# Pricing Pens



## stevenhuff

I am trying to figure out how to price pens for sale.  Does anyone have a formula they use or suggestions?  I would appreciate any thoughts.


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## TonyL

This doesn't answer your question, however.....

You may get a very general idea by visiting Etsy or similar sites to see what others advertise to sell...who knows what someone ultimately winds-up paying?

I do 4 to 6 times my materials' cost (but nothing less than $45), but I don't sell many or  make a living doing so. This just happens to be what I do in my little pen-sales world; it is hardly representative of what other may do.

Much success with your endeavor!


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## stevenhuff

Thanks for the response!


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## Pens By Scott

essentially... like the pen, it's something you have to make yourself.  Etsy could be a good start, however, what works on Easy may not work in your area.

I've taken the exact same pens at the same prices, in the same city... two different days on the same weekend and have been told at one show... "You have really low prices".. next day, next show, "Wow, these are really expensive"

ultimately, you need to find out what works for you... are you doing this to support your habit? or trying to make a living at it?  What does it really cost you to make your pens?  Shipping, tools, shop supplies?  do you have specialty woods, like a Thuya Burl, versus  Walnut?  Trustone over an acrylic?  how much time does it take  you to make your pens?

Either way, it's part of the fun of this addiction... I try to support my habit as well as make enough after total costs to take the family out for a nice dinner at the end of the crafting season... but I still go to the job that pays me every day... until retirement... and maybe slightly beyond....


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## stevenhuff

Thanks Scott.  At this point I would like to at least make a little more then break even.  I need to at least recoup my investment in materials and equipment.


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## jttheclockman

The old adage Location, Location, Location plays a big role in pricing. There is no scientific answer. You first have to decide how you want to sell your pens and where you want to sell your pens and to whom you want to sell your pens. How good of a salesperson are you???  What is the quality of your pens??  What type pens are you making??  Kitless, highend kits, cheap slimline??? What type plating is used on these kits?? What is special about your pens that sets them apart from everyone else. Are you doing this for hobby or for business??  So you see there is a lot more that goes into pricing any hand made work. If you want basics, $10- $20 slimline, $35 -$50 sierras and cigars, Highend $150 -$250 Make something special and sky is the limit. So many questions. 

Lets add some more ????  Are you giving the pens out so that when you now want to sell the same people will have judgement. Selling from one venue to the next and changing prices, not a good idea. 

I will give you an example of how hard it is. I told you $35-$50 for a sierra pen. My pen is on the front page. That is no $50 but if I were to use some kind of formula you just shortchanged yourself.  I say good luck and welcome to the world of pen turning. Want to really make money, ditch the pen making and start selling blanks. Make more money. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## JimB

My suggestion is this. decide what you should sell it for and then increase it by 50% or even double it. Why? Because from reading here for many years I think almost all New pen Turners under-price their pens. 

I stopped selling pens about 5 years ago but when I did I was selling slims and comforts for $35 - $45 and Sierra styles for $55 - $70.  I did sell other styles but those two will give you a good idea of my pricing. That was five years ago. The price range was partially because of different platings and blanks but what really determined the price was what the finish pen looked like. I also didn't use any high priced blanks. I used all wood blanks, both domestic and exotic but I don't think any of them cost more than $1.50. My finish was either CA or WOP. 

Don't underprice yourself. Your time and skill are worth $$$$$$.


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## Pierre---

X $ for a slim or a Sierra doesn't mean anything to me. I can make one in half an hour with a wood from my fire pile, or spend 4 hours for a segmented one with HRB and mother-of-pearl with wooden nib and finial and an hidden clip ring, the price cannot be the same. So I do as my plumber : I charge 40$ per hour and I add the price of the kit and the wood. And my expensive slims sell well at 180 bucks.


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## walshjp17

As a general rule I add the cost of the hardware and blank and then multiply this total by 2.5 (to cover supplies and time).  So a pen kit that costs $8.00 with a blank that cost $12.00 would yield a price of $50.  Some use a multiplication factor of 3X cost of HW and blank, but as JT says, "location, location, location".


