Price increases

[elaine clapper]

Prices have increased on clay and glaze. The small gallery I where I sell my work just informed me they are increasing their cut by 30%. I know their rent and utilities have gone up too.  I my first response is to raise my prices 30% . My dilemma is that might be over pricing for the customers in this area.  I have been selling mugs at $28 each. Not sure if they will sell for $36? What are others doing to combat increasing costs?

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I have a few thoughts on this. 

First, if your COGS have gone up, you can’t just eat that and continue to, well, eat. If you are selling your work at more places than just the one gallery, you should be increasing your prices across the board to factor for that alone. Inflation stories aren’t new to anyone at this point, it’s happening globally, and we all have to contend with it. It’s a function of capitalism, and we all live under it. Sigh. 

Regarding the actual end price of the mug, there’s actually not a lot of functional difference between a $28 and $36 mug price point. A $28 mug isn’t an impulse purchase (mostly), and $8 isn’t going to break the bank of people who are already buying a nice mug. My price points were at a similar place a couple of years ago, and when I had to increase, I was surprised at how much people *didn’t* balk. If they liked it enough to buy it at $25, they were fine paying $30, and later $35. It can decrease the number of mugs you sell, but you also wind up being more profitable on those ones. It turns into a nice get more for less work situation. 

That leads me to my last thought: a 30% increase all at once can be a lot. As stated before, we can’t really eat that cost, but big jumps are off-putting for everyone. What you could consider is doing a partial increase now and another one later in the year. If people are forewarned via your social media or email newsletter, they tend to be more accepting. What I’ve seen a lot of folks do is frame it in terms of “due to ___ I have to increase my prices, so if you want to take advantage before it goes up, be sure to shop before (date of increase).” Breaking it up could look like increasing 15% to $32 after the 4th of July (because that’s the closest holiday), and if you can afford to hold off until fall, framing the next one as a Black Friday thing. Those dates are just suggestions. They can be adjusted based on what fits your sales style and customer base best.