Im Doug, im new to this forum and I hope your expertise will help me along as im not totally new to making things with wood im not completely an expert yet, and I have some questions for you all.

Just a while ago Ive been on google sketchup a bit creating different tables, shelving, and whatnot and have never really sold anything such as these and was just wondering what you guys thought of the designs and if you could give me a rough guess-timate on what someone would be willing to pay for them.

Im thinking about making quite a few pieces once it warms up a bit (im in ohio..it was -10 with windchill yesterday, ouch) and selling them regularly locally on craigslist and maybe holding garage sales to sell them.

Here they are, enjoy, and any critiques are very welcome to make them better...along with a rough estimate if you would have a good guess as to what it would sell for. I have shown 2 angles for each design. Thanks in advance!

Welcome Doug.

Interesting designs.

As to pricing, that depends on several things. First off, how many you want to sell? What is the market in which you will be selling going to be willing to pay? How is the economic situation in your neck of the woods? What are the demographics like?

Then, of course, there is you target market. Not a lot of high end furniture buyers look in CraigsList, garage sales and those sort of things for furniture.

Prices vary by a wide range from one market to another. I could quote you a price that I think something might sell for around here, and it wouldn't really make a hill of beans where you are.

Now, it would be easier to determine how much you have to sell each piece for in order to obtain a profit. Just add up all the costs and don't forget things like sandpaper, glue, electricity to light and run the shop, wear and tear on your tools. Oh, and a salary for you. And don't forget the cost of the money to front the materials to make the stuff. Even if you pay cash for everything, you're tieing up money that could be earning money for you.

Now you know how much you gotta get to break even (yes, your salary is part of that) and you still need to add a profit margin on top of that. Now go to Wallyworld, Target, KMart and look for similar items for sale there. That's where your Craigslist/Garage Sale furniture buyers are gonna be comparing prices. It matters not that your stuff is real solid wood or hardwood ply while Wallyworld's stuff is reconstituted termite vomit covered with plastic wood grain. If you can't beat Wallyworld's prices (and you really can't, even if you use plastic coated reconstituted termite vomit), then you ain't gonna sell very many pieces cause those folks ain't lookin for heirloom, they're lookin for something to fill a gap in their furnishings and don't expect it to last a year.

Now take yourself to a freestanding furniture store and look around. More plastic coated reconstituted termite vomit with a few sticks of real wood attached. This is the next step up. Can you match their prices and make a profit? Because if you can't, you're gonna play heck convincing someone that your tables are worth half again as much (likely more than that) as those at that furniture store.

Remember a few years back and all of those unfinished furniture stores all over the place? Remember all those places selling solid oak furniture in various stages of being finished? Are they still around? Ain't none left around here. Their niche pretty much went away. They had to charge more for their stuff (or there was so little difference in price) than the folks at the regular furniture stores selling completely finished stuff. Folks don't want to stain and varnish reconstituted termite vomit and real wood cost too much to be competitive.

Don't mean to burst your bubble, only to say you gotta set your sights higher. You gotta get into the market where folks are willing to pay for quality and longevity of furniture pieces. If you can get in that door, then most of the rules of pricing go out the window. A market where you will move more pieces by raising prices than by lowering them.

Jerry

A "Charter Member" before the crash of '04.

"If politics wasn't built on careful deception it wouldn't need its own word and techniques. It would just be called honesty, education, and leadership."
Bob "Phydeaux" Stewart one day on Woodnet

Visit my woodworking website:
http://www.sawdustersplace.com

Welcome to the Forum.

Jerry (Sawduster) has been around a lot and he knows what he is talking about.

As far as the WallyWorld target market is concerned - price is everything - quality is absolutely of no concern whatsoever. They shop yardsales and craigslist.

Try to sell anything at all to them that is made of wood - even cheap wood, and they instantly have a heart attack. They think the items should cost "X" dollars - period. Just about all of the time that "X" dollar amout is far lower than the cost of the wood alone.

Even people with 5 car garages that shop in yard sales don't want to spend money on yard sale items. Yard sale items are "supposed to be cheap". Even rich people know that.

Get those same people with 5 car garages that shop in yard sales to go to a fine furniture show room and then they will spend the money.

Wear a suit and tie, have you "work" on display in a gallery, talk with an English accent, display your "piece" (not end table), talk highly of it and you "might" get a decent price for it.

Put your end table in a yard sale and I am about 99% positive you will spend a lot more to build it than you could sell it for.

It's all about image - and of course - the piece must truly be good.

Go to Home Depot and brush your hand on the face of the junk cabinets they have. You will find that they have a really nice smooth finish. No nibs bumps of imperfections on any of those junky cheap cabinets. Will your finishing be better than those junky cabinets? Customers "will" notice the finish - especially if it high end stuff. The Wally world folks really don't care about the finish - just the price.

Ohhh - JERRY - Here in New England we DO still have the unfinished furniture stores. With the wood filler in all the cracks and spaces, they don't look too bad. Price is OK!!

Leo

Misha Custom Signs & Crafts
www.mishacustom.com

Before the 04 crash;
Member since October, 2003