I have been interested in how other crafters price their merchandise. I'm not completely sure a set rule is always best. I have been doing this a lot of years and I have found that the market area, other crafters, and eye appeal all have a lot to do with what we can get for our items.

I always look around at others and see what they sell items similar to mine for, and also I visit craft shows and shops and notice pricing, quality,& materials.

I wholesale many items I make to shops and those prices are usually doubled for retail.  Therefore we have to be careful about the cost of the materials in those items.

As a rule, craft show prices are about 75% of what a shop retail would be. Also, if an item sells too fast, then the price may be a little low. If it doesn't sell, then it may be a little high.

I have also found eye appeal is very important. If an item catches the eye of the customer - that is more important than the price. Display often helps eye-appeal, too. If your space looks good and draws people to it, then your merchandise will sell and you should be able to make a good profit.

Quite a bit has been said about tags and this is also important. They don't have to be fancy, but eye-appealing. I started out cutting tags out of brown grocery bags with pinking shears and printing each one separately. I have finally advanced to computer-made tags which look good and I can have a variety of tags - one for each different item or category of items - and many different colors and print styles.

I feel that we should all make our crafts of high quality materials and workmanship,then charge a fair price. The consumer will buy when the item is good and the price is fair.

SHOP KEEPER