Do you sell your stuff?

[--Tom--]

I will ask for a charity donation, lately to Campaign Against Living Miserably. Saves me having to keep track for tax, hopefully does some good for the world, and I pick and choose what I want to do.
It’s a hobby so I want to enjoy it and part of that is making things that interest me.

Best are always trades and swaps.

Hoping once I retire I can top up the pension pot but realistic that it’ll be mostly so I can break even on hobby costs

 

[LewisB]

I only sell when someone asks me to make something for them. Mostly cigar box guitar kind of thing. At times I whip up a bunch of tea light candle holders on the lathe when the wife's family history group are doing a charity stall. I have had people come and ask for particular things only to turn pale and back off when I mention just the cost of the wood. Like Blackswanwood has said if I can recover the cost of materials and its a project I want to do then all good. It is a hobby after all. I think most of us early on in woodworking have thought it might be good to make a bit on the side but then it would become a job. The hardest bit by far would be making it pay a profit.
Regards
John

Yeah true. God knows what some of the furniture makers online have had to do to command some of the prices they do today. Sebastian Cox for example, £5000+ for a cabinet...

 

[LewisB]

I will ask for a charity donation, lately to Campaign Against Living Miserably. Saves me having to keep track for tax, hopefully does some good for the world, and I pick and choose what I want to do.
It’s a hobby so I want to enjoy it and part of that is making things that interest me.

Best are always trades and swaps.

Hoping once I retire I can top up the pension pot but realistic that it’ll be mostly so I can break even on hobby costs

That's a good idea, I'd hopefully do the same if I ever got to selling.

 

[LewisB]

No I don’t sale things I make
It’s a hobby and I want to do it when and how I please, non of this must have done by..... time /date
Eg today I had planned on a day wood turning, I have just finished re shaping an oak bowl that distorted very Badly after turning. As much as 5mm out on the rim, having got that... as close as it’s going to get,, I decided that enough for today.

Yes I agree it's good to be able to pursue something without having a deadline.

 

[stuckinthemud]

Size matters. I can carve a netsuke and it will take a week or longer but who will pay a week’s wage for that jewel - it’s a very niche product. Or, I can chainsaw carve a penguin 2 feet tall and painted in a couple of hours, or an owl, or a couple of mushrooms, or whatever and sell for a fair price all day long - people go wow that’s good value, look how big that is, all that oak must have cost you a lot…. Also, there is very little competition once you go big as garden centres don’t import carvings over a certain size. I imagine it’s the same in turning, you need to go larger than ceramics: people will compare apples to oranges- can they buy an equivalent in a different material cheaper to do the same job?

 

[HOJ]

There has been quite a few new posters on here in the recent past asking the same question, but I cant recall anyone of them coming back to tell us of their successes.

@Stigmorgan has outlined the simplest form of pricing in saying:

price your items based on paying for the material and your time making it.

My caveat to that would be, then triple it.

As a full time woodworker, I can't say I have made many things, speculatively, I did make an Adirondack chair recently but that was a folly, and to be honest I've no idea what to do with it now, I have had quite a few "oh that's nice" but I know they wont pay well for it, so I won't offer it out

God knows what some of the furniture makers online have had to do to command some of the prices they do today. Sebastian Cox for example, £5000+ for a cabinet...

Please, don't knock it till you've tried making one, a cabinet maker I know, sunk 600 hours into a piece, I'll let you work out the value.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

I made two chair for the front garden, I was asked if I could make one and how much.
I worked out the cost of the wood alone and told the person.. who then was shocked at the price
“Oh I thought it would be cheaper as it hand made.”
Needless to say he was not interested,

 

[LewisB]

I made two chair for the front garden, I was asked if I could make one and how much.
I worked out the cost of the wood alone and told the person.. who then was shocked at the price
“Oh I thought it would be cheaper as it hand made.”
Needless to say he was not interested,

Brilliant

 

[Stigmorgan]

I made two chair for the front garden, I was asked if I could make one and how much.
I worked out the cost of the wood alone and told the person.. who then was shocked at the price
“Oh I thought it would be cheaper as it hand made.”
Needless to say he was not interested,

I seem to be surrounded by people who are willing to tell me off for not charging enough but not so willing to buy my stuff

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

some of my bigger projects

 

[mg123]

