[Jewelry making - Article 00197] - Re: [Orchid] Gracious answer to not reducing your prices

[Kenneth Ferrell]

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    On the sales tax issue, it used to be common practice in Texas for
    the state revenue dept. to check Art Shows, Craft Shows and Flea
    Markets to see if the vendors are turning in sales tax receipts,
    several large markets used to have agents checking when you were
    renting your spaces. The state really didn't care whether you
    collected the tax or not, just as long as you paid sales tax on your
    gross retail receipts. 

    One thing that I have long noticed, the ones that push the hardest
    for you to give them a discount on their purchases are the ones with
    the fattest wallets. I usually explain that my prices are based on
    my time as a skilled craftsman, the cost of materials and the cost
    of fixed expenses. 

    The reality of this is that many people have had the image of the
    starving artist that will settle for scraps. 

    I know that many of the sellers in the same shows raise their prices
    20 or 30 % just to accommodate this, the PRECIEVED discount has
    often swayed sales their way. 

    The unfortunate reality is that many times I have made the item for
    the other seller, and am offering it at the same retail price they
    pay after the discount, their satisfaction is resultant of the THEY
    GOT A DEAL. 

    After a two-year hiatus I am going to do a few shows this fall,
    where I hope I don't get approached for any wholesale accounts, just
    retail sales I think this thread has been a great help to me in
    establishing a more polite way of saying NO to the Wal-Mart
    syndrome. 

    Sadly, I must note that the practice of getting it cheaper has been
    ingrained into everything we wish to buy, from large Department
    stores to grocery chains to auto dealers. 

    Most of the time the discount or savings is only the result of the
    product or item is over priced to begin with. 

Kenneth Ferrell
www.shadras.com

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