I order a lot of my tools and supplies on-line and I absolutely hate paying shipping fees! I often compare prices of items, then when I finalize the order, I get socked with shipping fees far in excess of the competitors' fees. For people who purchase a lot on-line, shipping becomes a major factor in their decision process and who to purchase from. In light of that, I have decided to change my shipping policy on my etsy shop and not charge extra for shipping. So for now, all items are shipped free of charge. No kidding.
The photo above is a bracelet I finished this week. I have special orders for 5 of these mixed metal riveted bracelets. I have 2 of them finished so far. These bracelets are proving to be quite time consuming. Last week, I had made the components and estimated it would take me about 7 hours to do the riveting of the 2 bracelets. It actually took me 20 hours this week to completed these bracelets, in addition to the first 20 hours the prior week. I may have to rethink whether this is something I can afford to keep in my line-up. It's such a popular item that I'd hate to discontinue it and I enjoy making them, but......
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It's a shame that these bracelets might not work out for you financially because they are so gorgeous! It can be so hard to find that balance. I don't know what you are charging, but I personally would pay quite a sum for such a beautiful hand crafted piece of art. I hope you can keep them coming:)
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy, I agree with Shay...it's tough to find the balance on what to charge for time consuming work. These bracelets are so lovely.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that really appeals to me with jewelry is its unique, one of a kind statement. The hand craft work you do certainly satisfies my requirements in that area and more.
Maybe you can share where you buy your tools? My favorite wire wrap pliers broke yesterday and I'm on the hunt for a better pair.
Great idea on the free shipping too!
Oh, don't stop making these fab bracelets, you will probably find you can charge more and customers will still want to buy them.
ReplyDeleteKristin :)
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I do love this bracelet but it's one of the things I have sold wholesale to stores. I may have to discontinue it in my wholesale line and only keep it in my retail line with a price I can live with to make it worth my time. I'll need to have a disscussion with my wholesale buyers about how much they can sell it for and see if we can find a reasonable price point. Such a fine balance.
Kathleen,
I love my Lindstrom (blue handle ergo) tools. They are available at alot of suppliers like Rio and Otto Frei. I got mine at a wonderful price from Fire Mountain because I was also ordering hundreds of crystals for a bridal set = quanity discount.
Have a great weekend everyone!