Pricing Labels

[mmhpottery]

Hi all. New to the forum. I've been a potter for around 13 years. Started doing a show or two a year at about year 5 just to make some hobby money back. This year I decided to ramp up and try to actually make a bit of profit. We'll see how that goes.

 

Anyway.... My question for all you pro's is, What method do you use to affix a pricing label to your pots?

 

I started out just writing the price on a sticker and sticking it to the glazed surface (as the labels I had wouldn't stick to the unglazed bottom). Those labels would end up later falling off. So I decided to put a strip of clear "scotch" tape over the sticker. Well...that method sure kept the sticker on the pot. In fact, so well that it took half an hour to get the tape/sticker/and residue off. Then I changed to hand written cheap string hangtags. Yep...they looked cheap. The strings were cool since I could tie them around small necked pieces or through any holes. But...still had to tape the string onto pieces that didn't have a place to tie...like a bowl. Again, the tape ended up being almost impossible to dynamite off. My latest venture has been a nice professional looking folded hangtag (Logo on front, shop and generic pottery info inside, price/shop name and contact info on back) and I use jute twine through a hole in the label to either tie to the pot or tape with a piece of clear shipping tape. Looks a lot better from a "professional" standpoint and I get compliments on the tags. However, they are still a pain in the butt to afix, the medium weight card stock curls up with any change in temp or humidity, and packing up is a nightmare trying to keep the tags from being bent/folded/spindled/and mutilated.

 

What has worked for you guys, or a method you have seen and think is fantastic? I'm not completely sold on the marketing advantage of a hangtag (seems to look cluttered to me especially when the wind blows).

 

Thanks,

Morgan

[Iforgot]

I was a show recently and a potter had printed out her "logo" (a beautiful landscape photograph) on cardstock and cut it into large tag sized pieces and wrote the price on the back, punched a hole in it, and tied it to the pot with a kind of jewelry wire that likes like that really bendy green garden wire, just silver, and because it was sturdier than string she could tie her tags to the smallest little curve in a pot, otherwise, if the piece had no neck or place to tie it she would tape it to the foot. I have rice paper tags that I tie on with string or place inside the pots.

 

 

 

Good Luck!

 

Darrel

[OffCenter]

Hi all. New to the forum. I've been a potter for around 13 years. Started doing a show or two a year at about year 5 just to make some hobby money back. This year I decided to ramp up and try to actually make a bit of profit. We'll see how that goes.

 

 

 

No suggestions on price tags (okay, just one: Try different brands. Some stick better than others.), but I want to thank you for the above statement. So many people start inflicting their precious first pots on the world after a pottery class or two (sort of like someone wanting to be doctor starting to practice medicine after biology 101), that it is really refreshing to read the above.

 

Jim

[Pres]

Hi all. New to the forum. I've been a potter for around 13 years. Started doing a show or two a year at about year 5 just to make some hobby money back. This year I decided to ramp up and try to actually make a bit of profit. We'll see how that goes.

 

 

 

No suggestions on price tags (okay, just one: Try different brands. Some stick better than others.), but I want to thank you for the above statement. So many people start inflicting their precious first pots on the world after a pottery class or two (sort of like someone wanting to be doctor starting to practice medicine after biology 101), that it is really refreshing to read the above.

 

Jim

 

 

I believe that until a person is able to throw that too precious pot in the slop bucket realizing it was a mediocre existence that they should only foist their wares on their relatives and then in limited numbers. :Psrc="http://ceramicartsdaily.org/community/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif" height="20" width="20"> Waiting for five years is a good start.

[TJR]

mmhpottery;

A well written question. I use those little sticky price tags from Staples/Office Depot. They are forever falling off. I have considered hang tags with some more personal info. I can see them for a mug or pitcher, but bowls would be a problem. People are always asking foe a bio, so the hang tag would serve that purpose. It's a dilemma, or maybe it's a conundrum.

TJR.

