Wholesale pricing.

[Locust]

I stopped in a local gift shop tonight to ask what needed for me to display my items in their shop. They asked for a portfolio, which is no big deal.
They then told me they would take a 50% cut of sales. I had walked in with a couple of small items just to show, and I explained that I sell them for $20. These aren't things I could ever reasonably expect to sell for $40. I know I would never pay $40 for them.

Not a big deal, I can work up some parts that are dirt cheap to make so there's profit room for everyone.

My question is, how normal is it for a shop to want half of a sale? I had attempted to sell in a local artists guild last year but that was a $120/yr fee to display and they still wanted 50% of sales.

[AREA]

50% sounds unreasonable to me. Average retail mark is only around 30%. Not sure what you are selling but I would find other ways of selling your work.

[acourtjester]

I agree that seems very high, you work and they profit. Have you looked into a flea market or craft show where you pay a flat rate for a space to sell.
You may also pick up so custom work from customers walking by, after seeing your work. Be sure to get a deposit for any future work, that covers your materials at least, full pay at their pickup.

[Locust]

I have a full-time job and my plasma work is on the side. I just don't have the time to commit to in-person sales, which is why I was hoping to get some stuff displayed in a gallery. 2 for 2 now with places looking for a 50% cut and the place I visited tonight mentioned that even the places around working on consignment are operating at something like a 60/40 split. Might just be the way it is around here but I was curious whether it was like that everywhere. Guess not.

[adbuch]

I have a full-time job and my plasma work is on the side. I just don't have the time to commit to in-person sales, which is why I was hoping to get some stuff displayed in a gallery. 2 for 2 now with places looking for a 50% cut and the place I visited tonight mentioned that even the places around working on consignment are operating at something like a 60/40 split. Might just be the way it is around here but I was curious whether it was like that everywhere. Guess not.

Maybe Etsy would be way to go. I think you can open your own Etsy "store" to display your items with automatic "buy-it-now" functionality.

David

[adbuch]

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles ... nt=selling

etsy shop 2.jpg

etsy shop.jpg

etsy shop 1.jpg

[Locust]

I have an Etsy store. It doesn't perform. Etsy is not really the "crafts" store it used to be. I'm being undercut by factories in Turkey who are able to sell similar items with free worldwide shipping for the same price as I'm paying for materials and consumables.

That's why I' was trying to focus on the local market.

[adbuch]

I have an Etsy store. It doesn't perform. Etsy is not really the "crafts" store it used to be. I'm being undercut by factories in Turkey who are able to sell similar items with free worldwide shipping for the same price as I'm paying for materials and consumables.

That's why I' was trying to focus on the local market.

Then maybe just the flea markets or swap meets. Or just keep it as a hobby. I personally have an Ebay store - but I don't do any custom artistic plasma pieces for sale - I only do it for family gifts and such.
Good luck!

David

[Joe Jones]

Look for the vendor malls ... Peddlers Mall ... Finders Keepers ... etc. Set up a 10' x 10' booth ($120/month?) and let them sell your items. They will sell them for the price tag you put on the items. They will collect and DEDUCT the Sales Tax from your price, and also take probably 6% of the sale.

Say you sell something for $10.00 The sales tax is $0.70 (7%) and the vendor's cut is $0.60 (6%) They will give you $8.70 for that item when it sells, and you don't have to hire someone to sit at a cash register. You don't need to worry about STATE Sales Tax.

The successful booths CHANGE their inventory often, so people who visit don't see the same thing they saw the last time they walked by. Static vendor booths FAIL.

Some vendor malls charge a higher percentage, but NOT 50%! That is just ridiculous!

Joe

[tnbndr]

I have a full-time job and my plasma work is on the side. I just don't have the time to commit to in-person sales, which is why I was hoping to get some stuff displayed in a gallery. 2 for 2 now with places looking for a 50% cut and the place I visited tonight mentioned that even the places around working on consignment are operating at something like a 60/40 split. Might just be the way it is around here but I was curious whether it was like that everywhere. Guess not.

You don't say where you are but I have run into the 50% shops in the Midwest where I am located(Wisconsin). It sounds high and I stayed away from them but they do have all the risk. I found a craft mall that charged $70/month for a 5'x10' space and they charged tax and 10%. Also every item had to have a unique tag so monthly I would get a statement from them with the tag number, sale price, tax, their cut and a check for my sales. With the tag numbers I knew what was selling and also what items I needed to restock. It was an Okay venture. I rented space for a couple of years and then pulled out. It was a 1-1/2hr drive from me and a busy store so items were getting damaged (scratched) etc.
I did seasonal art shows for about 4 years, 2-3 shows a year but it gets old hauling stuff and setting up etc. I did hand out a lot of business cards and got a lot of custom work from those shows though. After that I just worked by referral and word of mouth.
I sold my plasma table in 2023 and really only do custom fabrication now, and not a lot.
I had an Etsy shop and website with e-commerce but neither of those had much activity. Selling plasma art that everyone else sells is just a race to the bottom. You need to find something that will sell that no one else, or very few offer and stick with that. Custom wind spinners, a unique style of fire pit or custom railing panels........

[Locust]

I'm in Vermont. That's another facet to the challenge. It's just a tiny state with a small population. I can swipe through all available matches on a dating app in under two weeks..

