# My online shop - can you critique my pricing?



## keith204 (Nov 5, 2013)

Cutting boards, pizza peels, coffee scoops. (you guessed it, right?)

I plan on giving a few items away to relatives that live in different cities, so that they can be conversation pieces and perhaps drive traffic here.

This is only a side gig for me. I feel the prices may be a bit on the high end, but I think I'd rather that, as long as they're not too high.

If there's anything notable that's too high or too low, can you let me know? Any constructive criticism (even if it's not related to pricing) would be much appreciated.

www.SquareOneWoodworks.com


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Hi Keith,
You make nice products and the prices are reasonable for national average. I would add a "buy it now" button to you site and explain whether you will be charging shipping or not. Maybe a little about yourself. A little background color on the page may make the page more appealing. I am in the process of revamping my site after 4 years in order to make it more organized and user friendly. It is a lot of work for sure. Let me know if I can be of any help. Also, be sure to form a corporation, partnership or whatever to legitimize your business or the tax man will show up at your doorstep.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Concerning your pricing: Do you track your costs to determine if you are making profit? How does your pricing compare to your competitors? What is the benefits of yours over your competition? If you feel that your pricing is fair, then stand by your decision, don't give into the people that want you to give it away.

About your front page: I love the clean look. Can you rearrange the pics so that you have at least one of each product in the top 2 rows? That way I could see all of the different products before scrolling down. A personal preference is to have some wording on the front page so that I could get a feel of who you are or more info about the products. I love your product descriptions and the clean look of your product pages.

My complaints are minor. Just my ideas.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

The site seems well put together and the prices were lower than I expected. In my area I see similar cutting boards for ~30% more $$. Before rolling over the coffee scoops I was sure they'd be over $20 each.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

First of all, I like your site. But then, I'm no expert. Others' critiques may be of more value.
Secondly, your woodwork is outstanding. Your pricing appears fair. Like bigblockyeti, I thought the scoops would be more expensive. Other than that, prices are fine, IMHO.


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## jacquesr (Jul 3, 2014)

I think you prices are way too low…


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## BroncoBrian (Jan 14, 2013)

PuzzleMan's idea is great about a couple "highlights" on the top row.

Don't change the site. This is excellent! Design is simple and modern, like your products.

Pricing seems low to me and you should mention about shipping, that would be the turn off to me. $35 and $35 to ship it. Make it clear, also don't be afraid to price them up and have a flat shipping fee. $10 shipping, $12 for 2 …and so on. Build the balance into the item price.

Good work. Not go market. That will be tough.


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## Ashus (Mar 8, 2015)

I'm going to agree with the others on the prices being a bit low.

When I see your coffee scoops, I'm impressed by the craftsmanship. When I see the prices, I wonder what machine you used to make them so inexpensively. The incongruity, for me, is that I expect such nice items which are obviously hand made to be in the $25-35 range, depending on wood species. Especially when you consider the finishes on them, which aren't expensive, but take a fair bit of time.

Your cutting boards are all fantastically designed. Serious artwork there. Again, it seems like you're barely asking people to pay for the time and effort you put into creating them. Knowing what I know about raw lumber, it feels like you're just going with 2-3x more than your material cost.

I think your time is very valuable - you do fantastic work, and should be compensated appropriately. On the flip side of that, if you're getting plenty of orders and feel happy with your time/reward ratio, then continue on as you are!

About the site itself, I'm a big fan. It worked beautifully on my PC and on my phone. I'd echo what others are saying about adding a section About You. Your work speaks for itself, but if I'm buying a handcrafted piece, I'd like to know a little about the hands that crafted it.

I'm comfortable without seeing shipping until an item has been added to the cart and I'm ready to check out, and without a "buy it now" button. If I'm thinking about dropping $100 on a cutting board, the shipping cost is negligible to determining whether I buy or not - for me, it's all about the value of the board itself. Adding extra buttons and doodads would just clutter up a really clean, elegant site. Really well done, and I wish you the best of success.


