Etsy Pricing Matters – Marketing Using Pricepoints

Do you know the power of your handmade item’s pricepoint?  HandmadeMarketing.org reader Cindy Lietz, from the website Beads and Beading, gave insight on her blog as to how an item’s pricepoint could be a marketing tool.

“I gathered a bunch of interesting facts and figures I’d like to share with you!” Cindy writes in her Etsy Tips for Your Jewelry Business blog post.  “For example, did you know that out of their 590,898 jewelry listings, that 24,341 are for Polymer Clay Jewelry? And the prices of those poly clay listings range from a $900 beaded polymer clay necklace to a 20 cent pair of Fimo earrings?“

“Or, did you know that over half of those polymer clay jewelry listings are for pendants? Do you see a trend there? Those pendants range in price from $450 to 20 cents.“

“And about those 20 cent items! Who can afford to sell at 20 cents when the listing fee is 20 cents + a 3.5% sales fee on top of that? Turns out, lots of people!” she writes.

Cindy explains that those 20 cent Etsy.com listings are “‘Pay It Forward”, or PIF, items.

“You see, shoppers can view listings on Etsy in several different ways… High-to-Low-Price, Low-to-High-Price, Recently-Listed, and Least-Recently-Listed,” she writes.  “If there are 12,707 listings for polymer clay pendants, your pieces could get “lost in the pile” if you don’t think creatively.”

Etsy sellers can work to not end up “lost in the pile” by focusing on the power of their pricepoint.  Cindy writes that PIF can be used as a strategy by some Etsians to get their shop seen.  By posting a 20 cent “loss leader” item, Cindy explains that the seller’s whop will show at the top of a lowest price sort.

“When buyers click on these 20 cent listings, they also get to see everything else that this handmade seller is offering,” Cindy writes.  “They “come into their store” so to speak. Really when you think about it, 20 cents is not a bad price to pay for some business exposure!“

“This loss leader strategy is referred to as doing a good deed, and buyers are asked to “Pay it Forward” by doing someone else a good deed in return,” she writes.

For more behind the PIF concept, read a past HandmadeMarketing.org article about what “Paying It Forward” entails.  Handmade seller Mary Bence, from Etsy’s Purbliss, recently shared what Etsy’s PIF listings are and why “Pay It Forward” can be a great marketing idea.

Cindy also thinks focusing on the item’s pricepoint can also work by pricing an item high.

“I think a few sellers have done a similar thing by overpricing an item to get visibility at the beginning of a High-to-Low search listing sort. However, this strategy can backfire and tarnish your reputation very quickly if the item is obviously not worth the price it was listed for,” she explains.

Thank you for sharing the wonderful tips Cindy!  To read more of Cindy’s suggestions for selling handmade online, check out her recent HandmadeMarketing.org article about how to conduct craft market research.

How do you use your pricepoint as a marketing tool?  Have you ever received exposure from PIF or high-priced items?  What do you think of Cindy’s thoughts about how a pricepoint can draw potential buyers to your Etsy shop?

Tell us your thoughts!  Post a comment to this post. If you are interested in seeing your thoughts in a future article, share your ideas about selling handmade online by clicking “Join”.  If our editors like your tips, we’ll publish you in a HandmadeMarketing.org article and link to your shop, blog, or website!