[GEP]

mmh,

 

I have a few suggestions of things that work for me. First, I put hangtags on just about everything (except items that are too small). I sometimes write prices on the hangtag, but mostly I do it for presentation and marketing. I do agree with you that it's possible for hangtags to be too big, and therefore cluttery looking. My hangtags are really small. The ones I'm using now are actually smaller than the ones I wrote about in this blog post last year:

 

http://www.goodelephant.com/1/post/2012/06/little-salespeople.html

 

 

In the blog post I mention that I use either wires or glue dots to attach the hangtags. Many people wrote me to ask "what are glue dots?" There are several brands but they generally look like this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Thermoweb-Adhesive-16-Inch--64-Inch-300-Pack/dp/B00161QK5Q/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1368801129&sr=8-16&keywords=glue+dots

 

You'll find them in the art supply store in the adhesives aisle. They are not all the same, do not buy anything that says "removable" they are not sticky enough. And try to find some that are not paper flat, but instead have a little thickness to them and a gooey consistency, they stay put really well.

 

 

 

Finally, in addition to hang tags, this is the price tag system I use the most now. I started doing this last year, and it works great! I get tons of compliments on them. It wasn't my original idea, I saw another potter doing this, so feel free to copy!

 

http://www.goodelephant.com/1/post/2012/04/massive-and-tiny.html

 

 

Mea

[oldlady]

FABULOUS IDEA! IDEAS! YOUR WEIGHTS ARE SO GREAT.

 

if people pick up several differently priced items, how do you keep track?

[Chris Campbell]

If you decide to put bio information on your card then make sure your pricing label is removable. If given as a gift people want to share the bio, but not the price. I use the very small rectangular Avery labels because they peel off cleanly. I use glue dots to atttach the card to the pot since it holds but releases cleanly.

[GEP]

FABULOUS IDEA! IDEAS! YOUR WEIGHTS ARE SO GREAT.

 

if people pick up several differently priced items, how do you keep track?

 

 

I mostly know the prices of all of my items in my head. But just in case, I also keep a notebook with me, where I've logged all my inventory and the prices. I can quickly peek at the notebook if needed.

 

Mea

[Mark C.]

Mea is the queen of labels and hers are the best. I just use avery removable 1/2 round ones for prices and include a card with every sale.

I have a 4 color run card and they are less than 2 cents each from Vista print.com.

Mark

[mmhpottery]

Hi all. New to the forum. I've been a potter for around 13 years. Started doing a show or two a year at about year 5 just to make some hobby money back. This year I decided to ramp up and try to actually make a bit of profit. We'll see how that goes.

 

 

 

No suggestions on price tags (okay, just one: Try different brands. Some stick better than others.), but I want to thank you for the above statement. So many people start inflicting their precious first pots on the world after a pottery class or two (sort of like someone wanting to be doctor starting to practice medicine after biology 101), that it is really refreshing to read the above.

 

Jim

 

 

I believe that until a person is able to throw that too precious pot in the slop bucket realizing it was a mediocre existence that they should only foist their wares on their relatives and then in limited numbers. :Psrc="http://ceramicartsdaily.org/community/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif" height="20" width="20"> Waiting for five years is a good start.

 

 

Well guys, as I have been a woodworker all my life, and have a BFA in Furniture Design, and a freelance Furniture Design business where I design furniture for Furniture Manufacturers for nationwide retail consumption......... I am quite versed in the notion that beginning artwork (of any sort) and occasionally even advanced artwork deserves a home in the "slop bucket". LOL I'm also a retired Navy Submariner so have developed a pretty thick skin, which works well for an artist in any medium. I feel fortunate that it seems I took to throwing pots rather quickly and my work is generally well received (even by non-family and non-friends). I was actually dragged kicking and screaming into the craft fair scene at the coaxing of those friend and family and customers and only because the economy stinks and people aren't buying much furniture. Sell pots or go hungry. Well...not quite that bad, but you get the idea.

 

Maybe my response sounds like I'm defensive by your comments, but that isn't the case at all. I quite appreciate the comments. Just passing some time and letting people know where I'm coming from.

