Thread: Proud Father of twins (rocking chairs)

Very nice work Chairman! I reckon 20 rockers a year is pretty impressive considering the work involved.

awesome chairs and the burl looks brilliant....that is a lucky (and rich) customer...well done...methinks that deserves a greenie

Gorgeous work and welcome.

I want to say this and I hope you won’t be offended. How do you justify the $US32,000 price tag. I fully understand that it is a beautiful chair and obviously your client is willing to pay for them. But how did you come up with such a huge figure and where did you get the guts to quote to your clients.

I do not know anything about the US market. I have not idea how much Sam Maloof charges for his rocking chairs ($10,000?? $20,000??). But $US32,000 is a lot of money.

Originally Posted by Wongo

Gorgeous work and welcome.

I want to say this and I hope you won’t be offended. How do you justify the $US32,000 price tag. I fully understand that it is a beautiful chair and obviously your client is willing to pay for them. But how did you come up with such a huge figure and where did you get the guts to quote your clients.

I do not know anything about the US market. I have not idea how much Sam Maloof charges for his rocking chairs ($10,000?? $20,000??). But $US32,000 is a lot of money.

US$ 32,000 for each Rocking Chair= US$64,000

AU$ 87,927.46 minus $3000- $4000 for timber.....for three months work:eek:

That's about AU$ 320,000 a year, not a bad little income for a woodworker....................stunning gear though

Originally Posted by martrix

US$ 32,000 for each Rocking Chair= US$64,000

AU$ 87,927.46 minus $3000- $4000 for timber.....for three months work:eek:

That's about AU$ 320,000 a year, not a bad little income for a woodworker....................stunning gear though

Like I said -my pool builder is dearer and he is no craftsman. Call me silly but you pay for reputation and ability and on it goes. And yes the guy is in big demand too !

Originally Posted by Wongo

Gorgeous work and welcome.

I want to say this and I hope you won’t be offended. How do you justify the $US32,000 price tag. I fully understand that it is a beautiful chair and obviously your client is willing to pay for them. But how did you come up with such a huge figure and where did you get the guts to quote to your clients.

I do not know anything about the US market. I have not idea how much Sam Maloof charges for his rocking chairs ($10,000?? $20,000??). But $US32,000 is a lot of money.

I think chairman is more than capable of answering the question of justifying the price but I'd like to add something to it. My father was one of John Deeres and Massey Fergusons best salesmen in the late sixties and early seventies in Western Canada. One thing he always said is that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay. The client was willing to pay 32,000 then that's what it's worth to him - what anyone else thinks doesn't matter. If you can find someone to pay you a million bucks for a chair then GO FOR IT! I hope you are one of the very few success stories in a very poorly paid industry.

Yes I understand. My question wasn’t about how much people are willing to pay or how much the chair worth. My question is about the seller not the buyer. How does someone come up such a massive figure? Why did he think $32,000 is right? Why no $5,000 or even $1,000,000? I am sure even the maker himself would think $32,000 is a lot for a chair.

Once again I sincerely hope chairman did not get offended.

Cheers

I don't see the $32,000 as being too far out of line for a top-quality rocking chair. I know that Sam Maloof sold one of his for US$24,000 a few years ago. When you consider that it is commonplace for other outstanding works of art like paintings to be sold for millions of dollars, why is it surprising that a top-quality chair should sell for a small fraction of those sums?

Rocker

Originally Posted by martrix

That's about AU$ 320,000 a year, not a bad little income for a woodworker....................stunning gear though

Let me illustrate "worth".

I once had a client with a crappy old commercial building that he couldn't rent or sell, so he asked me for some advice.

I literally sketched a couple of minor changes to the front of the building on a flattened envelope, faxed it to a builder and got an estimate of the cost of the work ($30,000) while at the client's office.

The builder said he could start as soon as I had done drawings, I told him to use my sketch, and he started the next day.

Three weeks later, the job was finished, and the same week my client had an unconditional offer for the building he couldn't sell, approaching $500,000 more than his original ask.

I sent him a bill for $1,500.00 and he didn't want to pay me because it had only taken me a few minutes of my time to provide him with the solution.

In fact it had taken 25 years of toil to get to the point where I could provide that sort of value efficiently, and he was paying for his share of that 25 years.

Chairman didn't get to that point overnight either, and for those that think the chairs aren't worth it because they can't command similar sums for similar work, let me suggest that your education is not yet complete. You simply need more experience in other facets of your business.

Once you have the marketing skills to match your woodworking skills, and have discovered what it takes to seek out appropriate markets and matched them to your product (and your personal presentation as well), then you will be posting here, and others will be wondering how you do it!

Cheers,

P (Nice work chairman!)

Originally Posted by Rocker

When you consider that it is commonplace for other outstanding works of art like paintings to be sold for millions of dollars

And that ridiculous don’t you think?

I love my fried rice but I ain’t paying $200 for a bowl

Wongo, would you question a surgeon who charged you $2,000 for a 30 minute proceedure. At this level one is paying neither for the time involved, nor the cost of materials. If the market determines that you are charging too much for a product or service, they will not pay. For as long as Chairman can produce that number of chairs per annum, at that price, then I guess that the market considers it to be a reasonable one. However, I would not like his chances in Oz!

Originally Posted by Wongo

I love my fried rice but I ain’t paying $200 for a bowl

Had a client buy me a meal in Tokyo once at $3,500 US. Tasted like old boots, but that's what he paid.

If you have to ask how much, you just can't afford it.

P

Originally Posted by bitingmidge

Let me illustrate "worth".


I sent him a bill for $1,500.00 and he didn't want to pay me because it had only taken me a few minutes of my time to provide him with the solution.

Unfortunately that sounds all too familiar

Midge,

It sounds to me as if you grossly undercharged for your services. Your input was clearly worth a small fortune to you client. I trust you were able to convince him that you had done him a favour.

Rocker