Why is it that when a mass produced product calls itself "handcrafted" people are willing to pay top dollar for it? Handcrafted whiskey, handcrafted Italian blah blah blah.... And even better, if you can add "American" to that sales pitch it becomes a priority. The world we live in today is a complete contradiction of itself. We have to have the best of the best and spend hundreds of dollars to get it (almost always imported) yet we preach buy local, buy American, shop small business. We have countless empty houses all over this country yet we build more because that one wasn't exactly how we want our house to be and then we pay more for the custom cabinets, custom tile, custom everything so it can be better than the neighbor's house.
But if an item is handmade by a small business or local artisan we expect
that item to be cheap. We "do our part" by shopping Etsy, craft fairs and
farmers markets but we refuse to spend a little more because it's "handmade" and will try to negotiate for something clearly already marked with a generous price. It should be cheap. Small businesses have no overhead, he/ she is making that at home... how much can (insert ingredient) really cost?? I admit complete guilt in this by the way. I never realized how much the costs add up until I became involved in it myself.
What we forget to look at is the buying power of that small home-based shop compared to major manufacturers. Most of us have to pay full retail for the parts and pieces that become your finished product. We cannot buy in massive amounts like the big companies can. Even if we can buy wholesale, we do not have the financial backing to buy enough to take advantage of major price cuts. For example, I did a little investigating this week I found out that I can get a better price on certain items at JoAnn Fabrics using a coupon than I can from a wholesaler.
Walmart can sell you a backpack for $20 because they buy them by the
millions. Those backpacks are stamped out by machines in just minutes by some factory in China. I won't even touch backpacks sturdy enough for text books because I know the price to the end customer would be outrageous. My products, and those of all other local crafters and artists, can take a very long time to create. From conception of the project to consultation with the customer and then finally to production, there can be hours if not days involved. I know my prices aren't even calculated to include all of that extra time and I've lost customers whom I've spent days going back and forth with because once they finally decide on the item and then the prints, they decide they don't like the price. I make far less than minimum wage putting together custom orders and pieces that I hope you all will like. My husband says I'm crazy and better off getting a part time job. He's trying to understand that I do it for the love of it and for the joy of the occasional "I got my _________ and I LOVE IT!!" posted
on my wall.
Next time you're out at the local markets, remember that the woman selling you a hand-knit scarf for more than what you would pay at Target isn't price-gouging. She's just asking for a fair price for the hard work she's put into that item. That fresh produce comes from the back-breaking efforts of the local small farmer - not some farm in China using lord knows what for fertilizer. That handmade soap really is all natural. Even vintage items, though long ago made, require a lot of work to get from wherever they were found to your home including cleaning, transporting and repairs. Most items you'll find here are one of a kind, too! Not many people can brag about that after paying such a relatively low purchase price! :0)
If the designer label on your possessions is more important to you, this all
means nothing. But if you truly believe in the Buy Local, Buy Handmade, Shop Small Business sentiment that is trying to emerge out of all of this commercialism, or the Back to Nature/ Chemical-free life that so many are trying to live today, please consider how much each crafter, farmer, picker and upcycler puts into their offerings.
We do it for the love of it; but we can't do it for free.
But if an item is handmade by a small business or local artisan we expect
that item to be cheap. We "do our part" by shopping Etsy, craft fairs and
farmers markets but we refuse to spend a little more because it's "handmade" and will try to negotiate for something clearly already marked with a generous price. It should be cheap. Small businesses have no overhead, he/ she is making that at home... how much can (insert ingredient) really cost?? I admit complete guilt in this by the way. I never realized how much the costs add up until I became involved in it myself.
What we forget to look at is the buying power of that small home-based shop compared to major manufacturers. Most of us have to pay full retail for the parts and pieces that become your finished product. We cannot buy in massive amounts like the big companies can. Even if we can buy wholesale, we do not have the financial backing to buy enough to take advantage of major price cuts. For example, I did a little investigating this week I found out that I can get a better price on certain items at JoAnn Fabrics using a coupon than I can from a wholesaler.
Walmart can sell you a backpack for $20 because they buy them by the
millions. Those backpacks are stamped out by machines in just minutes by some factory in China. I won't even touch backpacks sturdy enough for text books because I know the price to the end customer would be outrageous. My products, and those of all other local crafters and artists, can take a very long time to create. From conception of the project to consultation with the customer and then finally to production, there can be hours if not days involved. I know my prices aren't even calculated to include all of that extra time and I've lost customers whom I've spent days going back and forth with because once they finally decide on the item and then the prints, they decide they don't like the price. I make far less than minimum wage putting together custom orders and pieces that I hope you all will like. My husband says I'm crazy and better off getting a part time job. He's trying to understand that I do it for the love of it and for the joy of the occasional "I got my _________ and I LOVE IT!!" posted
on my wall.
Next time you're out at the local markets, remember that the woman selling you a hand-knit scarf for more than what you would pay at Target isn't price-gouging. She's just asking for a fair price for the hard work she's put into that item. That fresh produce comes from the back-breaking efforts of the local small farmer - not some farm in China using lord knows what for fertilizer. That handmade soap really is all natural. Even vintage items, though long ago made, require a lot of work to get from wherever they were found to your home including cleaning, transporting and repairs. Most items you'll find here are one of a kind, too! Not many people can brag about that after paying such a relatively low purchase price! :0)
If the designer label on your possessions is more important to you, this all
means nothing. But if you truly believe in the Buy Local, Buy Handmade, Shop Small Business sentiment that is trying to emerge out of all of this commercialism, or the Back to Nature/ Chemical-free life that so many are trying to live today, please consider how much each crafter, farmer, picker and upcycler puts into their offerings.
We do it for the love of it; but we can't do it for free.
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