November brings cooler temperatures and the beginning of the holiday season. The Harvest Festivals of last month have given way to Holiday Craft Shows and Markets; if you know where to look, you can find multiple shows to attend every weekend between now and December 25!
While some woodturners are beginning to craft handmade gifts for loved ones and family members, others are preparing to sell their wood-turned items at these holiday craft markets.
Woodturners who are getting ready to sell merchandise face a unique challenge: once you’ve turned the bowls, ornaments, pens, and vases, you have to decide how to price them. You want to make sure the price reflects all the work you’ve put in, but you also want to make sure your products get sold. How do you know what price is too high or too low?
This guide will help you think about what goes into your craft and make sure your work is priced so that it covers your costs, honors your time, and feels fair to customers.
Before you can begin setting the price point for each new product you turn, you will need to understand what it is you’re charging for. Many woodturners undersell themselves, as they only factor in the price of materials they have to purchase, like wood blanks and finish.
This can be especially problematic if the wood you acquired was free at the outset. It can feel somewhat unethical to ask people to pay for a bowl or platter when you did not have to pay for the raw materials. (If you want to find out how people manage to find wood blanks without paying for them, see our blog posts on Choosing the Best Wood and Turning Greenwood!)
However, whether your wood or other materials are exotic and expensive or extremely basic (or even from your backyard), you need to also factor in your labor and other aspects of the process that you may not have considered when pricing your products for holiday craft shows.
First, weigh the time it took to design each piece you are selling. You may have perfected the design of a few of your signature items like pens, bowls, or Christmas ornaments, but it still takes time to come up with an initial plan for the items in question, and you’re also factoring in all the time it takes to become practiced at those designs.
Tool sharpening and shop upkeep are other factors to think about when pricing your items. You have spent time and money to procure the tools and equipment you have and to keep them in good working order. Without the time and resources spent on your tools, equipment, and shop space, your customers would not receive the same quality of work.
Another overlooked aspect of woodturning is the time (and patience!) it takes to sand a piece before finishing it. This is especially true if you are sanding items by hand, but even if you keep the item on the lathe, sanding takes time and resources.
Lastly, you’ll want to add into your calculations what it takes to participate in these holiday markets. It takes time to transport and set up your wood-turned wares. And while craft shows are often fun places to meet people who appreciate your work, they can take a significant amount of time and energy to attend, especially when you add in the application and stall fees.
Overall, when pricing your work, you’ll want to shift from a materials-cost mindset to a craftsmanship-value mindset. You are selling a product that your customers cannot create themselves. They value the products you turn even if they don’t understand the time and resources that are needed to make each item.
Now that you’re in the right mindset, ready to charge not just for your materials but for the full value of your time, labor, and expertise as a craftsperson, follow this four-step process to price your materials fairly.
Your base costs will include several of the things we mentioned above. First, you will need to factor in the costs of your materials: blanks, finish, sandpaper, etc.
Then, you’ll want to add in the equipment costs. Think about things like tool wear and your overhead for things like lathe maintenance and electricity for your shop.
Lastly, you will want to add in your time and labor costs. Pricing your time can be tricky and will depend on factors like your experience as a woodturner, the region in which you are selling, and the complexity of the items you are creating. That being said, most woodturners charge at least $20-$25/hour, and some charge up to $100 or $150 per hour depending on their experience. Make sure to also include your time and labor for prep work, finishing, and cleanup.
Once you have all these things in mind, use this formula to calculate your base price:
(Materials + Overhead + Time) × General Markup = Base Price
General Markup refers to the profit you make on each item. Usually, when selling products, a craftsperson wants to not just recoup his or her costs but make a little bit as well. It is common to add a markup of two or three times the total cost of the materials, time, and overhead, or a 100%-200% markup. This gives you a baseline retail price that reflects the value of your labor and craft.
Once you have your base price in mind, you will need to add the seasonal markup appropriate for this time of year. You might wonder whether you really need to add extra markup, since you already added your profit margin in the last step.
However, a holiday markup of 10-20% in the months of November and December is normal because it adjusts for your limited supply and the high demand for handmade crafts during the holidays. Customers also value convenience and speed, and they know that when they buy your items, they have a ready-made gift for their loved ones.
This seasonal markup can also help offset any extra time you’ve spent producing inventory for the holiday craft shows, the booth fees we mentioned above (which are often higher for sellers at holiday markets than they are at craft shows throughout the year), and the particular wear on your tools and equipment that come from making many of the same items.