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## HeartofaPen

I have a spreadsheet that takes all costs into account and then calculates total cost of pen with labor and markup,  I usually go by that depending on where I am selling.  As stated above, locations change pricing.

PM me your e-mail address and I can send you a copy.

Chris


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## stevenhuff

Thanks everyone. I have made only one pen so far but have a couple of orders.  At this point I only want to cover the cost of the pen kits, blanks, equipment and supplies.  A little extra wouldn't be bad either!   I'm only looking at the mid range kits for now and hope to end up in the high end market after getting more experience.

I appreciate all the input and hope to receive more.

I'm sure I'll be asking for more advice before long.

Steve


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## stevenhuff

HeartofaPen said:


> I have a spreadsheet that takes all costs into account and then calculates total cost of pen with labor and markup,  I usually go by that depending on where I am selling.  As stated above, locations change pricing.
> 
> PM me your e-mail address and I can send you a copy.
> 
> Chris



PM sent.


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## WriteON

I add $10 to cost of kit ....covers blank, tool/bushing wear and tear, abrasives.
And add $40-$50 to that. I do not sell pens....but if someone wants one WTH


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## joshua_luther77

My wife has a lot of knowledge when it comes to making handmade items to sell. I just recently made my first two cigar pens and posted pictures online. I already have four people interested. So I asked her what I should charge and she said 3x the cost of materials. This is a good place to start. So I'm asking $35. They are made from Cherry and Ebony blanks that I bought on here. If the wood is more exotic or rare I would imagine charging a few dollars more. Certainly if there is more time sanding or applying finish then it would increase the cost. I actually had someone comment on my picture and said they'd probably be around $10-$20. I deleted the comment. I'm not sure where she got that number from. I also think it's a good idea to price it high first. I'm also going to buy a variety of pen kits so I can sell to a broader market. Some people would buy a handmade item from me but maybe they don't want or can't spend a lot of money. So it's good to give people options. 












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## firewhatfire

I price mine high enough that I am not sad to see them go, most of the time.  Just recently sold one for $650 that I was sad to see leave, even at that price.


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## Talltim

It seems to me that there are far too many people who are content to just cover their costs.   Many on Esty sell them for prices that I am not sure how they cover cost except by saying "My time is worth nothing". 

In the end how you value and represent your product affects how others will value it.  It is possible to insanely overprice items, but far to many people error in the other direction. 

Many people who say, "Wow that is a lot." Just need a bit of an education on the art, which can be done graciously.  

That is my 2.75 cents worth.  (Inflation accounted for. )



-------------------------
"Good enough is the enemy of great."

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## LoneOak

An artist should always get paid for his art along with the cost of the material to produce that art.  Some pen turners aren't artist to begin with but as their skills and knowledge increases the true talent begins to come forward.  What price does an artist ask for when selling one of his works of art is something that only the artist can decide.

If you begin to consider yourself a pen turning artist then you need to get paid for the art you produce.  I have been making pens for a couple years off and on and have at this time made about 100 pens.  My skills and knowledge has increased to that point where I'm not giving my pens away anymore to every one that stops by and visits.  If those same visitors want a pen I will tell them the price and expect to get that price before they carry the pen home.

Now if Mother stops by and raves over one of my latest creations she is special enough that she gets to carry it home!:smile-big:


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## joshua_luther77

LoneOak said:


> An artist should always get paid for his art along with the cost of the material to produce that art.  Some pen turners aren't artist to begin with but as their skills and knowledge increases the true talent begins to come forward.  What price does an artist ask for when selling one of his works of art is something that only the artist can decide.
> 
> If you begin to consider yourself a pen turning artist then you need to get paid for the art you produce.  I have been making pens for a couple years off and on and have at this time made about 100 pens.  My skills and knowledge has increased to that point where I'm not giving my pens away anymore to every one that stops by and visits.  If those same visitors want a pen I will tell them the price and expect to get that price before they carry the pen home.
> 
> Now if Mother stops by and raves over one of my latest creations she is special enough that she gets to carry it home!:smile-big:


I couldn't agree with you more. If one doesn't value their time, then they can't expect someone else to either. I've sold about 10 pens so far, all through word of mouth and face to face interaction. I have a long way to go to perfect selling them face to face. But I can't compete with the low ball prices that people are asking on Etsy. I am currently posting them on there just so I have a place I can point people to so they can buy them. It should streamline the process. That's my hope anyway. I just hope they don't see the competitors' prices and choose buy from them instead. 

