Changing prices: Okay, you've got my attention. As most of you know I do not get involved in Small Stuff discussions but this time you are doing something that I believe is very destructive to our hobby and I am alarmed. I refer to a recent post regarding dealers raising their prices at certain shows. A dealer who sells in a localized area sets what they think is a fair price on their product. They don't have any expenses other than their table fee. Later they decide that they are selling enough to warrant travelling to shows. Their expenses now increase dramatically. I believe there has been a recent discussion on the costs of doing shows so I won't go into that here. I personally don't believe that a dealer is wrong if they raise their prices to offset the expense of traveling to shows. I can truthfully say that I do not know of any dealer that practices that method but would not be surprised to find out that it's true. Of course if an individual customer is offended by this they have two options. The first is to avoid that dealer's table. The second is to purchase the piece where they've seen it at the cheaper price. To avoid any show anywhere because you know of a dealer who practices that procedure is stupid. Why would anybody do that?

Now to get down to reality. I live in Parkland, Florida. It is located between Coral Springs and Boca Raton, Florida. I am dead center between two Wal-Marts. Our mood determines which direction we will travel, south to Coral Springs or north to Boca Raton. You may not choose to believe this but the prices are different at both Wal-Marts. The Boca Raton location is more expensive than the Coral Springs store. Why? So I asked a manager one day. His response was that they price by the area they're in. Boca Raton is a more upscale area so they charge more. My option is not to shop there. Don't believe it? Check it out. K-Mart does the same thing and we've run into it at other chain stores that are in malls. I don't understand why so many people want to get up on a soap box and condemn others all the time. If you're unhappy with something walk away from it, you don't have to do business with those you don't like.

Why do some of you feel the rest of us want to hear about all this negative stuff all the time? This is supposed to be a fun hobby, your life doesn't depend on this. Any dealer, or for that matter retailer, anywhere has the right to charge whatever they want and you have the right not to buy it. What gives anyone including show promoters the right to admonish somebody because they have as the letter states been dumb enough to actually admit to, if not brag about it. The American system is based on free enterprise and to continue to flourish it must be able to continue without interference. Would you have it any other way? As John Stossel always says, Give me a Break!

Tom Bishop

Lack of price stickers: [Many dealers who don't have prices on their wares may do both wholesale and retail shows and just find it not an effective use of their time] It is a lot of work to have to keep changing prices. They might find it useful to have one sandwich board sign that reads: "Wholesale prices: ___% off marked price." Some dealers provide a wholesale list of prices that are given out on request. I thought that was a good idea too. It always impresses me how inventive people can be when they are in business and have to deal with a variety of problems. I think that inventiveness is just a part of their artistic nature.

Viola

Re Alice's comment on pricing..esp. the bit about wholesale and retail. I, too, have never heard of someone changing their prices for different areas....very unethical IMHO. Since I also do wholesale and retail I use "tents" cut out of Index card weight paper to mark my items instead of stickers most times. Anyway, my prices are always in view. When I did strictly retail, I used stickers, and like Thelma deMet, it was amazing where those stickers sometimes landed. LOL

Dawnsminis

Prices: I have been reading with great interest the posts about pricing and I'm finding the opinions very interesting mainly because I'm a dealer and always feel like I'm walking a fine line with prices. Make enough to justify being in business while trying to be fair to customers. If I remember correctly the pricing issue started because someone said that artisans/dealers don't put prices on their items so that they can charge more for shows in more affluent areas and the discussion seemed to have gotten off the track a "bit".

1. No prices on items. Mea culpa. Most of the things on my table have prices on them but I have some things in glass cases and I don't have the prices on them because I haven't figured out a good way to show the prices without ruining the appearance of the display. I don't think that little tags all over the place with tiny writing on them will be very helpful or aesthetic. I have a price list and I hope people feel free to ask. Not everything in the case is expensive, some things are just too delicate to have out in the open.
2. Prices where they can be readily seen. Mea culpa again.   I hate having the prices on the top and have my table look like a flea market. This is after all a "show" as well as a sale and I like the things I show to make a nice appearance and price labels detract. Frankly I don't have the time (nor the inclination) to make up pretty little labels for 1000 items. Feel free to pick them up and check the price which is on the bottom. I will put a prominent price tag on something that I would rather people not pick up.
3. Changing prices depending on shows. I do think it's unethical to charge a higher price if the area is affluent or the clientele at the show is perceived to be affluent. However, prices in stores depend on the cost of the store location and one would expect to pay more for something on Fifth Avenue in New York because the rent is higher than in a small town in Tennessee. If a table at a show is $200 I wouldn't blame someone for charging more than they would if the table was $100. In addition, you would expect to pay more for something that is shipped a great distance rather than something made locally. Therefore, I wouldn't blame someone for charging more at a show that's a great distance from their home in order to cover their cost of "delivering the goods". I don't change my prices at shows because I personally don't feel good about doing it but can understand why it can happen. I just don't do shows that would not be very  profitable unless I charged more.
4. Charging more if the person makes more money. At first this statement shocked me until I thought about it. What the lady should have said which would have sounded better was that her husband charges less to people who can't afford the full price. We don't balk at senior citizen's discounts why should we balk at giving a discount to someone who's income is low. Of course, this applies to necessities, not luxuries like minis. Yes folks, minis are a luxury (I'm sure I'll get plenty of flak about this statement).

