Inferior workmanship

[Les Symonds]

Surely those people with poor workmanship will discover that their work will not sell and give up, making way for the next 'craftsman'
Which maybe why I gave up craft fairs.....
Ron

...sadly, in today's society, there is a high proportion of people who accept poor quality, cheapness and dispensability as the norm. They buy on a whim, and because they don't value items, they don't care for them, so they soon get discarded. That's when they go and buy another one, which simply reinforces the belief of the maker of poor quality goods (of any description) that they're right in what they do. Perhaps they are!
Les

[TONY MALIN]

Do any of you watch Flog It?  Valuations often say in perfect condition so much but with that chip or crack or whatever, about X percent less. At the Auction some go for well above the estimate. And a really antique antique which most of us would chuck in the bin can go for a mind boggling sum!

So as Dr Joad used to say "It all depends".

[andersonec]

If your stuff is nice and it appeals to potential customers then the cheap competition should not be a worry, we attend a monthly craft market in Lincoln once a month and I sell my jewellery boxes for a minimum of £220, I have sold one every month this year and also produced another three on commission, my tuned boxes sell for a minimum of £24 and we have been at other craft fairs where we have been adjacent to other turners who are selling cheaper but we always do better.
I really do think that where wood crafts are involved that quality and craftsmanship sell, if the next stall is selling what you regard as rubbish cheaply, don't moan, just big-up your quality and the workmanship that has produced such a beautiful item, they have eyes.

There are plenty of people out there that turn for a hobby and do not wish to make any profit for whatever reason, perhaps they are not confident their stuff will fetch a good price, perhaps they are not skillful enough, perhaps they are giving the money to charity, if your stuff is of a high enough standard then what's the problem.

We also all do the same thing, which tools do you use? Sorby or Addis? which lathe do you have? cheap or pricey? it all boils down to what you can afford and what you like, same as people selling cheap stuff, not everybody can afford the expensive turnings but those who can will buy it if they like it.

That's my pennyworth anyway.

Andy

[Bryan Milham]

Andy,
although not producing items toyour value I also put a realistic price on my work, and have no problem sell pieces at faires.

What brought me into this discussion is my latest fair. I was next to a lady who makes jewellrey, okay so there are lots of them. But the things that were getting the most attention, and she sold two that I saw, was jewellry boxes. No not the rally nice ones but the cheep nasty things you find in cheep jewellers for $20 or $30.

And presumably she picks them up in charity shops (going by here selling price). All she had done, painted and rubbed back to make them Shabby Chic.

So not making poor quality but finding a way to sell it!

[andersonec]

Andy,
although not producing items toyour value I also put a realistic price on my work, and have no problem sell pieces at faires.

What brought me into this discussion is my latest fair. I was next to a lady who makes jewellrey, okay so there are lots of them. But the things that were getting the most attention, and she sold two that I saw, was jewellry boxes. No not the rally nice ones but the cheep nasty things you find in cheep jewellers for $20 or $30.

And presumably she picks them up in charity shops (going by here selling price). All she had done, painted and rubbed back to make them Shabby Chic.

So not making poor quality but finding a way to sell it!

Absolutely Ed, the general public are fickle, take the constant stream of never ending 'sales' which all end on Monday, we all know they are non-existent but the public are obviously taken in by them or they would stop, instead they are on the increase. Those ply wooden boxes can be picked up on ebay for a few pence it's then up to any anyone with a bit of imagination to make a few bob on them, we are taken in by a bit of paint and some tag (chabby chic) applied to such items. It doesn't stop there though, everything which is advertised on telly now has a "tag" e.g. Toyota,,, "Fall in love with driving again" when did anyone fall 'out of love' with driving? I often see 'Craft' items whic to be honest are just a joke, things like 'Felt animals' what the heck do you do with one of those?


We don't even need to do any work really, just have a look at the Alibaba site for, let's say, "Wooden boxes" check some of the prices and minimum quantities, why bother doing it yourself if not for the enjoyment? (my chum gets his perpetual calendars and clocks through Alibaba) 100 at a time.

As far as being "undercut" or other woodturners selling cheap,,,have we ever thought about how much we sell turned items for and how much the professional turners are selling similar items for, are we not doing the same to them? do they complain?

Andy

[Hartwood]

Reading through this and other posts about quality & price issues I am reminded of two quotes from the Victorian art critic John Ruskin, these I think epitomise the thoughts and sentiments of most of the contributors

There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey.”
John Ruskin 1819 - 1900


It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When
you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay
too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you
bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The
common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a
lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well
to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will
have enough to pay for something better.”
John Ruskin 1819 - 1900

[Graham]

You cannot argue with that philosophy. The problem is that some people  want something but only have so much money to spend. They buy cheap or they don't buy at all. Either way the skilled worker charging a fair price isn't getting the sale.

[andersonec]

You cannot argue with that philosophy. The problem is that some people  want something but only have so much money to spend. They buy cheap or they don't buy at all. Either way the skilled worker charging a fair price isn't getting the sale.

But he will sell to someone who can afford it Graham, he will not sell to someone who does not have the money.

Allan Sugar got rich on selling rubbish Amstrad stereo's in Woollies but at the same time there were lots of  people buying Technics and Bose and Dennon and a lot of other very expensive audio and it doesn't stop there, if the item has a purpose and it is well made then it will sell..

Andy

[Graham]

You cannot argue with that philosophy. The problem is that some people  want something but only have so much money to spend. They buy cheap or they don't buy at all. Either way the skilled worker charging a fair price isn't getting the sale.

But he will sell to someone who can afford it Graham, he will not sell to someone who does not have the money.

Allan Sugar got rich on selling rubbish Amstrad stereo's in Woollies but at the same time there were lots of  people buying Technics and Bose and Dennon and a lot of other very expensive audio and it doesn't stop there, if the item has a purpose and it is well made then it will sell..

Andy

Yes. The point I was trying to make is that it may not be worth worrying about those selling cheap wood turnings. The customers may not be able to buy from you ( i.e., a skilled turner charging a fair price ) anyway.