Underpricing Hand Mades?

Good Question L6:cool: I have also wondered this.
I fight my pricing and question it myself.It seems that when I price a Bowie to people I never hear back from allot of them,I have wondered if it was because I am to low on my prices.I have started looking at the prices of factory knives and I couldn't believe it my prices are the same or below some of them and just a little higher than some.When comparing my prices on comparable pieces made by Big and no name makers I am way below the average...
Here is my dilema on this.I do use top quality materials and I do forge my steel,make all parts by hand as I still don't have a milling machine yet(got a mini on the way now though)I believe that my name is getting better known due to the internet.I have been told by several collecters that I am way low on prices.But I live in the poorest state in the country and the cost of living is way below average and also the wages made here are low also.I love making knives and want to give a man a fair price on them.I tried to make them so the local guys could afford them,but even now I have raised them up just enough that the locals can't afford one without having to save for a long time.Now these are the guys that built my reputation and use my knives and i hate they can't afford them.But the national market looks at my knives like there is something wrong with them as the price is lower.So Do I keep them down and just make a living or raise them up to national pricing level and make allot more on a knife but then have to see the local guys just wish they could have one of my knives...
I believe that when a person looks at the price of the knife they need to ask other questions besides what is wrong.I mean if I lived in New York I couldn't even start to live on what Donna and I make here,but here we have a nice house land in the country and decent cars and the kids never go hungry.Ince 9-11 I have noticed that what allot of people want to pay for a knife is lower than it used to be and this is due to the economy,so why am I not booked solid at my prices? I don't charge enough for my work and people wonder what is wrong with them and so they don't buy--go figure--
I know I need to go to the shows but it takes money to get there and I have to sell something to get that extra,but then again I can't sell the extra without going to the shows.Heck of a catch 22 in that.As long as I pay my bills and feed the kids I am happy,but there doesn't seem to be any left over for extra stuff I need to do.I know borrow the money get to a show,been there done that.Lost my butt like expected and then had another bill to cover and that makes it harder to get a chance for another show where the guys pass on the knife because it is to low thus no sales and another bill,see were I am going here.What is a poor boy to do?
Sorry to be so long winded here and I will quit whining and just read the posts and see if I can learn something.
 
Pricing for custom knives may be the number 1 thing I get asked for advice on by knife makers.

Pricing is not meerly based on cost of materials and/or the skill of the maker. The one factor that is often overlooked is the makers "Position In The Market". Fortunately, with the web it is very easy to get this information. You can estimate you position both locally and nationally using a few readily available resources.

If you don't know the pricing for similar work of at least another 10 - 20 makers in the same market. You are doing yourself and your clients a disservice.

Yourself, because you may or may not be pricing your knives fairly. Your customers, because you may hurt their chances of selling your knife in the aftermarket. I know maker's cringe when they see what the feel is a good knife. Sit on BF for sale forum and watch either no activitiy, the dreaded and feared BTTT, or the seller every 12 hours or so keep lowering the price. Until it gets below dealer cost. Even that is not a guarantee it will sell

Whether it is fair or not, it is a fact that the maker's reputation,in the mind of the consumer cannot be ignored.

How do you improve your "perception"? Well the good news is, it is totally up to the maker.

Again, like it or not what fellow collectors, Magazines and dealers have a positive or negative impact on your perception. Obviously, the best advertising you can get is a happy customer.

You need to establish a relationship with one or magazine. Take some time to meet the Editors, get to know a writer or two. Don't forget to meet the ADVERTISING staff as well. I can not stress enough how much your stock improves when your name appears in print.

Working with dealers can be very beneficial. Several dealers out there have specialties and again, like it or not their opinion counts with both the magazines and many collectors. If you choose to work with a dealer, find out "specifically" what they are going to do to help your career.

For instance, if you have a web site, working with a dealer who meerly does an Internet business will not really benefit you. They need to set up at shows so new customers, one's you couldn't get to. Will be able to handle your knives.

Look at the materials you are using.
If you are a stock removal style makerthen you should be offering knives in S30V. If you have to ask why, then your not keeping current with the market.

There are numerous factors that go into pricing. However, long term you will find it is better to viewed as a little "underpriced" than it is to be a little "overpriced"
 
Personally, I try to look for a deal. But I think there is no doubt price is a critical part of how many people judge quality. An advertising guru once said "people actually taste the price". With much training, the consuming public learns to think that, in general, the higher price is probably better quality. If they make decisions on this basis they will often be correct, and their decision process will be "good enough" to get through the maze of choices. It is a mental shortcut, which the marketing industry has well learned to exploit. How do you deal with this as a knifemaker? Think marketing, as described in some of the above posts. And why not try some pricing experiments? See if sales go better if a percentage off deal is offered from a higher price. Sure it's a game. But all you are really doing is helping people over the hurdle of a decision making process. You know you are offering a quality handmade, product, so a little marketing doesn't hurt you or the customer.
 
Originally posted by Tom Reilly
And why not try some pricing experiments? See if sales go better if a percentage off deal is offered from a higher price. Sure it's a game.
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Tom, I need to disagree with you on this. When a maker raises the price on his knives, he benefits all his previous customers. :)

But when he raises his prices and then discounts them, a number of things happen. IMO, he devalues his knives, he lets future customers know that his prices are negotiable, and that he will discount his prices. He lowers the value of all the knives he has made in the past.:(

When a maker raises his prices, IMO he can't reduce them in the future. It's not fair to the people that all ready own his knives.

A.T.

--
"Don't you buy no ugly knife."
New knives added 9.11.02
http://customknives.com/a.t.barr/availableknives.htm
 
HiltonP said:
A.T.

www.africut.co.za is a good place to start, then www.batavia.co.za.

Guys like Kevin Harvey, Bertie Rietveld, Tom Nelson and Ettore Gianferrari are all forging top class steel.

Regards, HILTON
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Hi Hilton - Know this is an old post, but do you have more details on which Tom Nelson is the maker of custom Puukko knives? Asking because I have a beautiful Puukko by Nelson. Just wondering where he was from.
 
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