Tiki's Fair Market Value? - Tiki Carving

B Benzart Member Port Saint Lucie, Florida Joined: Jan 09, 2004 Posts: 10397	B Benzart Posted posted on Sat, Dec 9, 2006 5:23 AM Yes, I am the one who asked that question way back when I first joined TC and began carving again after several years of inactivity. It's a Tough question to ask and equally tough to answer. Pricing is always a cat and mouse game I think and I doubt that anyone ever gets it 100% correct. The word comes back to me that peeps herebrag about how cheep they got their "Benzart", and this from some respectable members.. My thoughts on pricing have always been to sell as low priced as possible so I have nothing laying around waiting to be sold. I don't give anything away, though sometimes the prices may seem that way. For me this is a labor of love and if I were earning a living at it then I would be doing it very differently. As it is I enjoy every piece that I do and I don't worry about selling price until after the piece is done. If it is a pre-determined price, I Still don't let that influence the quality of the piece, or at least I try not to let it. What determines the quaality of a piece? Where do I draw the line to say "I'm Done"? Well, that determination comes from the piece itself. You know there are pieces that you start and you feel really good about, that are going just right and looking tight and then there are pieces that just don't seem to come together all the way. Those last ones, I will quickly finish and let go cheap, but the "Magical" ones, I will spend however much time I feel it takes to do Everything I can to the piece to make it as perfect as possible within the constraints of the material(you Still can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear). I Still never know how to price a piece so all this does not help a bit. You just have to go with your gut feeling and set a number You can live with. I don't care for the 100$ per foot rule either as I think it is more involved than that. We're not selling Lumber or firewood here(I Hope) Of course I seem to be the wrong person to ask about pricing. However, I am learning that and will be changing my pricing structure as soon as I can figure the structure out. Any idea what I should sell this Moai for?

Yes, I am the one who asked that question way back when I first joined TC and began carving again after several years of inactivity. It's a Tough question to ask and equally tough to answer. Pricing is always a cat and mouse game I think and I doubt that anyone ever gets it 100% correct. The word comes back to me that peeps herebrag about how cheep they got their "Benzart", and this from some respectable members..
My thoughts on pricing have always been to sell as low priced as possible so I have nothing laying around waiting to be sold. I don't give anything away, though sometimes the prices may seem that way. For me this is a labor of love and if I were earning a living at it then I would be doing it very differently. As it is I enjoy every piece that I do and I don't worry about selling price until after the piece is done. If it is a pre-determined price, I Still don't let that influence the quality of the piece, or at least I try not to let it. What determines the quaality of a piece? Where do I draw the line to say "I'm Done"? Well, that determination comes from the piece itself. You know there are pieces that you start and you feel really good about, that are going just right and looking tight and then there are pieces that just don't seem to come together all the way. Those last ones, I will quickly finish and let go cheap, but the "Magical" ones, I will spend however much time I feel it takes to do Everything I can to the piece to make it as perfect as possible within the constraints of the material(you Still can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear).
I Still never know how to price a piece so all this does not help a bit. You just have to go with your gut feeling and set a number You can live with. I don't care for the 100$ per foot rule either as I think it is more involved than that. We're not selling Lumber or firewood here(I Hope) Of course I seem to be the wrong person to ask about pricing. However, I am learning that and will be changing my pricing structure as soon as I can figure the structure out.
Any idea what I should sell this Moai for?

Post #271408 by Benzart on Sat, Dec 9, 2006 5:23 AM