Pricing Pen Boxes

July 29, 2013

I have been making boxes for a little while now, I mainly make them for my own pleasure and as physical therapy following an accident.

I have been asked on a couple of occasions if I would make some to sell, I am not looking to make a large number of boxes or a huge profit .

So as the title suggests my question is how much to charge for these boxes they are hand made with oak and plywood which is then covered with quality veneer, The interior is lined with leather or suede.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5442/9143859098_9fa7d19a20_z.jpg
IMG_3937_1 by my0771, on Flickr

If you are interested these are my box making threads

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/227365-little-boxes/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/224142-writing-slope-dilema/

I advertised tis box in the classifieds section for $75 it generated a little interest in other boxes but did not sell I thought about lowering the price or offering free postage although this could wipe out any profit.

I would value your opinions

Thanks

Michael

July 29, 2013

I guess it really depends on how much you have invested in it. I would take your cost and add 20-30% to it for sales mark-up. I have been following your threads and the boxes look awesome. It's just a matter of finding the right buyer at the right time. My sweet spot for box prices is $45-65. I won't look at boxes over that but that's just my personal preference.

July 29, 2013

Thanks for taking the time to reply sargetalon would your ideal price include postage?

I think it would cost between £9 and £12 to post to the USA.

Thanks

Michael

July 29, 2013

No. That's just for the box. I'm willing to pay extra for postage though it's always a bonus when included and I do tend to favor sales that are reasonably priced with shipping included. I guess it's just more perceived value.

August 2, 2013

Personally, I definitely believe your boxes are worth the $75 you priced them at. The hours you spend on them... skilled labour isn't cheap. However, there's also the question of whether people need or want a pen box at that price. For many people, a box is a box, and it may be hard for you to compete against mass-produced boxes based on price.

I don't think you should lower the price just to sell more, or at the least don't price them below cost. Pricing them too low, people won't appreciate the quality of the piece. If you're going to sell them below cost, you might as well save them and give them out as gifts. It would be more meaningful that way too.

Considering people pay hundreds for pens...I don't think cost is really what's keeping many people from buying your boxes. For those people, I'd think price really wouldn't be an issue if they were interested.

If you really want to sell your boxes, maybe marketing is the issue? If you can market them in a way to generate more interest I think you'd do well.

For myself, I'd be all over them if I weren't a student If you're still selling in a few years...

August 2, 2013

Your boxes are exquisite. It is possibly only a case of needing to get more people to see them to get some people to buy them - as you state, you are not looking to make tens of thousands of them, which would be a different situation with different marketing points.

I never really even thought about a pen box until I saw yours - of course I am very new to this, so that may explain it, but perhaps people have various ways of keeping or displaying their pens, and it may be a case that many of those who have enough pens to warrant the nice large boxes already have them?

(If this is a very silly newbie comment, please forgive me, all, as I am very new to FP culture...)

It is even possible that your price is too low. If there is a similar product somewhere, perhaps finding out what that sells for would be useful. Sometimes with luxury items people are actually prone to spend more rather than less, as they perceive a lesser price may mean a lesser quality, or for other reasons relating to how they see their purchase.

August 3, 2013

Thanks for your input and kind words I plan to make another small box soon this time with a burr finish.

I was also wondering if there was any interest in restored writing slopes depending on the materials chosen they would be between £150 and £200 these can be adapted to store fountain pens.

I do value your opinions

Thanks

Michael

August 16, 2013

I am squinting here trying to convert currencies - That sounds like a reasonable price to me, more than reasonable considering some of your work that you've posted. I can say that I wouldn't be in the market not because the price is too high, but because it is beyond my budget, especially when you start mailing it over the ocean - I've seen more than one quote of over 100 USD to get a box to me from the UK, and I am on the East Coast) (An entirely different kettle of fish, although some people confuse the two.) I think the key is finding people who have the spare money and would like one - and oddly enough, perhaps there are better places than a fountain pen place to do so.

For example - there is a Jane Austen society, at least here, and possibly it is international? I suspect there might be some people there who would be interested in one similar to Jane's slope, and who might well be willing to wait and save up to get one. Groups of reenactors might be another, if, again, you don't mind restoring to what it would have been like new, instead of a 21st century interpretation (Which might be much nicer and more original, but serious reenactors look for document-able authenticity over looks) there may be men slogging around in the mud as we speak who would very happily drop real money on a box just like the one the officers of the unit they portray would have used. Those are two that come very quickly to my mind - there may be others.

Also, here a lot of gifted craftsmen sell at vetted craft shows - not the ones in the local church basement, the ones that charge mega-bucks just to have a table. This would be a good market for more modern rehabs. My experience and what I've read says that the first year you may not sell as much, but the second and third years your business would likely pick up, as people like to buy from the familiar, and regulars often attend the same shows year after year. this is riskier, but if you found a good location that didn't charge an arm and a leg, it might be worth it, and you might pick up some custom orders as well. This probably presumes, however, that you want to make these in some quantity, and that may not be your aim at all.

Short form - a bit of thought and perhaps posting spreading word around through people you know, the alumni publications of any school you ever attended, little local papers (Yes, it can be considered newsworthy that someone local is working on rehabbing bits of history) and a few groups likely to have interested parties might bring you good business.

IF the whole idea of the question was to see who here would buy one, I think I've just been useless, however...

T

August 18, 2013

Hi Scriverly

Thanks for taking the time to reply,

I should have been clearer in my quest for information.

This is not a business by any means more like an obsession.

I had a life changing accident some years ago and I am still recovering from it, I started collecting pens when I was learning to write again I then started to restore them as part of my physiotherapy.

I needed somewhere to store my pens and my wife bought me a Georgian writing slope for Christmas a few years ago it needed a little tlc rather than restoration.

I was looking for something to practice on so picked up a couple from ebay to start on the rest is writing slope dilemma.

Writing slopes take time I would not want to restore more than 3 or 4 a year as I have other projects that I want to do and I only have a limited time where I am able to work on them.

I like to use the best veneer and the highest quality leather and suede and of course these are expensive not to mention hinges locks and other bits and pieces.

I have given boxes away I have also swapped restoration work for Parker pens I have also received a gift of a fantastic Parker 51 for a custom box.

So I think what I am trying to say is it is not all about money to me but it would be nice to recover the costs involved.

Thanks

Michael