Here is an article I've come across that, while not targeted at woodworkers, is very insightful when it come to many of the same areas of pricing and quality of work, which has been discussed here many times before.
Just substitute woodworker/turner for photographer.
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It's a good article. However, at least in the area of woodworking, one of the factors frequently discussed is the "competition" between professional turners and hobbyists. I've read many, many debates generally initiated by professional turners - those turning and selling for a living. Their complaint is that hobbyists don't need the money, so can undercut prices. It's a bit simplistic to say that quality will always show and that it can command a higher price. Even if true, it is equally simplistic and somewhat derogatory to suggest that there are no hobbyists who can produce work of equal quality to some professionals. I've seen some pretty fine work from hobbyists. I've seen crap, too. I've seen some pieces in galleries produced by professionals that I would not buy for half of the asking price. I don't want to take this too far off topic, but in any sales transaction, taste comes into play, as does the experience of the buyer, and the environment in which the piece is being displayed. People go to a gallery expecting to pay more than if they are at a craft show.
Maybe, just maybe, I'm rambling.   

A few random thoughts

1) No matter what you are selling or what your price is there will always be someone more expensive and less expensive than you.

2) Its easier to lower a price than it is to raise a price.

3) If you are not making a profit than you are selling the wrong product.

4) If you are not having fun you are selling the wrong product.

Sometimes hobbyist can price themselves out of the market as well by undercutting by to much.  If they are to far below the price of others some customers can start to preceive that there is something wrong with the item even if there isn't.  I did a show in the spring where the organizer put me next to another turner that was charging far less then i was for bowls.  I did not notice any real difference in quality but customers left his tent and came to me to buy similar bowls.

The explosive growth of Amazon, besides killing small local retail, suggests that many people today are interested only in price, and willing to accept whatever quality accompanies a low price.

A woman stopped a couple weeks ago saying she needed three slats for a platform bed she just purchased, because three won't stay in place.  Knowing that potentially this would be a situation to avoid like the plague, I kept asking questions and referring the the picture on her cell phone.  Eventually she said she bought the bed on Amazon for $100.  Given that there were perhaps almost 40 different pieces of wood that had to be milled, some fitted with KO fittings, the wood purchased, employees paid, overhead paid, the item boxed and shipped to the US, handled and shipped from a warehouse to her, I wanted to shout out "WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FOR $100" but instead quietly suggested she get a 1/2" thick sheet of plywood cut to size at a big box store and live with the platform.

Know your market.

You can't expect top dollar at a farmer's market or a craft show at a fire hall.

You will get a better price at a juried art show where people pay admission just to get in.


Ed Weber wrote on Sep 29^th, 2019 at 12:29pm:


I have