Changed Prices

I've changed my prices dramatically, and I thought I should explain myself.

This past month Etsy has had lots of online labs and blog articles about pricing handmade items.  I haven't really looked at my pricing strategy since I started my shop last August.  I didn't really know what I was doing back then, but it's been awhile and I've learned a lot since starting my shop.  It was time to take a good long look at my prices, because I knew they were too low.  Many of my items have changed since I started out - my Police Box Wristlets, for example, are way more awesome now than they were when I started making them. I think I've got them to a point where I can call them perfect, but that also means that there's a bit more time that goes into making them.  The old price did not reflect the current quality well.

After watching the labs I made up a meticulous spreadsheet.  After plugging in many numbers, and waffling over how much I'm comfortable paying myself, I realized that I was really undervaluing my products and myself.  Looking at these numbers, I know I've been undervaluing myself as an artist.

Plus, I need to eat.  That whole starving artist cliche is looming ever closer to becoming a reality.

So that's why my prices have been raised.  The thing is, I'm not even close to charging what I ought to be.  But what I ought to be charging is scary.  Scarier still is that I haven't sold anything since I've raised my prices.

Food.  Rent.  Cue panic attack.