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makafelts May 22, 2006

I am looking for some help to figure out how much I can charge for my Needle Felted / beaded turtles. Could folks here help me figure this out? Pretty please :hug: Here is a picture of 3 of them, the larger one is 5 1/2 inches long & has over 3500 beads, the mediun one is about 4 inches & the small one 2 inches.

psichick78 May 22, 2006

That's a tough one.

I'm sorry I'm not help  :doh:

You could try ebay and let the market decide what you get for them.

Or, write down what it cost you to make them, then add your labour.

It's never easy pricing your art, but those are great turtles!

Eileen May 22, 2006

Sorry, Charlotte--I have no idea

But I had to respond anyway, just to tell you how wonderful these turtles are! 

BearBottoms May 23, 2006

Those turtles are awesome, Charlotte.  I'm with the other two, I couln't tell you how much they are worth. No one really can but your consumers, I'd think.  It depends on how much time you spent on them, detail, etc though.  if you're wanting to sell them outright (not auction-style) you should take into consideration how much time and effort you put into them, and let people decide if they are willing to pay you for what you think your time is worth (say, $75....$150... I dunno).

I'm no help...    sowwy

Kimberly W.

matilda May 23, 2006

Sorry possum, I'm with them. I cant help because I have totally undervalued my own work, to my detriment.  So you dont want me helping you. I can assure you  
Wonderful bead work. So labour intensive your turtles. I can fully understand your dilema.
Wendy

kbonsall May 23, 2006

The lowest I sell mine for is $75.00... the more extensive the "additional work", the more they are... like "sculpted" toes (or in your case, beadwork)... My completely felted mini bears take anywhere from 6-8 hrs (almost as much as a regular bear), depending on deails....

rufnut May 23, 2006

Charlotte this is a great topic, and your turtles are fantastic. :clap:

Unfortunately felted items are hard to price, it really depends on the buyer I think, I am no expert though I am finding it difficult to  sell mine too. :o

Ebay may give you a guage on prices.

makafelts May 24, 2006

Heather,Eileen,Kimberly W,Wendy,Kim & Karen,
Thanks so much for your compliments & suggestions. I am thinking I will start the larger turtle at $150. or $175. and on down from there for the smaller ones. The beading takes about as long as the needle felting does for each turtle. I am doing a Celebrate the Arts show on June 17th, so it will be the first real show where I will have my felted kritters. Should be somewhat of a gauge of how people feel about the prices.
Hugs,

Judi May 25, 2006

Your turltes are lovely and they look like they took quite a bit of making.

I have found this too , to be a difficult topic.  A really good way to test the market is by listimg them on ebay.  It may take a while to build a collector base, which is always growing but it will help somewhat.

I think about what my materials cost and how much time I put in PLUS...people are paying for YOUR design and that is worth something too.

You could take a length of identical mohair and give it to twenty artists.  They could all make a 12" bear.....and they would all get different prices.

I don't think there is a cut and dry answer to this question.  AFter I makle a bear I ask myself...what would I need to get to make me satisfied?  Then use that as my reserve on ebay or bid4bears.  If it goes for more...great!  Sometime it will and sometimes it will not.  Just don't let yourselves be defined by ebay.  It is only one outlet for sales.

Don't forget about Bid 4 Bears too.  I think this will be a very successful outlet for bear artists and collectors alike.  It just needs a little time and support form lots of artists.

Well, I m rambling.