The Price Of Hand Thrown Pots

Jay

I need advise and directions on the pricing of my pottery. First I know that we are in a free market system, the price is correct (not to high) if the item sells, but we need to be fair. It is of no import how much the pot cost to make. It matter little how much time was invested in production. The amount of rejects that occur during differing stages of production are also unimportant. The simple fact is.... each pot must stand on its own, it must be worth the price charged and be of value to the purchaser.

OK.... a Sara Rayner pot for example is going to cost more than one of mine..... but should it? If my pot is as good and of equal size is it not worth as much? If, I am to charge less for my pot will it be a dis-service to the full time potters out there?

I ask these questions because I will be selling my pots this fall, either here, through my club, at the shop in SugarLoaf or all the above. I do not want to 'give it away' but I am not looking to overcharge either...... at this time, my thought is to grade my pots and to charge a percentage of what a professional will. So if I have a perfect pot I may charge 90% of Sara's price.... if it is less than perfect I might charge 60-75%.... but if it were superior (hey it can happen) I might charge even more due to its uniqueness.......

If you are still reading... does this have merit? PLEASE your thoughts

Jay

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Advertisement

muddslinger

Hi Jay,
I think you have a pretty good starting point. Go with it and see how your pots sell. If they don't, lower the price a little. If they sell faster than you can make them, raise it a little.
When I first started, all of the pots I made for the first year or two wound up as gifts. When I started selling them, I put dirt cheap prices on them and gradually raised them.
When making one of a kind pieces, I think it's perfectly acceptable to price them based on how good you think they are. I often do this with my raku pieces. Keep in mind: just because you don't like a pot, doesn't always mean much. The potter I apprenticed for has a saying: "Somebody's mother will love it". You'll find that just about every pot you make will sell eventually, it just needs the right person to find it.
Best,
Kevin

Jay

Kevin, thanks for the input, to this thread and the otherone in this section. I will let you know how the selling is going, at all the possible sales points. As for the thought about small pinch pots, I will think about it!

J

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Geodude

I think you have come up with a good reasoning for pricing your pots. I've been approached to sell some of my paintings and a stand. I had no idea what to charge for the items, so for the stand, I basically asked for double the material cost. The buyer was extremely happy with the price, which probably meant I could've asked for more. As for the paintings, I have no idea what to do with that.... I'm not an artist by any stretch of imagination, so I almost feel guilty asking for money for a painting. My thought was maybe I can work out a trade of some sort which could benefit both parties.

Good luck with the pottery,
Paul

__________________
Paul

"Life will be sweet like a rhapsody
When I paint my materpiece"

Jay

Paul, just a thought for you. When I was talking to my Pottery Teacher, an artist in his own right, he was talking about a conversation he had with one of the other local artists. In their conversation he asked her, a painter, when was her work worth a thousand dollars. Her answer was simple, "When I placed a $1000.00 price on a painting, and it sold." Interesting!

think about it!
Jay

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Mittar

That is the law of economics. It's worth whatever someone will pay for it.

I think you've got a good start on a pricing strategy, but you will also need to monitor movement vs pricing and see at which point they sell.

__________________
Knees in the breeze.

bnsaijim

Jay,

Depends on how many pots you want to sell. Obviously you want to recoup your expenses, including the expense of those pots that don't make it... You also need to be able to make more pots.

Typical considerations are size (i.e., $X per inch or # of clay used), complexity, glazing. Ultimate quality becomes a multiplier as does your "status". custom pots are more because of the potential experimentation adn creative thought required.

This does not have to be a linear equation.

There is a threshold where the size of the pot creates technical difficulties - that's why a technically perfect pot over 20" starts getting rather expensive. 8" round wheel thrown pots are relatively quick and easy to make with fewer losses... "Bean" pots are just as time consuming to make so might actually cost as much as the 8" pot...

Style might play a role also - "duck bowls" appeal to a limitted crowd- you might have to price slightly lower depending on demand.

As your expertise improves you can always raise your base prices.

Looking at what you posted on IBC, I might say if I liked how they felt in my hand I'd pay $2-3/inch diameter, for example, especially if they are technically sound.

Two of my accent pots sold for $8 last night at the club auction... gee... I'm a perfeshonuhl potter now too! ;^)

Let me know what you think of my ideas!

__________________
Jim Stone
Seki Bonsai Studio
sekibonsai.com
Santa Fe, TX

Jay

Jim thanks for the food for thought. I guess you are a perfeshonuhl.. heck you sold your work!

Your price guideline is coming in under what I had been thinking. What does that mean, it means I need to rethink! Not re-price...yet. I take your input very seriously and will mull over the ideas and the pricing guidlines..... But in all situations, when there is no 'Vanity' name to the pot, it will sell if someone believes it to be worth the price. As you said, the lower the price, the better the chance of it selling!

Jay

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Geodude

Jim and Jay (and Bonsaial):
Just out of curiosity, do you guys sign or chop your pots (and stands)? Someone made the remark that I should sign the stands I make. Since then, I put a very small mark on the bottom, but I'm not sure about signing or putting my chop on it.

Thanks,
Paul

__________________
Paul

"Life will be sweet like a rhapsody
When I paint my materpiece"