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Sponge Holder Pricing


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For me I do not try to find the most people will pay for these items. I am interested in that sweet spot that folks want to buy them without a thought-often they buy two and more often they add more work to the purchase. Since I can make them fast and have sourced the rubber bottoms down to a very low price I choose to do this as a marking ploy. I have two items which I do this and that pay for the whole show and the gas and the hotel room if I'm on the road.I know the sweet spot price points and I know I could get more but the sales slow down.

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For me I do not to find the most people will pay for these items. I am interested in that sweet spot that folks want to buy them without a thought-often they buy two and more often they add more work to the purchase. Since I can make them fast and have sourced the rubber bottoms down to a very low price I choose to do this as a marking ploy. I have two items which I do this and that pay for the whole show and the gas and the hotel room if I'm on the road.I know the sweet spot price points and I know I could get more but the sales slow down.

 

I am not disagreeing with your thoughts at all. If I could throw at the pace you do then I would do this as well. You are a throwing beast.

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To get around the ick feel a lot of customers have with using sponges I put one of those rectangular pot scrubbies in one instead of a sponge. Even if it has a sponge inside the scrubby material it seems more sanitary and I get less comments about sponges and harbouring bacteria.


 


one of these thingies


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There is a sweet spot in pricing where quantity of sales decrease but profits do not. The goal is to find the point at which you're making the same money but working less. One of my friends found that he could raise his prices 30% and still make the same average profit at shows, selling fewer pots. He was super happy because he is technically retired and just making pots to keep busy an make a little extra money.

 

I had no idea this thread would take on this much life, but here we are on page 2. Lots of great info! Thanks, all. For now I think I'll stay at $17. Maybe next Spring I'll try $18 if it seems like people are in the spending mood. This year has definitely been better than last year, so hopefully the trend will continue.

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Whats a power sponger you ask

Well it in this old link of an long ago out of business business.

I have many of these tools and still use them

They closed the doors years ago. The power sponger has been a great tool-I originally bought it for a slip cast business also long gone I had.

I use  it almost every week-it turns slow in a bucket of water on a stand waist high in studio

make short work of soothing bottoms or taking glaze off pot bottoms.

remember this link is not active  sales wise as it just a ghost site on web

http://www.tools4clay.com/toolswithtrimmers.htm

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I started my spoon rests out at $8 and they were selling too fast to make so I slowly increased my prices I until I hit $11 and that seems to be the happy spot for them. I should state I do not through mine. Had to cut back on the use of my wheel because of my back issues so I slab make my spoon rests. Soooo easy I have a large round metal cake ring that I use. I roll the clay through the slab roller, roll in my chosen textures, cut with the ring, form over a bowl covered in a stocking, flip onto a ware board, pull the "spout" with my fingers and leave to dry. Clean up with a sponge and fire. I can make a lot of these very quickly.

 

My sponge holders I have at $13. I use a hollow extruder plate to make these. I pull several hundred pounds of these round hollow tubes and store the extrusions in damp boxes. I also roll out and damp box the bottoms as well. Storing everything in damp boxes means the clay parts are all at the perfect leather hard stage to assemble. It takes no time at all to stick the bottom to the top. Once assembled I add the textures. I made a cut form/ Jig out of a discarded plastic container that I cut the sponge grooves in. I just pop the sponge holder in use my fettling knife to follow the cut groove pop it out and dry. Wipe the edges with a sponge and fire. I can make dozens and dozens of these in a day.

 

Mini dishes are made from the scrap clay left from cutting out all those round circles and are formed over a small ramekin covered in a nylon. I want to make some bisque molds to do the shaping of the spoonrests and mini dishes and get rid of the forms I am currently using mostly so I can do silkscreened versions as well as textured ones.

 

These small forms I work by the dozen never just one at a time and that's how I get the time spent on each down low enough to make a profit on them. I learned all of this from Mark and adapted them to non-wheel forms to suit my working methods.

 

T

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I don't get what all this extra work is about, my sponge holder is the basket in the half sink.  Don't you have those in the US?  Sink/draining board combo with a shallow half sink between.  No need for any containers for sponges, brushes or anything else.

 

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People in the US like accessories. I am with you. I keep a very minimal amount of things. Before I started pottery, when we moved I had grocery store bag with my clothes and my computer in a box. That was all I owned in my name. Now.. not so much. I have an entire garage full of stuff. 

 

Although I have to say, I thought the spoon rest thing was silly, but I use them every night I cook now. It's much nicer than having to wipe down the granite every single night. 

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I can't speak for others but every sink I have ever had has had 2 large bowls, no little basket thingy. Must be a US thing? Since there is no place to sit your sponge you either place it on the center between the 2 bowls or in the edge, or if you are a MAN (lol kidding) you just leave it floating around the bottom somewhere. All of this means it's sitting in its own moisture getting funky and hence the need for sponge holders.

 

T

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chilly, you have a very expensive sink!   they are available here, stephen, but you won't see them at home depot, just the plumbing supply store your architect or builder of expensive homes uses.  you would be amazed at the variety if your budget includes $$$$ for a sink.  to go in your $$$$$$ kitchen.  

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Chilly you have a great sink but here in the US most settle for the cheapest sink they can find. . These are not full featured sloped drain /with basket drain with stainless insert you showed us. More often it the double shallow pressed steel or stainless sink. 

I will add that kitchen sinks (higher end ) are now catching on in custom homes in this country.

I see them in my fine homebuilding Magazine I have subscribed to for 25 years. They are now pretty standard in nicer homes.

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 or if you are a MAN (lol kidding) you just leave it floating around the bottom somewhere. All of this means it's sitting in its own moisture getting funky and hence the need for sponge holders.

 

T

 

This MAN attends to all the kitchen duties - my washing up sponges sit on a flat dish on the window cill behind the sink, one old one for really dirty stuff and a newer one for general washing up, also a flat and very absorbent sponge for wiping down tops.

 

When the washing up is dealt with, some fresh hot water (and soapy stuff) is run into the bowl and the sponges are all washed out, squeezed dry and returned to their flat dish. Every couple of days this process also includes a small amount of sterilising solution (babies bottle cleaner).

 

I also have a metal pan scourer (which usually gets used for scrubbing potatoes) This has it's own holder, about the size of a small mug but with a tight waist collared in  so that the scourer sits in the top half and any water drains to the bottom.

 

Nothing funky here.

 

I'm not perfect - there's plenty of cobwebs around if you care to look. :o:D

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Some of us just do the dishes and have no desire to adorn the kitchen with proof of the fact! Well ventilated cupboard under the sink....

Then there are others who like to show everyone that dishes are done manually in this household and sponges are placed is unique cannot live without sponge holders, for Neil and Mark's interests lets hope they breed up, or are clumsy!

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