how are your sales recently?

Frank Fusco

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Mountain Home, Arkansas
I have been selling out of an upscale art and gift gallery in a large city.
But, last few months only lower priced items have been selling. Most are under $50.00.
My $100.00 to $300.00 pens are going wanting for buyers.
Are others experiencing similar sales trends?
 
I've been selling off some very high-end speaker parts on a forum for audio DIYers...and haven't been having any success at all. A pair of $220 woofers with barely any use isn't selling at all for $180.

I bought a pair of broken el-deluxe $3,800 audiophile speakers on eBay for $500 last year, and managed to fix them via some rather tricky and convoluted repairs. (Apparently, half the parts in it don't officially exist, making finding replacements quite difficult.) They're stupendous speakers, but I'm worried I'll end up selling them for less than I paid for them!

On the other hand, things aren't all bad. A lot of folks around here work for either the hospital, the government, or the university, and their finances aren't so heavily tied to the current state of the economy. As such, one of my father's students managed to sell one of her Painting II assignments for over $2,000!
 
My $100.00 to $300.00 pens are going wanting for buyers.
Are others experiencing similar sales trends?

as a gift item this time of year, youre targeting a very small group of people willing to spend up through 300 bucks on a pen,
with economic times so cruddy, I think even the big spenders are watching and cutting back on higher end items.
even with the economy crawling back a bit, most high end spenders realize how much longer its going to take to recoup their lost savings, and have to cut back some way.
I would also think you could sell 10 40 dollar pens as easily as one 250 dollar pen.
wow, 300 bucks, kudos to you frank to be able to get a great price like that.

I dare not compare my average customer who I sell closeout toys to this time of year. they wouldnt spend 3 dollars on a pen, but they all are looking for the lower priced items this year.
I put a usually 8.99 branded doll on sale for 4.88 and since it meets that up to 5 dollar item, its selling like hot cakes.
Unfortunately, the 10 dollar dolls are sitting on the shelves.
Yes, I have very low income clientelle, but children are never neglected holiday time, and they always find a way to buy toys.
 
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as a gift item this time of year, youre targeting a very small group of people willing to spend up through 300 bucks on a pen,
with economic times so cruddy, I think even the big spenders are watching and cutting back on higher end items.
even with the economy crawling back a bit, most high end spenders realize how much longer its going to take to recoup their lost savings, and have to cut back some way.
I would also think you could sell 10 40 dollar pens as easily as one 250 dollar pen.
wow, 300 bucks, kudos to you frank to be able to get a great price like that.

I dare not compare my average customer who I sell closeout toys to this time of year. they wouldnt spend 3 dollars on a pen, but they all are looking for the lower priced items this year.
I put a usually 8.99 branded doll on sale for 4.88 and since it meets that up to 5 dollar item, its selling like hot cakes.
Unfortunately, the 10 dollar dolls are sitting on the shelves.
Yes, I have very low income clientelle, but children are never neglected holiday time, and they always find a way to buy toys.

I haven't gotten my $300.00 yet. A member of a penturning forum sells a similar pen in Las Vegas for $3,000.00. I think the difference is, my customers are usually sober. ;)
 
3 grand for a pen? How many carats of diamonds does it have embedded in it?

It is one very similar to this one I made and am trying to sell for $300.00. It is a faux ivory on an Emperor kit.
As I said, his clients are frequently not sober and it IS LasVegas.
BTW, that $300.00 is gross at the art gallery. My take is about $170.00, gross profit would be about $100.00.
 

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...My $100.00 to $300.00 pens are going wanting for buyers...

I can't imagine anyone paying $300 for a wooden pen. Even the best pen kits have a mediocre works in them.

I didn't even pay $300 for my Montblanc fountain pen back when I was a corporate executive, and could justify it. (Signing million dollar contracts with a Bic just doesn't 'get it.')
 
I tend to agree with Jim, 300 bucks is way out of my league, but Im sure there are quite alot of people who spend this kind of money.
but I dont find it suprising in todays times, these items dont sell as well.
 
I did a show tonight for 5 hours. Looked like a good spot. Up scale mall. Then the rain came. Then the temperature dropped and everyone shopping went home. WE sat around and talked about our work.

Bright spot. Had two good musicians. Enjoyed their music.

Bruce
 
In a word, sucky.

I've spent the last 2 1/2 weekends showing at a Holiday Market in a great indoor venue with my best display ever, but no potential customers are stepping in the door. Last Saturday one of the other vendors counted 125 people in 9 hours. Today was the same or fewer.

More later, but I have a dog emergency to handle right now.
 
I can't imagine anyone paying $300 for a wooden pen. Even the best pen kits have a mediocre works in them.

