People want to buy some of my carvings...

[gtech]

My wife showed a few photos (again...) she had in her iTouch and it just happened that she still had photos of some of my carvings.

She said that just like for her last visit in her family, those who saw the photos at work this time asked if they could buy some, how much and all the usual questions...

Well, I don't know how to react to that. I always said I was carving for fun, and gave some of my carvings away, execpt that I asked to the last family members to buy me some wood to replace what I gave them.

Now, I think I'll have to think of a way to put a realistic price to what I do, and that is a problem for me because I am not a business man. But I can't always give away what I carve, and most of the time I would prefer to keep it for me instead of selling it for a smallish profit.

What should I do????

What would you do????

Thanks,

Gilles

[toycarver]

I would keep the pieces that were special to me. Sometime later you might get tired of it/them and then decide sell them. If you want to sell some things, maybe do a variety of carvings, some simple, others more complex & then price accordingly. Then if someone wants to know how much, they have a range of prices to pick from & you will get a feel for what people are willing to pay for and how much. Just a thought.

[Goody]

Casually mention how much you have tied up in materials and how many hours you have in it. Then ask them to make you an offer. If it's too low tell them you can't even break even for that. If its too high and your uncomfortable offer them a deal. If it's what you have in mind sell it on the spot. This seperates the tire-kickers from the ones who are serious. This approach has kept me out of trouble for years.
Goody

[gtech]

That could be a way to do it.

I normally don't register the time needed to carve something, but I know how much the wood cost me. I don't expect to get paid for the time put into a carving, but would be happy to just make a small profit.

What I have right now is not for sale, but I think I will begin to carve a few things specially for showing and selling.

Thanks for the suggestions guys,

Gilles

[Goody]

If you don't keep it in check it can get out of hand. Before I started charging family a little I was backed up 10-15 carving sometimes. What broke the camels back was them getting upset when they didn't think it was done quick enough. You would not believe how much charging $2.00 an hour slowed it down. Once they realized the work that went into a carving that took 10 hours to carve they took a different perspective of what we do. Plus $20 bucks will buy a piece of basswood and something off the dollar menu on the trip to get more wood.
When Anna and I carve and paint for our folkart business we try to make between $15 & $25 an hour. We will finish a new Item figure out what we have in it in time and materials. We put a price on it and set it on the dining room table and ask one another if we think its worth it and would we buy it that price. There are few pieces that we don't care if we sell or not. We have what we think its worth and it can stay in the shop as long as it wants. We cal these pieces sleepers.
Goody

[gtech]

Thanks for mentioning the details, you made me remember and realize a few things that happened related to that. Like a co-worker that saw an opportunity to buy a carving cheap... and get it fast. He wanted a 8"x10" relief carving with a country scene.

I think I'll begin with small and fast projects as a start and see how it goes.

Btw, people like Pete Leclair style, and simple flat plane characters. Both are 2 completely different beasts to do, one being more time consuming than the others. But I'm not sure they realize that.

Gilles

[Tom Ellis]

It if funny Gilles how carvings become part of the family. I have thought I should keep track of my time, and then ask the buyer how much they make an hour, and charge them your time , times their salery. Seems fair.
The only problem is if you talk so someone that is umemployed, you have to give them the carving.
I guess that is why I don't sell my carvings.

Good luck with that one. Tom

[gtech]

Right, right... that's how I think too.

As I said I'm not a business man. I would much prefer to give than to sell. But I'm not that rich... So what I though I could do is give to the poor and sell to the rich...

Rich people don't buy these things. They invest in things. That's why they are rich...

I know a guy who has worked hard all of his life to make it happen, and he once told me that when he was buying something, he was always thinking if he could sell it later. Everything he did most of his life was dictated by that thinking. When he makes a change to his house, he always asked himself if it will help sell, even if he does it for himself first.

So back to carvings, I can't think that way.

Another way to do it would be to double the cost of material to find a selling price. Selling a carving would pay for the wood for the next carving. What if I give one away? Ok, tripple the cost of material to pay for the next 2 carvings... The bigger the carving, the bigger the price.

Gilles

[chuckbolton]

your time has value-- how would one of the folks react if you asked on of the ladies to cater an event for you-- i bet she would ask for something-- and you know most women can cook- how about asking the men to pain t your house-- most can do that-- for them to ask you to carve something and not offer to reimburse you for your time and materials is being ignorant-- i dont mean anything bad by that-- its just the way most of us are. i have a small farm and im amazed at how often a relative comes by and expects something from the garden- orchard or a dz eggs-- just because i grew it-- doesnt mean that there isnt effort in it. how else can you expect to buy tools, a sharpener or any of the other things we need for this hobby- that being said-- carvings are what i give at xmas -- some birthdays and for other gift exchange type things. at the same time-- do what you are the most comfortable with-- but dont let folks take advantage of you.

[Claude]

Tom has a good idea that can be applied to relatives. Figure out how many hours it takes you to carve a piece, then tell they you want $x.yy to pay for the wood (should be twice what it really cost you), and you want them to come over to your place and work in the yard, or paint or whatever for the same number of hours. If your yard doesn't need work, and your house doesn't need painting, then tell them they can work at some community service for that same number of hours - could be picking up trash alongside the roads, could be anything that the local community service organizations do.

Claude