<h1>Before we begin... </h1>



Let's get into the right mindset,shall we?



Get clear about Business – you want to make profit,you want a business.



Get clear about charging what you’re worth.



Don’t undersell yourself. 



Race to the bottom.



<h2>The old way: Keystone Pricing Model.</h2>



(Materials + Labor + Expenses) x 2 = Wholesale Price Wholesale Price x 2 = Retail Price



Rich shop owners owned the high street shops.



Rich factory owners mass-produced items to sell to the shop
owners.



Factory owner paid potters to make pots.



The took their cost,and doubled it. 



Sold it to the shops.



The shops bought it,their cost,and doubled it.



Factory had output,nowhere to sell.



Shops had a place to sell,they had an audience,but no products.



Seemed fair.



Rules of business.



Internet changed this.



You can now sell directly from the factory and skip the
shops. 



Factory Outlet online shops (Our tools)



Bad for shop keepers. Good for consumers.



Amazon buy warehouses next to towns,instead of shops on the
high street.



10 x Cheaper to post it than rent a shop in town.



Now you can sell it yourself. 



But we’ve kept the pricing structure.



Cost of materials X 2 = Wholesale. 



Cost of materials X 4 = for end consumer.



<h2>Work out your hourly wage:</h2>



The next bad piece of advice we seem to see promoted a lot is to work out your hourly wage.



(Wage x Average Time) + (Materials + Labor + Expenses) = Wholesale x 2 = Retail 



Say you want to make $20 / hour. 



How much time do you spend making each piece?



If you spend 2 hours spend making – that’s $40 + the cost of materials.



Sounds good... But why would you want an hourly wage? 



Are you a factory worker,mass-producing similar items?



Are you selling wholesale?



Or are you a creative? A ceramic artist?



Do you change your style,like to experiment,express
yourself?



If yes,then stop treating yourself like a factory worker.



You are more than that.



If you just charge your hourly wage,then you are just working in a factory.



<h2>Pricing for the Market</h2>



The final piece of advice that gets promoted is to charge "what the market can bear".



Look around your local shops,galleries,markets,and write down what the average prices are for stock you see selling.



This works well if you're living in an arty place - London for example,but less so if you're in a small city or village out in the sticks... 



There's a big problem though.



You are not selling the same things as your fellow ceramic artists.



If you were selling the same T.V then you won't be able to charge $50 more than one that's the exact same T.V.



And even then,the market can change. Imagine a couple of years ago,someone saying they were buying a $1000 mobile phone? You would think they were spending waaaay too much,right? Nowadays,it's the norm. It took Samsung &amp; Apple to increase their phones,and now the market can bear a lot more.



We need to do the same for ceramics.



We cannot stay content selling $20 mugs. We need to push the prices,and charge what you're worth.







<h2>A better way: Pricing for your Audience. </h2>



Why is it that some potters can charge hundreds or thousands for their work,and some only charge $20?



The difference is audience.



If we turn the thinking on it's head... and instead of working from the ground up,working out the cost of materials,etc... we worked backward.



How much would your target audience spend on their dream vase?



What's the most they would spend if it ticked all of their boxes?



Work out the value first.



Then take away your costs. 



The rest is your profit.



Value = (Materials + Labor + Expenses + Profit) 



Pricing high for your target audience.



Pricing your work higher is better for your business.



Perceived value.



People value things more when they cost more. 



Bugatti $5M car – doesn’t cost 2.5M to make. 



How do you feel when you buy a $10 mug? 



It’s ok,it’s easily replaceable.



When you buy a $100 mug?



You take care of it. You treasure it. You put it up in your
mug shelf on display.



Aim to make $100.



How many $20 do you have to sell? Five.



If they cost $50? Sell two.



If they cost $100? Sell one.



So what if 5 people don’t buy your work.



That 1 person will.



<h2>Setting a scale</h2>



Once you have a base price setup,and you know your own formula,you can then work to change it up a bit.



Don't just set all of your prices to be the same number. They are all different pieces,that all work slightly differently. Maybe the handle is slightly better positioned,or your glazes have interacted better with one another. Either way,it's a good idea to say your best pieces earn up to 30% more,and your worst pieces up to 10% less.



People like to have a choice. 



And having a choice of mugs,for example,and a choice of prices makes it easier for people to choose one. 



Some people will choose the lower-priced variants,some will choose the most expensive.



So before you list your items for sale,take a minute,and look through your work,and set a sliding scale based on how each piece looks and feels. 



<h2>Conclusion:</h2>



<a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/how-much-can-you-earn-by-selling-your-ceramics-online/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">How much can you Earn Selling your Ceramic Online? </a>



Spend time building your audience.



Spend time making your online shop.



Don’t be scared to raise your prices.



Handmade mugs should not cost less than $50.



<h2>Want to learn more?</h2>



Enroll in our Pottery Business Workshop.

How to price your ceramics

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How to price your ceramics

How to price your ceramics

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