Pricing Glass Beads

The object of pricing your work is to sell it at a fair price without undercutting the market and therefore your own work. You neither want to price too high and risk losing sales nor too low and risk losing money that might have been yours.

Pricing will always have cost considerations at its base. The more time and material that goes into the item, obviously, the higher the price will be. All bead/jewelry pricing is subjective and is never an exact science.

Pricing will change depending upon the venue/audience as well as your experience. At more expensive venues the price will necessarily be higher. You will discover through experience which venues and pricing strategies best suit your artistic style. Be prepared for the possibility that your style and audience might change over time, therefore your prices will change as well.

Pricing can also be emotionally charged. You might have a bead or piece of jewelry you're not ready to part with, but for a higher price will gladly sell. Consequently that item gets a higher-than-usual price. Conversely, you might not like a particular piece and price it lower than comparative pieces. There is nothing wrong with "emotional pricing". It's your work and you get to determine the price. Don't ever feel that you have to justify your pricing, after all the Mona Lisa is just a bit of canvas and paint!

Wholesale/Consignment Pricing I personally do not believe that artist-produced, handmade items are commodity items suitable for wholesale. Because they are produced one-at-a-time, no "economies of scale" exist to make volume production more cost effective. However, I do offer bulk discounts to encourage larger sales. Orders over $100 receive a 10% discount, orders over $200 receive a 20% discount.

I occasionally sell on consignment at a 60/40 split (I get 60%, the shop gets 40%). Because of the consignment split I don't receive the best price for my work even when the work is priced at higher-than-market prices. I therefore never sell my best work on consignment, only work that I'm interested in "moving out". Keep in mind that with consignment the artist has no control over how the work is displayed or represented. Some shops are highly reputable while others are best avoided altogether. Experience will be your best teacher here.

Basic Pricing A basic strategy I use to price individual beads is $1.00 per every minute it takes to make a bead. This is established the minimum price. Remember to include the time it takes to make the elements involved in making the bead as well (stringers, twisties, murrini, etc.) A bead can be priced higher if more expensive materials are used. Then layer on the emotional pricing issues you might harbor for your work and you will have an opening pricing strategy.

NOTE A "proper" bead is:
1. kiln annealed
2. has properly finished ends (puckers where possible, no sharp ends or burrs)
3. Isn't "wonky" or burned

• Plain Spacers $3.00
• Small beads with simple decorations (dots, stringers, frit, etc) $5.00
• Small beads with complex decorations (harlequins, complex stringers) $8.00
• Medium beads, bicones, teardrops, etc. with simple decorations $8.00 - 10.00
• Medium beads, bicones, teardrops, etc. with complex decorations $12.00 - 18.00
• Large complex beads $24.00 - 32.00

Final Considerations
Selling face-to-face under hectic show conditions is stressful enough without having to worry about pricing. To make things easier:

1. Price all of your work well ahead of the show date.
2. Be sure the price is clearly marked on every piece of your work. You will get a higher price when the price tag is clearly marked than if someone ask you to price something face-to-face.
3. Whenever possible, allow yourself a way to change prices quickly and easily. For example, use color codes to identify the price and a chart to explain the color codes. Then if you discover your prices too high or too low after arriving at the venue, simply adjust the prices on the chart. Failing that, use a pencil to mark the price tags.

— Jane Clark

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