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Teddybears SwedenI'm about to attend my first show and I'm sooooo messed up when it comes to pricing my bears!! Gaaaah!! 
I have been looking around here on TT and on other sites to see how you price your bears. I know that money and prices are a delicat subject but I would REALLY need some help with simple examples like "here is my bear and I sold it for ...$"!
Because this is my first show, should I price my bears too low (to be able to sell) or should I price them higher (and on my next show lower my prices until people buy)?
Help!? 
Back Road BearsJennie...
Tough questions and ones every new bear artist faces!
Personally, I don't think that each of us posting a photo of our bear and the price we sold it at is going to help. Some artists are highly recognized for their work and can fetch $300 for a 10" bear while others are fetching the "average" for a 10 bear which would likely be $100 - $120. And it would make a difference as to weather the bear had a lot of deatils... airbrushing, needle sculpting or a costume for instance or whether it was a simple 'bare bear'.
No you do NOT want to price below the norm just to sell them. This will make collectors think your quality isn't there and will upset other artists because you are practically giving your bears away while they are trying to make money doing this and pricing their bears competitively.
The industry standard on a bear with out all the 'extras' is about $10-12 per inch.
Let me go find our discussions on this... I'll post the links in a minute.
Back Road Bears Teddybears SwedenDaphne, you are so right, putting out bears and prices might not be such a good idea 
It's all depending on fabric, work and so on. I will read the links that you gave me, thank you!
Posts: 1,836Hi Jennie,
Definitely read through those posts. When I read them all a while back I saw that SueAnn mentioned that the $10-$12 "industry standard" was from earlier shows she did. That standard must have risen over the years a little bit with the rest of the worlds inflation, so use it as a minimal guide. I think some here have moved up a bit with that $ amount. Like Daphne said ...it's a guide, not a definite. It totally depends on what you've used and done to create the bear.
I personally like Paula's post on how she prices. It's not based on making a sale (this is emotional and mental for artists...we always underestimate our work and it's worth...why is that) or industry $ standards. She bases it on the cost and production. That's what really matters...what did it cost you to make the bear and then what is your time/production priced at. Don't step on your own toes as an artist to make a sale.
PLUS you've got some added bonuses as an artist, if I'm remembering correctly....didn't you have a bear being used in a Women's Magazine for a holiday pattern? That's a nice plug for your show table and an added "selling point" as an artist. That's as good as an award (imo)..your bear design was picked to go to hundreds or thousands of subscribers. That's big.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Real Deal BearsWell Jennie, I have just had my first show and before I went, was in the same predicament as you.
What I ended up doing, as I have sold a quiet a few bears on ebay, I avaraged out the prices I got on ebay, and made the prices just under the average (as it was my first show).
I was lucky enough to talk to a Judge from a previous show, and I got her to check my prices.
She thought my mohair bears were too low.
I don't sell many mohair bears so I had no clue as to what to price them.
Her comment to me which might help you was ......... It is easier to go down in price than to raise your prices.
Sooooo.......... believe in yourself, your bears are GREAT.
And......... go for it 
