Clearance/Closeouts - worth it?
Just curious about this... do you think having items in a clearance or closeout section is worth it?
The reason I ask is because of things I have read lately that say we (the artists) have a tendency to undervalue our work, and we price things too low. The lower price often gives the buyer the idea that perhaps the item is of lower quality or whatever.
So by having items in a closeout section, are we saying those items are of lower quality? Or are we just trying to move stuff so we can buy more materials?
Personally, I have a closeout section, where everything is 50% off what I was originally asking, but these items will be marked at full price when I do my craft show in November. What if a customer sees my items at a show, then visits the online shop, only to see the item at a lower price? Will they think less of me and my work?
I am rambling, or so it feels. I better just shut up and see what people have to say on the subject....
~Sunfire / Breath of the Dragon
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sunfire [Breath of the Dragon] on -
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Permalink Reply by Kathy Johnston (Cozy) on -
Hopefully they will all be sold by November so your craft show customers will never know. :)
Seriously I know some shows don't allow sale or discount signs but you could get some good will and maybe close a sale if you quietly sold those things at the discount at the show.
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Permalink Reply by Sunfire [Breath of the Dragon] on
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I'd love to see it all sell before Nov.... but some of these pieces are almost 3 years old now... and unlike jewelry, I can't just take it apart and make something else. Which is why I marked them at clearance in the first place.
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Permalink Reply by Valerie Reeves on -
I am a photographer/illustrator, and struggle with this all the time. It is a very difficult balance to achieve. I believe that my work is high quality, but my sales do not reflect that. It makes me wonder if my pricing is too high, but lowering prices is risky. The other day I started a 25% off sale, and despite the fact that I promoted it both on Facebook and here in the forums, it has generated zero interest. My gut tells me that sales, of my particular merchandise anyway, don't work. People have to make an emotional connection to your work, and then the price won't really matter, unless it is outrageously high.
Valerie at http://www.zibbet.com/StimplesandStrummels
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Permalink Reply by Sunfire [Breath of the Dragon] on
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Thank, Valerie. And it's true, people need to make the emotional connection with a lot of artwork (rather than simple crafts), and that's how I feel about some of my bigger pieces. I won't permanently mark them down just to get rid of them, but I might offer a good deal on them for a week or so...
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Permalink Reply by Sunfire [Breath of the Dragon] on
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Also, I wanted to ask - do you see a difference between the words "clearance" and "closeout"?
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Permalink Reply by Jess Telford (Zibbet Developer) on -
Personally, "Closeout" sounds to me like the business is closing due to not enough business. Which makes me think "Why don't they have enough business?".
Australia uses the phrase "Clearance" for almost all B&M stores during sale times - I'm not sure if "Closeout" is a US-specific phrase or not, though.
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Permalink Reply by Portable Graffiti Graphics Judy on -
Jess,
Terms in the US as I have always understood them:
Clearance = Making room for new merchandise, usually seasonal.
Closeout = The store will no longer be carrying those particular items. So reduced for quick sale and will never be carried in the shop again.
Going Out of Business Sale = the words used when everything is being sold due to no longer in business.
Since our virtual stores have no end to space like a brick and mortar store, I don't see the need to make room for new items. The more the better. If it hash't sold I think it means the right person hasn't found the shop yet.
Sunfire,
I think closeout is a good term to use if say you were deciding to no longer sell wood burning items and planned to switch to weaving. All the wood burning items could be in a closeout section because you would no longer making the type of craft.
Hope this helps,
Judy
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Permalink Reply by Clarify (Claranne ) on -
Since our virtual stores have no end to space like a brick and mortar store, I don't see the need to make room for new items.
Ha. I wish. I only list what I have in stock or, in some cases, what I can make within a day or two from my inventory of materials. I am getting to the point of desperately needing to sell a lot, or to pack off a lot of my stuff as a donation to Dress For Success, or to stop producing more. And to stop producing is unthinkable.
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Permalink Reply by Nicole ~ Nicole's Visions on -
exactly .. I dont have an endless amount of space to keep my things stored away in either!
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Permalink Reply by strawberryfieldsArtJewelryBeadsn on -
Strawberryfields - Hi Sunfire, personally, I don't care for those words being used in connection to an artist's work. Having had a retail, brick and mortar store, and shopping at them frequently during their 'clearance sales' at the end of each season to save money on clothes that I can then spend on my love of beading - I don't see this as being relative to Artisan wares.
Closeouts, and clearance sales are used by brick and mortar stores to unload seasonal merchandise because they have to put in orders for each season no less than six months in advance to allow the manufacturers to make the merchandise. Often, as is currently the case, they over-buy and merchandise is left sitting on the shelves. Many retailers have floating loans with the banks they have to pay off to be able to pay for the new merchandise. Thus, the clearance sales.
I think it's best to have a regular sale for Artisans, such as the one Valarie is doing currently. But, I also don't see sales as the cure all for our businesses. I ran a sale for the Christmas in July promotion - sold nothing. Curiously, the day after the sale ended I sold eight items at the regular prices.
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Permalink Reply by Nicole ~ Nicole's Visions on
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I think this is something we all struggle with. I know that when I first starting doing holiday shows at our local mall, I priced my things at a fair price I felt people could afford. The second year, I had another fellow photographer talk to me about my pricing. He suggested that I raise my prices a little. I told him why I had them set where they were. He was the one who told me about the whole perceived value thing. And since we were all in the same big area, raising my prices slightly, to be more inline with his (and yet another photographer as well) seemed to make some sense. I did raise them, a little, and still sold things. The next year, the market had begun to go south so I went back to my lower prices and having added new things, marked them at comparable prices as well.
now here we are years later. I still have alot of those items. What do you do now? mark them down? just keep holding onto them? It is a tough dilemma for sure. I wish there was an easy answer for us all. I think I have to agree with the thought of the Closeout wording. It really does convey a store (or shop, or artisan) closing their doors. But, Clearance sounds cheap.
Perhaps we can come up with something new ... maybe a Value section? Or budget section? Each listing within either type of section should then have a small sentence explaining the lower price. Perhaps that could be an answer.
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