Lol, do you know how witchcraft works? I’m not just selling tiny jars of honey (which are sealed shut btw, so it’s not for consumption). It’s a honey sweetening charm, meaning I add energy to make it more than just a “tiny bottle of honey”. Also, I pay for the tiny bottles, the packaging to ship, and each bottle comes in an organza bag, and on a loop so it can be put on a chain if the buyer wishes.
PS – If you think it’s easy getting honey into those little bottles, you’re crazy. It has to be done just so, or else honey gets everywhere.
UM EXCUSE ME. You’re paying for a smaller bottle which is more expensive, you’re paying for the chain, the fact that it’s all put together, and the TIME AND ENERGY AND WITCHCRAFT. If you’ve got a problem with it, *try* making your own – don’t be a dick on anon. By the way o have one and can tell that it’s made with a lot of love and care soooooo.
Thank you! ^_^ I’m so happy you like it! And anon’s like this are just haters e_e
Hi @beewitch! I don’t mean to take over your post. I just wanted to add something.
What people also don’t know or understand is that we buy things in bulk too (not sure if that applies to you, but a lot of people buy in bulk) and it takes a huge cut out of our paycheck. Not everyone can just be an etsy seller and work off of that income. A lot of us have full time jobs (some have more than one) and invest a portion of our money into supplies to make the products for our shops so we can make a decent living (or try to). I’ve seen a pack of tiny bottles in my area from $4-$10 (up to $20 online) and the quantity can range from 4 bottles to 24 depending on the store and brand. Michaels sells them for $3.99 and you get 4 in a pack. Sometimes I can get a really good deal at an estate sale or sale at a local hobby, craft, or witchy shop but I don’t see those sales often.
Pricing… I get it. This is something that I struggled with when I did my craft fair and opened my etsy shop. I knew how much money I spent to make one thing and I didn’t want to overcharge because I always try to put myself in shoes of the other person. I was thinking like a buyer more than a seller at first. But you need to think about everything that goes into it. Those hooks don’t always come with the bottles. Sometimes you need to buy your own. That’s another added cost. Sometimes a bottle breaks, so you have to buy another package. Another added cost. The necklace can be $4-$10, even more if you’re using real silver or gold. You don’t want your customers to walk around with a green line on their neck. Also, you don’t always get completed necklaces.. just the chain part. The clasps and jump rings also cost money and (in my case) need to be purchased separately. Don’t forget about packaging.. boxes, bags, tissue paper, cotton, artificial moss, crinkle paper, kraft paper, whatever you use to pack it. Plus the shipping labels and boxes or envelopes, the ink and paper for invoices. The business cards, thank you cards, coupons, freebies (unless I’m the only crazy person who gives away free stuff to people who purchase things in my etsy shop), and other added things – I like to use twine, little charms and a doily or piece of lace to wrap up the box for my customers. All of these things.. they add up real quick.
Let’s say you spend $100-$150 on everything you need because like I said, you need to buy things in bulk or in a pack. Trust me it’s possible to spend even more than that. Sometimes I spend $100 in just one shopping trip when I’m making my gemstone/crystal wire trees and jewelry and usually I have to go back a few days later and buy more. It’s not easy or cheap to start your own business, even on etsy. So anyway, you buy everything you need. But then you have to make it. It may look like it could take a few minutes but that’s not always true. You have to design it, measure it, cut/clip, put it together, fix whatever doesn’t work, make sure it’s nice, clean, and secure; and repeat. We put time, effort, energy (sometimes blessings, spells, etc), and care into the things we make.
So that $8 “tiny bottle of honey” (as you put it) may seem like it’s a steep price to someone who doesn’t understand everything that goes into it. But what you’re actually buying is worth more than $8. The shop owner, the person who is crafting it, is worth more than that. Their time and energy is worth more than that.
I didn’t mean to write so much but I’ve noticed people talking about the “high cost” of handmade products on etsy and they don’t really know what goes into it all. Or maybe they don’t care.
THANK YOU!!! All of this is so true, and a lot of people just don’t understand it. I love my Etsy shop and wish I could just make things full time, but I can’t live off of that. Even with all the sales I made over the holidays, with the discount I barely broke even 😢 Supplies are no joke and all the bottles come without the hook rings, and I make every chain myself to the specified size asked for. The organza bags are also included in every charm order free of charge, and I do put blessings and energy into EACH charm that is made to order. I don’t pre-make ANY of my charms.
On top of which, I work a full time job. So don’t tell me $8 is too much for something Input my heart and soul into making and offering to anyone that orders it.
I just really want to highlight that last line.
Don’t tell me $8 is too much for my heart and soul.
Never haggle with a wizard. Never, ever haggle with the old wise woman at the edge of the village. Don’t haggle with the witch of the woods. Be grateful you got some magick.