Pricing Jewelry

There have been many conversation threads on Etsy and elsewhere about how to do pricing. I tend to think that many of the items I see on Etsy are underpriced. Being a handmade artist doesn't mean you shouldn't pay yourself! Just because you are making and selling you items from home, doesn't mean you don't deserve a fair wage.

In fact, I tend to take the opposite approach. A handcrafted item is worth MORE than some mass-produced item found in a big box store. Double that when you can purchase directly from the artist.

Having said all that, there is a difference between an artist and a manufacturist (is that a word?). An artist is a designer. And artist takes time to create a design, a concept, a collection. A manufacturist simply assembles a piece of jewelry.

I think of myself as an artist. I carry a sketchbook with me to draw ideas when them come. I spend time thinking about different pieces and roll them around in my head, sometimes for months. I see the mountains covered in snow at sunset and think "Wow! How can I turn God's art into a piece of jewelry art."

So how does this all impact pricing? There are many formulas out there about how to do particular mark-ups but here are the basics that need to be considered.
1- Raw material cost (supplies, beads, shipping envelope, etc)
2- Time to assemble
3- Time to design (many forget this part)
4- Overhead costs (tools, the light bill, organization software)
5- Profit

Too many artists stop at #1 in determining a price. Even those who account for 1-4 are missing a piece. #5, profit, is important if you want your business to grow. If you are only covering the basic necessities, you will never have the ability to grow. This is fine for some people, not me. So yes, many will say my prices are too high. I'm ok with that. Not everyone will be interested in my work or able to purchase at my price point. That's alright because, for me, it's more a matter of finding the market that will.