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Price Point

Ok, I took one of my cbg to work to show a guy that plays a guitar and I had 5 differnet people, one was my boss all wanting to know how much I would sell my cbg for. I took it to show my mother-in-law, she posted it on facebook and people are asking like crazy.

What is a average price people sell them for, I'm finding in my area there is alot of people that have a interest in buying one. Cost to make is around $35, I can make it in about 4-5days with the staining the wood, room to breath, glue to dry, etc.

I don't want to say somthing to high were no one wants them but I don't want to price them so low either.

I was thinking around $100 for a regular cbg and one that I add more stuff maybe around $150, is that to high or low?

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on June 4, 2012 at 8:36pm

I've reflected on this again, and realised that I never set out with a plan to sell cigar box guitars, and at no point did I ask myself how much one if my guitars was worth, or how much I could sell it for. It's evolved over the years, and only now after making several hundred am I beginning to rationalise a little and try and figure out where I should be heading.

I know this may sound hypocritical, but trying to formulate plans about to make money out of making cigar box guitars and how much to charge for one is sort to the wrong end to be concentrating on. I started making them for the sheer pleasure and fun of doing it....I sold quite a few at giveaway prices, made some more, put the price up a little bit...and repeated the cycle dozens and dozens of times of a long period of time. I'm still not sure about my pricing, but I've built things up so I've got a pretty long waiting list, and am getting involved in various ways of getting my work out to the public, but at the root of it you've got to be making a good product that people like and you've got to be really into what you are doing in terms of the creativity and craftsmanship.

Pricing is a really difficult aspect, whether you are a hobbyist who wants to just sell-on the odd guitar, or someone who wants to generate a bit of handy income on a more regular level, or right the way through to having a goal of making proper money at it. I'd say I've gone through each stage, but what's remained constant is the drive to make my stuff better and better, and keep the spirit of fun and enjoyment on what I do. I reckon if you stay true to your ideals, it shows in the product and it will sell.

However, what's a good price for someone will be the wrong price for someone else....for example, I pitched up with one of my guitars at a local guitar shop (they'd asked me to bring one in), I told them the price...and they thought it was cheaper than they'd expected (about the same as a Classic Vibe Squier tele). The price works for me, but if I'd have sold it to them even with a modest trade discount, it would have had to be in their window at nearly twice my asking price for them to turn a margin on it.....it all gets complicated!!!

I suppose what I'm saying, it all takes time to settle in, there's a lot to be learned, and if you can weather the first hundred or so builds, then you might still be making them, enjoying it and making money.