[mmhpottery]

mmh,

 

I have a few suggestions of things that work for me. First, I put hangtags on just about everything (except items that are too small). I sometimes write prices on the hangtag, but mostly I do it for presentation and marketing. I do agree with you that it's possible for hangtags to be too big, and therefore cluttery looking. My hangtags are really small. The ones I'm using now are actually smaller than the ones I wrote about in this blog post last year:

 

http://www.goodelephant.com/1/post/2012/06/little-salespeople.html

 

 

In the blog post I mention that I use either wires or glue dots to attach the hangtags. Many people wrote me to ask "what are glue dots?" There are several brands but they generally look like this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Thermoweb-Adhesive-16-Inch--64-Inch-300-Pack/dp/B00161QK5Q/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1368801129&sr=8-16&keywords=glue+dots

 

You'll find them in the art supply store in the adhesives aisle. They are not all the same, do not buy anything that says "removable" they are not sticky enough. And try to find some that are not paper flat, but instead have a little thickness to them and a gooey consistency, they stay put really well.

 

 

 

Finally, in addition to hang tags, this is the price tag system I use the most now. I started doing this last year, and it works great! I get tons of compliments on them. It wasn't my original idea, I saw another potter doing this, so feel free to copy!

 

http://www.goodelephant.com/1/post/2012/04/massive-and-tiny.html

 

 

Mea

 

 

 

Interesting..... I got the idea for using hangtags from, you guessed it, Good Elephant. I think my fault lies in not using a heavier weight cardstock, trying to cram too much information onto the tag making it larger than I would like, using jute (which is a pain to work with and messy), and not trying out a few other affixing methods like the glue dots. I have more experimenting to do.

[mmhpottery]

FABULOUS IDEA! IDEAS! YOUR WEIGHTS ARE SO GREAT.

 

if people pick up several differently priced items, how do you keep track?

 

 

I mostly know the prices of all of my items in my head. But just in case, I also keep a notebook with me, where I've logged all my inventory and the prices. I can quickly peek at the notebook if needed.

 

Mea

 

 

I have yet to settle on the idea of doing multiples so my pricing is all over the place. EVERY piece is different. My prices range from $10 to my current highest...$250. Trying to keep the prices in my head is FAR beyond my feeble brain cells. I now serialize every piece and my tags have the same serial number along with the price.

[mmhpottery]

If you decide to put bio information on your card then make sure your pricing label is removable. If given as a gift people want to share the bio, but not the price. I use the very small rectangular Avery labels because they peel off cleanly. I use glue dots to atttach the card to the pot since it holds but releases cleanly.

 

 

 

EXCELLENT point, Chris!!!!!

[GEP]

 

Interesting..... I got the idea for using hangtags from, you guessed it, Good Elephant. I think my fault lies in not using a heavier weight cardstock, trying to cram too much information onto the tag making it larger than I would like, using jute (which is a pain to work with and messy), and not trying out a few other affixing methods like the glue dots. I have more experimenting to do.

 

 

I should add that I also pack a separate "artist card" which is like a business card but without any contact info other than my website. This card contains my short artist statement and the "dishwasher, microwave safe" language. I keep them in a stack on my checkout table so customers can take them, and I also pack them with the sold pots. That way I don't have to squeeze that info onto the hang tags. The hang tags only say my company name, plus the name of the pot.

 

Mea

[Pres]

Interesting..... I got the idea for using hangtags from, you guessed it, Good Elephant. I think my fault lies in not using a heavier weight cardstock, trying to cram too much information onto the tag making it larger than I would like, using jute (which is a pain to work with and messy), and not trying out a few other affixing methods like the glue dots. I have more experimenting to do.

 

 

I should add that I also pack a separate "artist card" which is like a business card but without any contact info other than my website. This card contains my short artist statement and the "dishwasher, microwave safe" language. I keep them in a stack on my checkout table so customers can take them, and I also pack them with the sold pots. That way I don't have to squeeze that info onto the hang tags. The hang tags only say my company name, plus the name of the pot.

 

Mea

 

 

I have started putting the brochures to art work, with business cards in a little envelope on the back of the work when I have work I have purchased framed. I have also seen pots in homes where all of the business cards, contact cards, brochures for the pottery were kept in the pot. It might be neat to have all of this on one card that could be detached as the purchaser desired. "Yes, I used the emoticom right!"