Supporting the habit

[Wayne Blanch]

G'day all,
I have been turning for a couple of years now and I am in the situation of having a little spare time and very little spare money (I had to give up work to look after my sick wife.) I am thinking of trying to make a little money on the side by selling my turning efforts (Pens, boxes, mirrors, clocks etc.) at local markets. All that I would like to do is make enough money to keep me in wood and tools, I am not looking to make my living this way. Has anyone tried this and if so did it work or am I wasting my time? As I say all I want to do is support my turning habit.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Wayne

[Cliff Rogers]

Touchy question...... :rolleyes:

I guess it depends on how good your stuff is but the problem you will have is the amount of time you will have to be away from your sick wife to man the stall.

The other point that the pros may frown on is that you under cut them & 'joe bloogs public' then thinks that they are a rip off after they see the prices of your stuff at the markets.
Poor silly old 'joe bloogs public' can't tell (& doesn't care) the difference between cheap junk & a quality product.
How do I know this??? Have a look at how many 'cheap chi-an-ese' junk shops we now have in Oz & remember the old days when you could buy something that would last.(way back before we used to call jap-an-ese stuff junk)

If you make good stuff & sell it for a fair price, go for it....
Other wise, give it away to friends & family for birthday-christmas-weddings pressies & get a job mowing lawns to support your habit, you'll earn more mowing lawns.

[smidsy]

Hei Wayne,
Have you thought about putting a few peices on ebay?
The buyer has to pay freight which you need to factor in to what you hope to get (freight'd be sod all on pens anyway) but I sold a heap of R/C gear on ebay with some good success.
Cheers
Paul

[beejay1]

Hi Wayne, sorry to hear about your wife and wish you both well for the future.
Re selling your stuff, its always difficult to make money doing this as Cliff says theres always the cheap crap to contend with and consumers unfortunately rarely consider craftsmanship as being worth a great deal these days.
When you take your time into account, and you really should, plus the quality of your work you will probably be in a loss situation but if thats not important then go for it. Give the punters quality.
you could try ebay and the obvious craft faires etc but dont be afraid to charge a decent price. Let people know whats involved in hand produced work and hopefully youll attract enough discerning customers.
good luck
beejay1

http://consumer.webshots.com/user/eunos9

[Wayne Blanch]

Thanks for the information guys. I have been struggling with the decisions regarding quality verses price. I saw a bloke at the Chandler market here in Brisbane a few months ago who was selling his product but unfortunately the quality was pretty poor and the prices he was charging were corrispondingly low. (Frankly, I would have been embarrassed to display the stuff this bloke was selling let alone to ask people to pay for it.)
I will have to think it through some more and make a decision later.
Once again thanks for the input.
Regards
Wayne

[journeyman Mick]

Wayne,
sorry to hear about your wife, I'm in a similar situation, full time carer-part time carpenter/cabinetmaker, the carer bit is the toughest job I've ever done. With regards to the quality/price issue, it's your decision but you may want to consider this: If you produce work down to a price that you think a large volume of the market will accept will you still enjoy producing it? Would you rather churn out lots of easily sold pieces or a smaller quantity of higher quality and price pieces.

Personally I believe it's pointless to compete on price as there's always some idiot willing to work for less than you. If you set up a stall at the same market as the bloke selling the poor quality/low price work, how will you compete? By making cheaper stuff? That may start a price war and you'll end up underselling your work and making no money. Coming up with new lines and innovative designs? This may work for a while, but pretty soon you'll spawn knockoffs and undercutting imitators. Producing quality work: The other bloke either can't produce this (lacking technical skills) or won't (doesn't care about his work). If you go in with good quality stuff at a comensurate price you'll sell to those that want better quality and are prepared to pay for it. If people don't buy (and it may take some time to become known) then there aren't enough of your target market at thet location and you may need to try somewhere else. I believe that if you just produce stuff for tha lowest denominator then you'll get the job satisfaction of an opressed process worker. Anyway, all the best, PM me if you wish re being a carer and what support is available.

Mick (carer for 7+ years)