And that is my humble opinion.

Carol

Show pricing: Boy, I'm probably going to get a lot of hate mail for this, but here goes....Tom Bishop's post is right on the money! "...... You may not choose to believe this but the prices are different at both Wal-Marts. The Boca Raton location is more expensive than the Coral Springs store..... I know for a fact that the same holds true right here in Des Moines, Iowa. Proof.....three years ago I was shopping for a new living room set. I was at a popular local chain store with my sister and had picked out the set I wanted. I was shocked when she suggested we go to the same store on the East side of town because she said the prices were lower.....we went, they were, I bought. Its called free enterprise. It may not seem right, may not seem fair, but that's the way it is. And, what if you were the dealer traveling several hundred (or thousand) miles to do a prominent show and had to pay for shipping your goods, table fees, travel, hotels, meals, etc.......It only makes sense that those costs are passed on to the consumer. So what do you, the end buyer get in return? How about a one of a kind, original work of art in miniature that, if the dealer hadn't flown across the country to bring to a show in your area, you may never had gotten the chance to have in your own beautiful collection. Seems like a fair enough trade to me.

I've been there, done that from the consumer's end. Last year at the St Louis show I bought several pieces from my favorite dealer. Once home, I was browsing the dealers website and saw some of the pieces I'd brought home.....priced lower. Was I upset? NO! Whyshould I be? If I had not gone to the show, I'd not gotten to meet this person, and if I'd ordered off the internet, I'd have had to pay shipping.....which, quite honestly, would have probably been more than what I paid for the items in person.

Sloan

Show Pricing: [ I don't understand why so many people want to get up on a soap box and condemn others all the time. ] But, Tom, don't you think that your post was also a condemnation of others others whose actions YOU were opposed to? The point I'm making is that if WE are critical... it's not "condemning".. but if someone else is critical, it is condemning. Personally I don't think we should even think of it as a condemnation, because people should feel free to express their thoughts... it's helpful to dealers to know how customers feel. By hearing complaints about the price changes, it gives the dealer an opportunity to explain WHY the customer will pay more for the same item at one show, and less for it at another show. Without having heard the complaints it probably would not have occurred to them to justify the pricing inconsistency.

Although I've not altered my pricing, I have found that some shows are so expensive to do that my profit margin is very small so my choice has usually been to not do that show. I may sell fewer items at another show, but my PROFIT on each sold item will be greater; and I will not have to work so hard to have adequate inventory for a smaller show. In other words, I might sell half as many dolls, but at twice the profit, and half the preparation time.

Other dealers choose to do the more costly show, but to increase their prices to compensate for the higher expenses. In support of the dealers, I have to say that I don't know what else they could do. In support of the buyers, I have to say that I know how you must feel when you know that you could have bought it cheaper elsewhere. And in support of everyone who expressed their feelings (including you, Tom) I think it's important that you have done so. I have learned a lot from this list.

Viola

Metal Rulers: I made a tiny 1:12   6" ruler for a workshop scene and a yard stick would be made the same way.   I cut a piece of aluminum shim (thin Al. sheet) and cut the length and the width that I wanted. I have a paper cutter which makes it easy to do straight cuts and the shim can be cut quite easily.   scissors work too.   I then made sure it was flat by turning it over and rubbing it so it no longer had a curl.   Using India Ink and a fine "crow quill" pen I made the marks on it.   If you have a good hand and eye you can even do numbers    India Ink is fairly permanent and probably a coating of acrylic over it should be enough to seal it in.   (I didn't bother with that).   I also made a miniature back saw and saber saw with the aluminum shim or sheeting.

JacquiM in Hilo

Price Changing: I agree with Tom Bishop and Kaye.   We have several Stop & Shop supermarkets and each city has different prices. This is the USA...people can charge what they want.  I either will buy or not. And I usually buy!

Judy K

Tricycles: If you are looking for a high quality, in scale, mini tricycle - the best I have seen by far are some of the Hallmark "spring" series ornament tricycles. They have a Hopalong Cassidy trike that is just perfect!!    Only thing, these are not current items, so you will have to search ebay to find them.   Look in the Hallmark series ornament section, and search for "spring tricycle" and that should pull up some results if any are currently listed.

Bonnie Gibson

Show Prices: We have been intrigued by the debate on pricing lately. To price products according to venue or type of customer is not new, but it does confuse customers. Surely, a consistent pricing policy, regardless of venue, allows all customers to gauge both aspects of purchasing. Those are the quality of the product and the price charged. If they don't have enough money for an item at a particular show, then they'll save for the next appearance of that exhibitor at a future show or get in touch between events to place an order. In the UK it's illegal not to indicate clearly the price of goods. At many shows we hear customers asking how much a certain item is on a table, so it seems quite a global problem.

Our prices have stayed fixed for the last two years, with the exception of postage. We realize our products are expensive but even when we exhibit in Europe or the USA, we charge exactly the same price. We take the decision to travel, we believe our products to be excellent value, why on earth should we charge more? If you're seen to be operating a fair and consistent pricing policy, customers become confident and less confused. That combination makes sales!

Peter Cook & Annie Logan