Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
NEED ADVICE
Jim King-Iquitos,Peru
>We have had requests from stores in the States wanting to buy bowls, vases ect.. Can anyone give me some advice as to what to charge ? All the peices would be of our exotic woods. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Re: NEED ADVICE
Ron in Drums PA
>What type and size blanks are you talking about?
How do you plan on shipping to the states?
What about customs?
Re: NEED ADVICE
Jim King-Iquitos,Peru
>Ron: I am referring to finished turnings, not blanks.
Re: NEED ADVICE
Ruth Niles
>Jim, this is the most asked question in the turning world! Why not ask what they are willing to pay, what's their top price and see if it's in your range. You might have one store offer a tad less than you'd like and one offer you more so averaged out, you'd be getting a good amount total. This gives you a starting point and lets the store owners know you are willing to negotiate.
Ruth
Let me get this straight...
John K Jordan
>Do I understand that you can easily ship finished pieces but have trouble shipping turning blanks?
If so, I'd like to order a dozen bowls or big candlestick holders made from a variety of your best exotic woods. Make them fairly big, say 8" across, 3"-5" deep. Make the walls very thick, at least 3" thick. Just a little-bitty hole inside is OK - this is art, not utility. The style I prefer is with mostly straight sides on the exterior. I wouldn't even mind if these had shallow cracks and other surface defects. Don't waste much time sanding.
The finish can be very simple, I even like the natural, unfinished look. You can leave any mounting tenon or dovetail recess or faceplate mounting holes on the bottom. I might just chuck one up on my lathe and add a few refinements of my own.
These will only require a very small amount of work and be very inexpensive to produce. I'm sure that dozens, perhaps hundreds of turners in the US would like some of your signature pieces for their collections. In fact, one of us might even consider investing in a shipment of a few for resale - how much for a hundred of these?
Call this your "Chunky" line. I'm sure it will be a big hit. Anyone else interested?
JKJ in East TN
My mind draws a BLANK ! .
Fred in NC
>
Re: NEED ADVICE
JL
>Use the M.S. rule - so many dollars an inch of diameter (or height) - whichever is greater. For a 12" platter $3-10/inch as an example.
