re: Big commission piece coming my way

This is a very interesting discussion. Having spent about 8 years in the retail furniture business in my youth it is easy to see why potential customers are so difficult.

Most people ask a neighborhood woodworker to make stuff for them because they think it will be a lot cheaper. They don’t know the reality that furniture factories buy huge amounts of good quality wood at much cheaper prices than what we usually pay retail prices for. They are also unaware of just how efficient these factories can be, which by the way is pretty amazing these days. The results might not be as good as yours, but they can be good enough. They are also very adept at disguising cheap goods to look a lot better than they actually are.

The market for custom made stuff is normally from people who want quality products that are unique and they are willing to pay for them. Whether that is a something sold at a trade fair, for a neighbor or commissioned. Very few people realize how much time and effort goes into making something and most don’t know anything about construction methods and material costs, not to mention the cost of all the equipment in a typical home shop and all the electric and consumables used. It is only natural for them to compare your price with what they see in the stores. It is just ignorance, not stupidity or arrogance in most cases.

I was once part of group who operated a local craft store. the only stuff that sold there was some rather bad ceramic figures created from a mold that folks bought cheap as birthday gifts to their old aunts. I sold only 4 things during my short membership, all of them to a local artist who appreciated the designs, the materials and the work that went into them. After that experience I decided that I would never try to sell my stuff again. I would rather give it away as gifts or keep it.

Selling stuff takes a lot of time away from woodworking and usually it just isn’t worth the time and trouble for a non-professional woodworker. That said, some have succeeded after finding a market for their goods and having the competence to exploit it, but that is certainly the exception and not the rule. My two bits.