[BobD]

Awsome! I'm so proud of you!!!

Bob

[Kenny_S]

Way to go Doris. It is difficlut to come up with a fair price for you and the customer. If you are happy with the price, then great. Carving is a learning process as priceing is also. Congrats on your first sell/ There is no doubt you will have many more.
You have come a long ways in such a short time.

[doris]

oh, thank you very much, i am very happy today :-) yes, this selling was an important step, and i do look forward to go further... way to go, as you say :-) thank you all !!

[susieq]

Hooray Doris!!!
The first sale is always magic.... It is the one you always remember. I am so happy for you. Your work will bring larger prices, I have no doubt. You are a truly great carver.

[Joggernot]

Doris, are we allowed to know what you received for the carving? Beginners like to know. We see to overprice our items rather than underprice. PM if you are not willing to share with all.

Joggernot

[bullshipper]

Way to go Doris,

Congratulations!!!!

Lonnie

[mark yundt]

I knew you had it in you! Whatever you got for her is simply for you to know and deal with and no-one else. This serves simply as a notice to you as to a guage to what YOU can get,,,not someone else. Let them carve something,fuss over it, deal with the frustrations,sell it and then deal with that as well. That is the only lesson to be learned here...not what someone else gets to use as a comparison.This is an important first step that is not indicative of your future potential nor what a carving is worth. We have all lost our shirts which doesn't indicate a carvings relative value,,even after being in the business for years,,it still happens with regularity.Doesn't matter,,,you just keep carving.

Congratulations on carrying through and experiencing the full range of carving ,selling them,and savoring the whole range of emotions involved with the process.You have officially run the gauntlet.
To know it is to do it. And you did it! Let everyone else figure it out as well.THAT"S the only way to truly know.

[doris]

yes, it is magic ! thank you all :-)

now the topic of how much i got came up, i want say something about that... first, to me, it is pointless to tell you the number of euros i got. not since i mind telling you, but since that number is completely worthless for you. i love sharing my knowledge i gained in carving, but i hate to tell things which might give wrong ideas...

so, why is it worthless for you to know the exact price i got, lynn and joggernot ? there are many reasons.

for one, i do live in germany, while you live in usa, and here is a completely different attitude towards woodcarvings, a completely different attitiude to buying "decorative" things or art. for example, we dont have a german forum for woodcarvers (at least i dont know of, and i tried hard to find one), crafts are here not much existent, except handicraft like needleworks, knitting etc. we dont have carving magazines like woodcarving illustrated for example. we dont have much possibilities to buy carved santas, carved indians or cowboys i never saw to buy here, the only time in year when we can buy such carved items is around christmas, then there are carved santas, madonna´s, and nativities. but over the year not... that means the market for such carved items here is different than in usa, i think...

then, do you want to sell a mary poppins ? no, i doubt that. you have a carving with a completely differnt topic, maybe you have a unique design, maybe you have a carving after someones pattern you altered to suit your ideas. all these things need come into considerations of pricing.

also, like patrick pointed out. why do you sell ? for making room for new carvings ? for getting some dollars for buying additional tools ? or for wanting to make a living from it ?

your situation, your topics of carving, your craftmanship, your idea what you want from your woodcarving, they all might be different from mine, and all these points influence the price you will ask. and of course, the most important, what the potential buyer would be willing to pay. that is the most important point...

i agree with mark, that everyone has to find their own way. the price depends on the carving, on the style, on the craftmanship in the carving, on the originality of the idea, on what the potential buyer is willing to pay. even though i am a mathematician, i dont believe that a formula can be made, like it was sometimes suggested. i think the price was right, when you dont feel bad after selling, and you got the hightest possible price the customer was willling to pay...so, in this sense i failed... i sold my shirt...

[jillsy]

Hey Doris!

I'm so happy for you! What a thrill it is to have someone actually want to pay for something you created. Isn't it a neat feeling?

I didn't realize you lived in Germany and found your note very interesting about how the availability of crafts and carvings differed from the USA. For some reason, I pictured Germany to be much more into hand crafted item, I guess because I've seen holiday shows of your Christkindlmrkt and all the beautiful works of art sold there.

[Thor]

Congratulations Doris. That carving was a beauty. The rewards of sales help validate my carvings and having them sit here in displays with price tags on them, so I hope you gain inspiration from the sale as well. You are a fine carver, and get better each time you post a WIP.
Glad to hear of you "success".
Thor