To add to my previous and somewhat repeat what others have said,
This last year has shown me that it is very hard/almost impossible to make woodturning a viable source of income as a hobbyist, there just isn't enough time to be able to make stock, plan/do shows/events, keep rented shop space stocked & rotated all at the same time as having a job, I'm fairly lucky that my job has a house on site so I don't lose time travelling to and from work but even so I still only get around 3 hours a day free once i have lunch and walk the dogs, I could also do weekends but then there's no home/family time with my partner and our dogs.
In my opinion the only way to make an income would be to do it full time, have more than just turned items and spend every weekend selling at craft shows alongside having stuff stocked in shops and selling online.
Pricing of our items is a subject that seems to divide people here, many think it's OK to charge very little as long as cost of materials are covered and I have had discussion with people that think I price too high considering I don't pay for most of my woods, my argument there is that if I only account for my time and not the material then when I do have to buy wood for a piece then I either loose money by charging for the wood and not my time or have to explain why it's so much more money than other similar/identical pieces, also by selling at such low prices I would be devaluing the work of people who actually rely on it as an income, ultimately something is only worth what people are willing to pay for it but as a seller it shouldn't make a difference if you pay for the logs/boards, price your items based on paying for the material and your time making it.

100% the right approach. The cost of materials should always be factored in, even if you obtained the materials for free. The cost should represent the sum of all it's parts.

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

Genuine question, how many have you sold.

It's not been a week yet, and to be honest having them in that shop is also great for my local marketing, because everyone knows how high-end it is. Just being stocked by them is worth something to me.

 

[Brian Charles]

I can’t believe how much timber prices have gone up even from the established timber suppliers
My local timber supplier had two units full up with oak /ash /and larch now they have one unit just selling oak
When I work out the price of a bespoke item and tell the customer it frightens them of the material cost alone works out expensive enough so it is very hard to quote a price that reflects all the time spent making the item
I’ve spent hours trying to find the timber of a good quality at a fair price and working out the customers project only to be told..ho I will get back to you I will have to ask the wife/husband first only never to here from them again
So it’s hard to get your true worth post covid

 

[HOJ]

great for my local marketing

Just being stocked by them is worth something to me.

Great idea, gaining exposure, and in some respects free advertising, presumably you are clearly referenced to.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

Tim our costs .. through the room
I use scrap wood most of the time, where I get my off cuts/scrap bits have clamped down as they had peeps come in their yard and just take wood with out asking if it was scrap or stock
Made it hard for folk who were looking for an off cut /unwanted bits

 

[Stigmorgan]

Tim our costs .. through the room
I use scrap wood most of the time, where I get my off cuts/scrap bits have clamped down as they had peeps come in their yard and just take wood with out asking if it was scrap or stock
Made it hard for folk who were looking for an off cut /unwanted bits

It can be hard to find good stuff, pallet wood is very hit and miss, if the pallet is fairly new then the wood will likely be good and easy to dismantle if it's an oldernpallet then chances are the nails have rusted and the wood will break up. I guess I'm extra lucky having a site with 600+ trees that constantly need work through the year giving me plenty of wood, plus having several local tree surgeons who will call if they have work locally to see if I want any of it.
If you do want some wood I have a stack of Lime I'm happy to part with some pieces seeing as youre only a short drive away, it's mostly logs around 6 to 8 inch diameter, also have a Tesco crate full of rounds ready for bowl turning, it's a nice wood to work with just a little plain grained for my taste, ideal for practicing or if you were to add colour/ embellishments to your work though.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

Thank you, that’s a kind offer, I have been using 60 year old pine at the moment (old chamber joists)
Today I found a 4ft long 10 round at the wide point. I have cut blanks out, chopped to soft edge and noe have three seven inch rounds. I don’t know what the wood is.
I thought it would be hard from being in salt water the outer edge is pulp/rot thoug. But the mid part is quite hard

 

[leisurefix]

I sell a small number of turned items each year, I try not to charge too little as it undermines professionals doing it for a living.
Recently I have been doing a collaboration with a local potter who is in galleries and has celebrity endorsement. She happily pays me more for items than I would get for selling directly myself. I mention pottery as I have always wondered why it commands much higher prices than wood turning. I think that pottery is seen as more of an art and so justified in charging more than wood turning.

 

[peter-harrison]

Have you got an Open Studios in your area or town? If you have, it might be a good route. You are in control of your prices, you get 100% of what you take, and it enables you to make relationships with potential clients, who may buy from you then and there, or in 5 years time, or who may tell their friends about you.
I am in Cambridge Open Studios every year, and over the years it has probably been the second best form of publicity, after word of mouth. This year I had one of my rocking chairs for sale. It didn't sell, which was a shame. It sold soon after in a Cambridge gallery. I got about 40% of what I would have got from a direct sale, and I never met the buyer, which was also a shame.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

Wow the chair is .... I want to climb in it with a fleece and rock to sleep