Ooops I Did It Again

I apologize to my followers for not posting lately, but I have managed to open up another shop on Artfire. I have already professed to be a beadaholic. Well, I stood in the middle of me studio and was completely overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of supplies. I was having a problem finding inspiration and realized that I simply had too many choices. In order to pare down my supplies, I decided to destash ALOT of items. This may turn into a formal supply shop, but until then it's all destash. I need an intervention. Have a look at some of the items you can get your hands on at My Jewelry Supply Stash

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Competitive Pricing

Pricing my handmade jewelry at PinkSunsetJewelryDesigns.artfire.com has been an area of the business that always frustrates me. There are many theories and formulas that have been mentioned on how to price your jewelry creations, or any handmade creation for that matter.
I understand that we all want to make a profit on our items. So we figure in materials, overhead, our time etc. and come up with what we feel is adequate profit for us.  I've heard some say that if you price it too low, you are portraying your creations as "cheap". Still others have said that if you price your items too low, you are doing a disservice to other jewelry making Artisans. Others have said that if you price them too high, they will never sell. I, myself, believe that it is a personal choice. I have been told that my prices are too low for handcrafted jewelry, but nothing gives me greater pleasure that to see someone wearing my jewelry creations. So do I keep them low and watch people around me enjoy wearing my art, or do I raise the prices and let the item collect dust?
There has to be a happy medium. It is said that if you choose to price your items high, it needs to be something unique, that a small number of artisans make. Otherwise, savvy shoppers will opt for the less expensive version of the same item. The area of jewelry making is a very saturated market. It's difficult to create something so unique due to the sheer number of us out here on the web.
So my question is. Do you sell you items at a higher price, yielding a higher return (if you happen t sell it and it doesnt sit on a shelf for a year). Or do you lower your price to be competitive with  other jewelry makers.
I would really like for you to comment, honestly and weigh in on the controversy.

How do you organize your jewelry making supplies?

In the 3 years of creating jewelry, I have amassed an unbelievable amount of supplies. I know, time to destash. I will be opening another shop on Artfire soon! I have a room for my studio and it is filled with supplies.  I have organized and reorganized. I think I have cornered the market on having the most plastic storage containers.  I just recently reorganized and put all of my gemstones in containers by colors. Another set of containers for crystals. I am very interested in finding out how YOU organize your supplies.

Do you organize by

1. size
2. color
3. type
4. metal
5. material

Spring Sale

Spring has sprung. Take advantage of Pink Sunset Jewelry Designs Spring Sale. 20% off your total purchase.

Any and every item in the store is eligible for the discount (including gift certificates).

How about this lovely pressed flower pendant necklace.

Broaden Your Customer Base with International Shipping and Metric Conversions

When I first opened my shop, Pink Sunset Jewelry Designs, on Artfire, I only shipped within the US. My initial worry was the cost. How much is it going to cost me to ship to, say, Europe or Australia. What about customs, fees, taxes. Those fears kept me from offering shipping to anywhere but the US. When a customer shopping on my Vintage store (Back In Time Vintage Jewelry), requested to know if I would be willing to ship to the UK. I admitted to her that I was very green when it came to international shipping. I did tell her that I would research it and get back to her. Come to find out, that was just the push that I needed. And, in the end, it was rather painless. I sell small/light items, most under 5oz.(142 gms) so the shipping around the world was less than I expected. The next day, I recieved a sale from a lady in Germany.

It opened another world, literally, to my customer base. The views picked up rather quickly when I added International shipping. Think about it, research it at the US Postal Service website.

The second thing I am in the process of doing, is adding product sizes in metric. I have seen this requested by some folks on a forum thread.  If Google is your search engine, you can just hover over the length or size and you will get a pop up with the conversion. But not everyone chooses Google as their browser. So I have been trying to update my site with the metric conversions in order to make it more informative for current and potential customers.

The bottom line is...listen to what potential customers say.