There are small craft stores like the gift shop I visited the other night, or the art gallery I tried selling in previously, there is no consolidated craft mall. There aren't enough people for a craft mall. The "regular" mall is dying because there aren't enough people shopping.

Like you, I moved more business cards than anything from the two holiday craft fairs I set up at last month. I did network with a local wooden sign maker who sounded excited to incorporate some ornamental metal frame/mounts. I need to follow up with him.

I'm going to keep looking for someplace to display my stuff. I had the most excitement by bringing a couple pieces into the bar with me the other night to show a friend, and I'm starting to think about what a monthly pop-up in the bar might look like. I know my wallet opens easier when a little alcoholic lubrication is brought into the equation. Might as well use that to my advantage!

*Edit - continued looking for places to sell during lunch today, found a consignment shop with a $100 member fee and 50% cut, and you need to present your work to a jury who will decide if you're good enough. If you are, your not allowed to sell the same/similar items anywhere else locally.

I'm starting to think I need to start a gallery instead of looking for one. I could take a 25% cut off everyone else's sales and fill the place with artists in weeks I bet.

[tnbndr]

I'm in Vermont. That's another facet to the challenge. It's just a tiny state with a small population. I can swipe through all available matches on a dating app in under two weeks..

That's funny!!!!


Well, you have some challenges.
You need to buy the wooden sign guy dinner & beer and pick his brain a little. How is he marketing? Is he full time? Wood and Metal are a great mix for collaboration.
Pop up event in the bar could be good, especially if you can get some other artists to display as well. But what about talking to the bar owner about displaying some stuff on the walls, with price tags of course. Offer him like $25 for each piece that sells instead of a %%%.

Good Luck and keep us posted!!!

Dennis

[tcaudle]

You can take or leave any of this you want. I started and ran a successful decorative plasma business for several years (after spending many years in Electronics and IT (computes/networks) . It tried d LOT of things

• Flea Markets /Trades day event: Not a good place to sell products, People go to a Flea Market to get a "deal" and don't see a lot of value in metal art. We have worked an entire weekend and did not sell enough to cover meals and travel. Maybe if you took samples of good pieces and and a printed pamphlet to do custom work, it might be worth it but its a gamble.
• You cant compete with imports from China or hand cut junk from Mexico ! The only advantage you have over those guys is you can do custom stuff with personalization, They cant do that
• We made almost all of our money in the local market doing custom hangings . We are in a rural area and sold lots of gate and fence designs typically with the buyers name and their selection (from our catalog ) of art .
• I did a series of wall hangings for a local catfish restaurant and I asked if I could put a display in the front lobby where the people waited for their tables . That proved to be a really good deal . It gave people something to look at and think about while they waited for their table. I kept it stocked with a rotation of designs and printed brochures . Got a LOT of custom gate and fence work and even some commercial jobs.
• Tried all kinds of variations including wine racks , personalized pot and pan overhead racks, (trailer) hitch inserts and combo metal/etched glass (our other product line) and custom fireplace screens . The BEST product I ever came up with were custom wall clocks (24" round) that had a quartz movement and big hands . Most wanted the Copper flame finish . I posted here on PS in the art files, some basic clock ring designs and a how to to make round designs in Inkscape.
• We tried the consignment and retail store route. Most consignment would take it for 25 to 30 % of retail but you had to check their stock and they would seldom give you a good spot and they pushed their inventory over yours. Lots of work for minimal return. We tired a profit sharing deal so we would display samples and they could sell a custom design out of a catalog and make 30% commission. Once again they made little effort to sell . Clerks are there to take money.
• Typical retail store works on Keystone 100% markup. They go to shows and conventions and get called on by factory reps and order many months in advance to stock for the holidays. They have their money tied up in that inventory and they push to sell it .
  So it does matter WHERE you are and often word of mouth can be a good marketing tool. It needs to be unique and custom (within reason) .
• The little bit of commercial work (sheet cutting ) was not a profitable business .
• A LOT of cuttings were gifts . The late October to late December periods were crazy busy followed by really slow summer months . We had other products but they too were seasonal .
• The WORST are small gift shops because they order in July to sell in November - December and have to keep high margins due to overhead and lower volumes. Forget chain stores and bigger outlets . You will go broke if you can even get them to place one order/ You have to agree to take back any thing that does not sell, pay all freight (either way) handle all warranty or returns and sell at a huge discount.

So location does matter and some areas do really well and others are a bust. I don't think selling online holds a lot of promise for custom cuttings . Its probably important to have a web site with lots of pictures and samples and a easy way for them to contact you .

[Locust]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm going to start looking into local fence companies. I don't feel like fences and gates are as popular up here in New England as they are down south, but they're popular enough for a couple of companies to get by. I might as well get friendly with them.

[tcaudle]

A lot of fence companies already have plasma tables. I supplied several for a couple of years . You need a extensive catalog and to supply them quickly and with mounting tabs and unfinished. Check their websites and see what they offer .Made more on overheads (above the gate) than embeds in the gate. Your themes up there will not be the same as Texas where state symbols, cattle, horses and farm scenes are popular . A lot of rances have names that they like to display on the gate or the overhead . I did some with the family name and the first names of the each kid as a rectangle hanger in a column . There were 6 grand kids.

[Locust]

We're talking about different parts of the country and entirely different fences.

Here are a couple local sites.
https://sunsetfencevt.com/
https://fehart.com/