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## Makereality

99% of my pens are gifts, but usually they are woods with significant personal value, like wood from an old family homestead or from a trip we took together, ones I made from the mount of beatitudes and Gideon springs and capearnum israel could be estimated to be about 500-$1000 because of the emotional connection to family or an experience. The olive wood I hand carried from Bethlehem and Jerusalem I would sell many folds higher than if I simply bought Bethlehem olive wood from Exoticblanks or amazon. I only make one pen for one person at a time.  For commissioned pens I let them choose the wood, design the shape per their request. The last classic fountain pen I sold went for 80, last custom slimline 25, last crystal shaft/ rosewood turned handle/ twisted glass dip nip pen 130.  


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## jfoh

There is no perfect pat answer to how much. When you are starting out most will sell their pens too cheap but they need to cover cost and need the practice to make better pens later. To me it starts with fit and finish. If your pens are not closely turned, not really a tight wood to metal fit and flow then you can't charge top dollar. Wood varies a lot in beauty and a beautiful large blank can become very bland when turned. For that reason many turn to acrylics or segmented blanks to have a lot of interesting things to show when the pen is turned.  Some people will use only rare or significant blanks to make pens from like the decking form a long retired Navy ship or a part of the boardwalk from a popular beach resort. 

When starting out it is fine to set your prices low, two to four times your cost but explain to the buyers as you progress your prices will go up as you will be using much more expensive blanks and more expensive pen parts. That way they wont balk so much when your $30 pens start costing $40-60.  And it is only fair when those higher cost pens will be make out of much higher costing blanks or blanks you make your self which may take hours to craft. Nothing will make a grown man cry faster than having a segmented blank blowup after maybe five hours to make it and then realizing you can't put it back together again. Been there, done that.


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## aggie182

I did a push for Father's Day and sold Bolt Actions at $45, Cigars at $40, and Trimlines at $35.  I sold mostly Bolt Actions.  They're the most expensive of the three kits I offered, but the quickest to turn and finish.  I don't know if my pricing was on par with what others charge, but I felt fine with letting them go for that.  Close friends and family got them cheaper, but still covering costs, plus a bit.


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## loneman

*Pen pricing*

Is the suggested pricing at PSI online realistic?


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## JimB

loneman said:


> Is the suggested pricing at PSI online realistic?



I've only looked at a few of their suggested selling prices and don't think they are very helpful. The price range is so big. It can range from just a little more than the cost of the kit to a very high price. You also don't know how they come up with the prices. They say it is what their customers sell them for but you don't know how many customers, where they are located, the quality of their turning and finish, what blank was used or their reason for selling (hobby vs business). IMO, although I have only looked at a few items, I find even their average price to be to low. 

I think searching here on IAP and reading some of the many, many threads on this subject will give you a better pricing strategy and the reasons why folks charge what they do. Then you will be in a better position to determine the right pricing for your work.


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## dogcatcher

So far you have made one pen, I think you need to wait on figuring your pricing structure.  Get some experience, know the difference between a well make pen and one that is made by an amateur.  Get to know the plating's that are good, and the ones that only last until the newness wears off.  

You have a lot of reading to do, a lot of information to absorb.  Take notes, find out what is best and get some experience.  When your fit and finishes are up to par, you will have an idea of the sales prices, you should know about what your work is worth.   Your location and the venue you choose may warrant higher prices, or it maybe a case that you have to go with lower prices.  

Also don't trust friends and relatives to tell you how great your pens are, it the unknown public opinion that makes them great, or a disaster.


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