of the piece has nothing to do with cost of goods used to create the piece. The artistic presentation was what the buyer found of value.
The degree of difficulty and time it took for you to make the design should be your first consideration. This lesson will guide you in making pricing decisions when you start to sell your work to the public or to stores and galleries.
The wholesale cost of these earrings is $37.50.
The boutique selling these earrings will offer them at a retail cost of more than $75.00.
This lesson will be very helpful if you wish to sell your jewelry to stores. Never undercut your wholesale client's prices. When you sell to the public also, you must sell at the same price the stores sell your items. This is wholesale.
Now consider that if it takes you five hours to make something, selling it for $12.00 means you worked for $2.40 per hour and paid for the parts yourself. Your time, your talent and the fact that you are selling an original work means the item is worth more than a mass produced item. You are not competing with that market. If you don't charge enough to both pay yourself and replenish your supplies, you will not be in business for very long.
I recently heard about artists who search eBay for sellers who list their work very cheaply. The bidder gets the item for very little money and then takes it apart to use the components in their own work.
Perceived value - Often the price a piece commands at auction will help you to determine the value of what you create. This is how the market value of antiques and collectibles is determined. The amount of money a buyer is willing to pay for an object becomes the value of that object.
This necklace was sold for $250 at a fund raiser silent auction. The intrinsic value of the piece has nothing to do with cost of goods used to create the piece. The artistic presentation was what the buyer found of value.
Now for some design tips!
Layering different pieces together allows you to create truly unique settings. The pictures below show you the finished product and then the parts I used to create the piece. Using the links of the chain as jumprings, really helps to unify the design.
The 40x30mm stone isn't perfect because it is more than 50 years old, but it doesn't m
atter that much, since only a little of the front of stone shows. Don't discard something because it has a scratch or breaks in half. It can still play a part in one of your creations.
We now have two shopping web sites! www.VintageJewelrySupplies.com or www.AccessoriesSusan.com
Layering different pieces together allows you to create truly unique settings. The pictures below show you the finished product and then the parts I used to create the piece. Using the links of the chain as jumprings, really helps to unify the design.
The 40x30mm stone isn't perfect because it is more than 50 years old, but it doesn't m
atter that much, since only a little of the front of stone shows. Don't discard something because it has a scratch or breaks in half. It can still play a part in one of your creations. We now have two shopping web sites! www.VintageJewelrySupplies.com or www.AccessoriesSusan.com