Selling internationally

Sometimes it can be a problem pricing work for sale. When it's for sale locally, there are factors to consider such as the price people are willing to pay, how much do they appreciate handmade items, the economy locally, etc. There seems to be a willingness to equate handmade with 'cheap' for some reason. A price tag on a mass-produced handbag can be jaw-droppingly high, considering that the materials could have cost pence, the labour paid pence and the profits astronomical. The fact that such things sell readily and regularly is due to the social pressures that fall under that horrible phrase 'aspirational'. A name-brand handbag is aspirational, designer 'gear' is aspirational, but something that is unique and original does not appeal to the people who buy to give a veneer of social success. Only people who are confident in their own status and self are willing to buy something that doesn't have an automatic value in the eyes of others.

What does this mean? Locally, it means trying to find the right markets, the right customers, the right mentality that says 'original is good'.

Add in the factor of trying to sell across not just national boundaries but also across various currencies and it can become a nightmare. It's not as bad if you sell in a currency that is on the lower side of an exchange rate, you can price your work properly and achieve the prices you feel are appropriate for your efforts but if you are selling from the upper slope of the exchange rate suddenly it becomes a problem. A set of beads worth £35 to someone in the UK may be worth the same in unit value, but $35 isn't anywhere close in value to someone whose income is marked in pounds rather than dollars.

So, what's a beadmaker to do? Well, we take a pragmatic view of things. If we sell in a dollar market, we have to price in comparable units, so when we list things on Etsy or ArtFire or eBay.com, we consider the unit price as our guideline. What does this mean? A bargain for UK buyers who get a virtual discount depending on the exchange rate, and a reasonable price for people who pay in dollars.

It's the only way to swim the seas of the international currency ocean. Sometimes you give a little but you get a lot. What we get is great customers and a chance to extend the range where the beads are seen. Can't beat that.