Pricing on projects that Have been made

Whats everybody pricing project out at. Having a Heck of a time selling things, not sure if my prices are too high or if people are just extremely cheap. I am not looking to get rich off of this thing by any means but it does cost a fairly decent amount of money to keep this thing going.

To date i have spent 520 on metal. gave away alot sold 125 bucks worth . lol Im not quittin my day job

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Its been frustrating. This is a sweet hobby and I love it to see the end results of something that each one of us can see. Not sure if people realize exactly how much time goes in to making these things. When you figure in consumables, abrasives, the cost of steel, paint and the rest of the upkeep on equipment, its a spendy hobby.

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Heres a Griz I made, thought $80 was fair. Cant even give it away!

I seem to like what i make and want to keep it lol . Its a fun hobby but i have had way more expensive ones.

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And thats pretty cool. I price mine high and say but if you are intersted I will takeā€¦whatever depending on what it is, Everyone wants a bargain now days.

Just trying to figure out some tactics to get some more things sold. If I continue at the rate I am going now, I will have to hire a contractor to reinforce the walls of my house!

Make 16 guage bricks?

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Maybe try to sell things to people straight off the table for cheap.I find people like finishing things out on their ownā€¦Its like you are just supplying a component for their project and you can still make money because you donā€™t have as much time invested.

Try to market to a different group?

Dude sees your work and says ā€œi could make thatā€ no sale.

Lady sees one that says ā€œthis kitchen is blessedā€, she wants it, she will buy it.

Try to vary your items, so far they all fit the same theme.

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Look into saving projects up and selling them at a local farmers market or event similar to that maybe?

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I have no idea about your area, But here they have what they call swapshops. Online like craigslist but local areas. Free advertising and people from all over look at it. Thats my plan soon as i get stocked up.

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Great ideas from everyone, Thanks again!!

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I see my love bear I designed on that wall! LOL

LOOKS GOOD!:+1:
It was a big hit with my wife on Valentineā€™s Dayā€¦ I I got a couple of orders from others out of it.
Figured it would cover a holiday, birthday, plain gift, for whatever.
Area Iā€™m living in is NASCAR Central.
And the neighborhood is full of military and commercial pilots.
My daughter is horse crazy and shows rides and shows a lot for years
So I concentrate on aviation. Horse stuff and racing stuff. So it gets into the easy to reach friends and neighbors and local barns, then word spreads and they begin asking, can you make me this or this. SURE! Lol

Now Iā€™m churning out some projects for a big school event / Auction to help raise monies for my Daughters school. So I will have the potential for 200-300 families to see my workšŸ˜Š

:wink:

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Thatā€™s a good plan. Sure you donā€™t make anything on the donations but the people there see your work and people who go to the homes of the folks who get your stuff are all gonna see it first hand.

Another place to try is bringing your stuff to a local MakerFaire. Lots of people go to those here. Many will buy stuff because they donā€™t make what you do or theyā€™re just there as regular buyers.

We have garden & home shows that seem to be really good for selling stuff - always see more people carrying stuff out than I do at craft shows. If I was doing this for money Iā€™d be doing one this weekend :smiling_face: Our metal stuff can be tailored for outdoor/garden placement.

The trick is to make money for things people want to order rather than making something you think is cool and hope to sell.

Unfortunately the market for this stuff is rather saturated now without the Langmuir community. Generic designs are everywhere.

You need to make something that no one else already has.

For example, i make fire department emblems for people of their department patch. They canā€™t get it anywhere else without most likely paying more.

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Itā€™s cool I did thank everyone who shared in another post thank you again

Thatā€™s 100% correct. We often get hung up on what we like and donā€™t get why other people arenā€™t beating our doors down. But itā€™s what they like that matters and thatā€™s the trick. Since it may not be something you like you donā€™t have a frame of reference. You have to see what other people are selling and then see if thereā€™s some way to riff off of it and make something similar but different & uniquely yours.

Your patches are a perfect example. Lots of people buy them, people in fire/EMS are emotionally attached to their units and you can provide an ā€œuber-patchā€ :slightly_smiling_face:

That is the best way to sell parts or signs, in my opinion. Show designs that you can do and then sell them on what you can make custom for the customer instead of cutting the metal first and making a product that may never sell. I have designed custom signs for people in fusion and then sent it to them. If they like the design I take half down prior to the manufacture of the product and the other half upon delivery. That way there is a little skin in the game. Average cost of something the size of the table (i.e. roughly 23x23 or 24x24 would be around $95 with the finish of their choice for a single layer of 14Ga Carbon Steel, from me. Cost will also depend on what you want to charge for your time and not just the material and consumable costs.You will also have to consider the detail in the work-piece. The more detail, the longer the cuts and the more pierces the more your cost on consumables.

I just enjoy taking a peice of metal and making something from it on the crossfire. When i ordered it i was thinking just a fun shop toy. Something to play around with . I have cut out numerous things. I have given away alot more than i have sold. I dont advertise at all. I have a job so its not to make me rich. At the rate im going I might have it paid for by the time i wear it out. At a later date I may advertise in one place.

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