Why Buy Handmade? It's Way Too Expensive!

I have seen many forum posts on etsy with questions about PRICES. Yep, Oh yes I did! I said the P word. LOL. Now before you grimace and immediately jump to another page just hear me out. If you visit the etsy forums at all you have seen these same posts. You know the ones I am talking about. The ever popular ones asking how to determine prices for your items and then the ones that discuss comments like " I can get that same thing at xxx for half that price" or the terribly uncomfortable debates between shop x who is upset because shop y is "underselling real artists who are trying to run a business" (someone elses' words not mine). Well, for some reason this topic has been stuck in my head lately. I'm not sure why, maybe its the low views or non-existent sales but something about them has been kinda bothering me. So I decided to blog about it.

Now, don't change the channel just yet. This isn't going to be a big poor me pity rant or anything like it. Rather, I decided to do a little compare and contrast, completely unscientific, research. I am not even going to address the how do I price my items question because I can't tell you how to do that. You have to figure that out for yourself. And I won't go near the shop x and shop y debate with a ten foot pole. Nope, no way. What I do want to talk to you about is the " I can get the same thing at xxx for half the price" kind of comments.

As a handmade artist (I use that term very loosely in my case), comments like these really hurt my feelings. First of all, they are completely false. You may be able to find a similar item but I guarantee you it is not the same thing. The items that you see at xxx are made by a large company with many employees who are often working in substandard conditions. Also, they are often made in a cookie cutter way meaning every one is exactly alike without any personalization or unique character. Whereas with my items and with many of the artists items on etsy each item is made with a great deal of thought and design time invested. Each one is unique in some way simply because the human body cannot reproduce the same exact item over and over again, it just isn't possible. I can make 100 bead links and will never make a single one that is exactly like another no matter how hard I try IF I am truly doing everything by hand.



Secondly, the majority of the items that you will see offered on etsy are made with the highest quality materials possible. I know that in my category, jewelry, most artists like myself choose to use precious metals, precious stones, or semi-precious stones. These materials are not inexpensive to acquire for us as designers so please keep that in mind before you make split second judgments about our prices. And remember also that by using these materials we as the artists are ensuring that you as the consumer are getting a better quality product that will last longer and give you a lifetime of enjoyment if treated and cared for properly. Also consider the craftsmanship that goes into the majority of the handmade items that you find on etsy. As independent artists, most of us put a great deal of effort into our work to make sure that it is of the best craftsmanship possible. We are proud of our pieces and want quality associated with our business name. It doesn't benefit us in the least if our items fall apart the second you take them out of the package. Rather, if this happens it reflects very poorly on us, however, the items that you can get for half the price at xxx may not be made to the same quality control standards because no one's name is directly associated with them. I hope that made sense.

So hopefully you've read this far and I ask that you stick with me for just a little longer. Here comes the compare and contrast portion of our show. I did some searches of big box, big name retailers and looked specifically at their jewelry offers. Now I want to show you what I found out there and some of the similar items that I found on etsy.

Let's start with these. They really kill me cause folks will buy them up without thinking twice about it. I found these online at a site for a big retail chain store that everyone knows but I won't mention here. Notice two things: 1) they are advertised as silvertone which means they may or may not be silver plated over a base metal or they may just be a silver colored metal i.e. aluminum, tin, etc. 2) they are selling for $18!

Now check out these examples that I found on etsy. They are all Sterling silver handmade.

Sterling Silver Teardrops
By Lazydayz $15

Sterling Silver Textured Teardrops
by Silverchic $21




Sterling Silver Double Leaf
by SandraPenn $17

I don't know about you but I really don't see the great savings. To me its better quality at a relatively comparable price.

Here are just a few more examples:

Chain store double strand fresh water pearl bracelet $40

Double strand freshwater pearl bracelet by nevermorecreations $20





Double Strand Freshwater Pearl bracelet in Olive by LauraMia $19

These are only a very few of the many many examples of equivalent pricing on etsy as compared to big box chain stores. So please before you automatically associate handmade with super expensive/overpriced, take a moment to look around etsy. Do like I did and check the prices of the items you want by going to the chain store website then use keywords from their item description to do a search in the same category on etsy. I think in most cases you will find that you are pleasantly surprised.

Well thanks for listening. I really appreciate it. Thanks to all of the wonderful etsy artists out there. Keep your chins up and keep on keeping on. Good Luck To You All!