Also, if you are a vendor who accepts credit card payments at the market (a wise move, as many people don’t carry much cash on hand) this markup can also help offset credit card processing fees.
So, for example: if your piece costs $10 in materials and one hour of work, and your hourly rate is $25, your base price would be $35 (without overhead). Your general markup would bring the base price to $70. Add 20% for holiday demand, and you would price this item at $84 for the holiday market.
After you’ve calculated your price and added your seasonal markup, you’ll want to take some time to check that your pricing is in the same ballpark as other products similar to yours. After all, you don’t want to price your items so high in comparison to others that yours won’t sell. On the other hand, you want to avoid undercutting others’ prices and devaluing the work you and other woodturners put into your craft.
To do this kind of research, you can start by going online to see what comparable items are selling for on Etsy or other sites that sell handmade items. Remember that customers expect a slightly higher price at craft fairs, because one of the things they are paying for is the convenience of having the item in hand that day; there is no need to wait for shipping, as they would have to if they were buying online.
You can also check other craft fairs or local galleries to get an idea of how other woodturners are pricing their products.
If you are just starting to sell your items, you might take some notes as you research and think about prices as fitting into beginner, intermediate, and expert levels. This season, you might price your items at the beginner level and, once you feel comfortable with how quickly your items sell and how much profit you are making, increase the price in subsequent years.
Lastly, when selling at holiday craft shows, remember that one of the best things you can do is communicate the value of your uniquely turned projects. Customers attend these markets to find distinctive, one-of-a-kind items for themselves and their loved ones.
Tell customers about the story behind each piece; maybe the wood you used has special significance because of its origin or connection to the region, or maybe you’ve been experimenting with some new techniques. Don’t get overly technical, but emphasizing the individual, hand-made aspects of the item can both help customers understand the value of the item and help you make a personal connection with them.
You can also include signs or displays that explain some of your techniques or processes for creating or finishing each item. For example, instead of putting out a sign that says, “bowl: $40,” you could try “Hand-turned cherry bowl, locally sourced wood: $40.”
Maker story cards also increase the uniqueness of each piece and can emphasize the subtle differences between similar handmade items. Story cards can also give customers the chance to hear more about you and your work even once they leave the craft fair.
When pricing your handmade wood-turned items, avoid these common pricing mistakes:
This happens when you calculate the base cost without adding general or seasonal markups. If you are turning a few pieces to give to friends and family members for gifts, you may not worry about “getting paid.”But if you are selling your work with the goal of making even a slight amount of profit, you’ll need to remember that you are the one cutting your own checks. Set your prices in a way that allows you to pay yourself as you would an employee, remembering to figure in the expenses associated with each market.
Once you have decided on a price for an item during this year’s holiday craft shows, it’s a good idea to stick to it. There are people who attend many craft shows during the holiday season and they may notice and wonder about inconsistencies.
For example, if the same bowl sells for $60 at one show but $40 at the next, a previous buyer may feel like he or she was overcharged or that they should have waited to purchase the bowl. It also might make them feel like your pricing is arbitrary or unprofessional.
The same is true if your product prices are radically different on your website and at the holiday markets. As we mentioned above, customers at these markets are expecting a slightly higher price, but you don’t want to have a drastically higher price at holiday craft shows than online.
Pricing inconsistently can also encourage people to wait until your item is cheaper somewhere else. Buyers become trained to wait for the show where your prices run lower, the sale on Etsy, or the platform where you “usually price cheaper.” This mindset can hurt your overall sales as customers hold off on purchasing your products in the moment.
Overall, consistency in pricing builds trust with your customers and enhances your professionalism. Remember that you are building a customer base who will come back to buy your wares next year as well, not just trying to make a few bucks this year.
Another common temptation woodturners face when pricing their items is lowering a price out of guilt. We are often our own harshest critics, and we can feel like our work is not worth the price worked out using the formula above. This feeling can be amplified by customers who may peruse your booth but make comments, to you or to other customers as they shop, about the “high prices” and the idea that they could “find this cheaper elsewhere.”
While it is true that plastic Christmas ornaments, bowls and toys might be made for pennies in China and sold at retail stores for a couple of dollars, you need to remind yourself—and your customers—that creating one-of-a-kind handmade crafts is not the work of a few minutes. The products in front of your customers are a result of years of experience and hours of labor.
Overall, as you price your wonderful wood-turned wares, remember that your pricing is part of valuing your craft. You’ll need to go through this same four-step pricing process every year or two to make sure that your items are priced fairly but in a way that honors your time and labor.
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