There are pricing discussions for new makers all over the web, but I've got a different kind of pricing question. I've been making knives for five years. Over that time, both my quality and my price have improved. I consistently sell knives quickly, which makes me believe that they may be priced below their market potential. I have been relatively unknown, other than a website, a presence on several forums, and a couple of small shows. That's the backstory.
I was fortunate to have a knife published in Knives 2013, and have a picture/article coming out in Texas Monthly magazine in March of this year. The knife in Texas Monthly was on loan back to me from a dealer who put his price on it for the article. His price is significantly more than I usually sell that knife for. I am soon to have major exposure to new customers, with a list price greatly above my usual pricing.
Here's the dilemma. How do I best take advantage of the exposure? If I leave my pricing alone, I'll leave money on the table and will significantly undercut the dealer. If I raise my pricing to the dealer's price, I am afraid I'll end up holding on to knives much longer and may end up with customers who are not satisfied with my knife at that price. I would like to move somewhere toward the middle, raising my prices to a point that better reflects my knives' market value and leaves less on the table, but not to the point where people don't feel like they are getting a good value for my price. I want my customers to feel like they got a "good deal" on my knives, like they expect to pay more for that kind of quality.
I'd love to hear thoughts and opinions from this group.
Thanks,
Jason
I was fortunate to have a knife published in Knives 2013, and have a picture/article coming out in Texas Monthly magazine in March of this year. The knife in Texas Monthly was on loan back to me from a dealer who put his price on it for the article. His price is significantly more than I usually sell that knife for. I am soon to have major exposure to new customers, with a list price greatly above my usual pricing.
Here's the dilemma. How do I best take advantage of the exposure? If I leave my pricing alone, I'll leave money on the table and will significantly undercut the dealer. If I raise my pricing to the dealer's price, I am afraid I'll end up holding on to knives much longer and may end up with customers who are not satisfied with my knife at that price. I would like to move somewhere toward the middle, raising my prices to a point that better reflects my knives' market value and leaves less on the table, but not to the point where people don't feel like they are getting a good value for my price. I want my customers to feel like they got a "good deal" on my knives, like they expect to pay more for that kind of quality.
I'd love to hear thoughts and opinions from this group.
Thanks,
Jason