I didn't even pay $300 for my Montblanc fountain pen back when I was a corporate executive, and could justify it. (Signing million dollar contracts with a Bic just doesn't 'get it.')

If you had my $300.00 pen, those would have been FIVE million dollar contracts. :rofl:
 
In a word, sucky.

I've spent the last 2 1/2 weekends showing at a Holiday Market in a great indoor venue with my best display ever, but no potential customers are stepping in the door. Last Saturday one of the other vendors counted 125 people in 9 hours. Today was the same or fewer.

More later, but I have a dog emergency to handle right now.

Yep, I believe high dollar status items are slow movers this year. Wal-Mart must have seen this coming a long time ago. The $10.00 toy aisles are the only place in the store (other than gawkers at the big screen TVs) that are crowded.
 
you hit the nail on the head frank, theyve secured every closeout and made sure theres not much competition. seems everyone will always find 10 bucks to spend on a kid xmas time, after that, its gets a tough mountain to climb these days as far as sales(Im sure some high ticket places still have their customers, but overall, Its a very depressing xmas season for me and people I know in small retail, especially this time of year) Im sitting here today reading a computer, normally on a sunday this time of year Im opening boxes and pushing stock help to get more out on the shelves. Im sitting here looking at sanding discs for my orbital sander.
pretty depressing xmas sales season so far.

as far as walmarts vision, nah, they stole it from the small retailers who always dealt in brand name closeouts, they just decided to shut everyone else in the world down, they have the buying power. manufacturers cannot say no to them.
 
I have been selling out of an upscale art and gift gallery in a large city.
But, last few months only lower priced items have been selling. Most are under $50.00.
My $100.00 to $300.00 pens are going wanting for buyers.
Are others experiencing similar sales trends?

I don't have any pens in your category... mine are mostly priced from about $25 for a slim up to about $65 for a Baron... I don't do a lot of the "high end" type pen kits... and I'm trying to get away from pens as much as possible... I prefer to make bowls and peppermills...

This past weekend I managed to sell 3 of my bowls and only one peppermill.... I did better with the PM's during the summer when people were out bar-b-queing I guess.. also sold 5 pens... one of which was a polaris style that I've carried around for about 5 years made from a material called environ.. I thought it was ugly, the lady who bought it, grabbed it first and wouldn't put it down while she looked at several others. - go figure

Last weekend at the same venue, besides freezing my tail off, I sold one pen, one wine glass, two bowls and a bottle stopper... about 20% of the amount I sold yesterday....

At a show just before Thanksgiving that was supposed to be a really hot show, I did just over $100 total sales... for the first day of that show it looked as if the crowd was all on an outing from the local old folks home and/or homeless shelter... We had 3 pen sellers there, me and two others... one fellow (who probably worked in the back room of one of the old folks homes - he is nearing 80 ) only had one style of pen and about a dozen of them.. he sold one or two.. the other fellow had nice pens, good kits, but low low prices... he was secretive about his sales and techniques, but from conversation with the other pen turner, don't think he had sold all that many.
I sold 3 slimlines and 4 little bowls.

Next weekend is last of my markets until spring/summer shows start... may do some consignment work over the rest of the winter... I've been approached by a local gallery that carries some of my stuff to put some in on consignment... it's either that or store it in the garage for 3-4 months.
 
It's not just the high-end stuff. For the Holiday Market thing, I've stocked up on lower priced stuff. Comfort pens with acrylic bodies for $30 (including a nice leatherette box) and things like night lights, potpourri bowls, magnetic paper clip bowls, bottle stoppers, and confetti lamps, ranging from $10 to $30. Not really high-end at all.

The slow economy is impacting things at both ends of the price spectrum here. And regardless of the price, if there are no people walking by and seeing my products, it's gonna be hard to sell much, if anything. I believe that's the main problem with the show I'm sitting at now as I type this on my phone. In 4 hours today I've had maybe 5 groups of people stop and check out my work. I'm guessing there have only been 50 to 75 Potential customers in the building all day.
 
I may have to consider doing some Slims for the art gallery.
I haven't made a Slim in years. But they would have to be el cheapo platings and transmissions, I don't like doing that.

Have you checked out the Comfort? Easy as a Slim but a bit more heft due to a thicker middle. Pretty reasonably priced too, IMHO.
 
I think you guys have to market your products differently in todays cruddy economic times.
Youre not selling pens, youre selling art that happens to have a ball point.
Ive looked at the pics of some of the work you guys do, and if I purchased one of those, Id never use it to write with, Id stand it on a little stand and admire it for its artistic flare and skilled craftmanship.
 
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