Access More Money by Making Jewelry When Your Prices Are Right

First of all, as a jewelry artist, you need to decide what flavor of wire wrapped designer/jewelry artist you are. Are you inclined to attract the value shopper who wants something low cost but still attractive or would you rather sell to the middle tier customer who considers jewelry an expression of who they are? Or maybe your desired customer is the investment type who believes that buying a "brand" is as important as the jewelry itself? Once you decide which type you are creating for, then you can begin to determine your prices.

The best way to start is to assess the pricing levels of your competitors. Again, your competitors will fall in the three categories defined already - budget jewelry, quality costume jewelry, and designer jewelry. Within each category, there are various subcategories such as ethnic or regional, artist, handcrafted, semi-precious stones, precious metals, etc. Search online for the products that are similar to what you craft. Identify a number of different manufacturers and ask them for pricing. If you don't feel comfortable asking, persuade a friend to help you because if you don't know what the competition is doing you can't effectively price your product.

Another rule of thumb in manufacturing is to charge five times the cost of production. Jewelry however usually has an additional 40 - 200% markup beyond this because often there are middle-persons who need to get paid for merchandising the product. If you don't have this layer in your sales process then you can compete to garner more sales for a similar product found in boutiques or department stores.

You may choose to sell direct to a retail store but you will see yourself getting paid 20-40% of the actual sales price because of this markup. Selling online is an effective way to merchandise your jewelry also; however you will need some lessons in building a store and then marketing it. It will require that you build a recognizable brand, build business and consumer relationships, and pay for advertising and marketing that utilize online tools.

Finally, you can always change the price if it's not working for you, adjusting it up or down until you find the sweet spot that covers your cost of production, your overhead and a profit. Also, don't forget to enjoy this pricing process. Lowering prices does not necessarily increase sales; sometimes the opposite is true because your jewelry will be seen as more valuable, more in demand, and more compelling to own.

For more on Pricing Your Jewelry make sure to read our How to Price Your Wire Jewelry (Article).