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

I agree with the others, you are selling yourself short. Check Huff's (fellow LJ) blog re pricing.


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## daddywoofdawg (Feb 1, 2014)

when you add the shipping then I would still be good with the price, some sites ask the most I would pay for that item, then when you add in the shipping, it's comes out more than I think it's worth so I pass.


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

Hey Keith,
First off, I really like your company name and logo! It's very simple, yet very professional looking. Your web-site is the same; very simple, clean, modern and professional looking that sets a very good 1st impression for any customer.

I'm also impressed with your product line. Everything looks like quality craftsmanship and you seem to offer a nice selection.

May I offer some food for thought for pricing and marketing? Your pricing should be based on facts of true cost of manufacturing such product and not what anyone else may suggest for a selling price for you. Personally, I don't worry too much on what "competition" may be selling theirs for, but more on how I can stand out from the competition.

Example: if you go to Etsy and search hand made wooden cutting boards; you will find thousands and thousands to pick from and most of them try to compete with each other strictly on price. The ones that command a higher price usually are the ones that take the time to tell a story why theirs are superior and usually don't look that much different than the others.

Marketing; you should be marketing yourself and your company as much as your product! Most customers want to buy from someone they feel they know or are comfortable with. On your web-site, I couldn't find any information about you, your company or the products you build (other than the very brief description on each item). 
BTW, I couldn't even figure out where you're from (even here on LJ's).
Be proud of who you are, be proud of your company and most of all, let everyone know why you're proud of your product and why it's a great value.

I've written a blog series on pricing; http://lumberjocks.com/huff/blog/series/6413 
And another blog series on marketing; http://lumberjocks.com/huff/blog/series/6466

There may be some info that may help you. You have a great product line and wish you the best with your business.


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## keith204 (Nov 5, 2013)

Thank you for the amazing advice. I've been re-reading these regularly and have been preparing for some big changes. This advice is really, really good.

John, now that you mention it, I do sound a bit mysterious & creepy.

Stay tuned.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Prices were lower than I expected as well. But they are priced to move. I have no idea if you can make a living at those prices. Only you do.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

The site looks really good, the products and pics look great, pricing seems inline to me, and I love the name. I also liked Puzzleman's suggestions for the picture columns, and the suggestion for a little blurb about you and your products. Good luck!


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## pmayer (Jan 3, 2010)

Your products look outstanding, so it all comes down to who you are selling to, and who you are competing with. To me, your pricing seems about right on cutting boards, but feels a bit low on coffee scoops and pizza peels.


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## BroncoBrian (Jan 14, 2013)

Keith - John is right about where you are from. I normally don't order from a site who does not have a shipping or billing address easy to find. Sounds like it would be impossible to solve an issue if one came up.

Good luck.


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## keith204 (Nov 5, 2013)

Thanks again for the advice.

I made some pretty significant changes per your advice, check them out! www.squareonewoodworks.com

Video added
Shipping costs added to product pages
Categories on home page (rather than all products)
My contact info on the contact page
More noticeable "add to cart" button color

My next step will be to add series-specific videos.


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

I don't sell but I just wanted to comment on how nice your website looks. You really put the time in to make the customer feel welcome. Great job


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## WoodChuck_SF (Jan 9, 2015)

I think the pricing looks pretty reasonable!


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

I think it is looking good.

For most online sales…. your prices are right.
At a craft show, you would be able to get more, but cutting boards is getting more cutthroat, and whereas shopping at a canopy in Branson would fetch more… online you are about right.

Shipping the peels is sort of a PIA becuase of the odd shape, wheras the cutting boards and scoops will fit in USPS "one rate" boxes. This would allow you to lock in the shipping cost in the check-out area, perhaps with "upgrade options" for overnight/2nd day air etc.

You might consider adding box for "This is a gift" and have gift tags you can send the item to the final recipient.


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Keith, you have done a wonderful job upgrading your site. Congratulations!


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