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Pricing help again please, sock kit
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How much would you hypothetically pay for this?
�13.50 and not a penny more
21%
 21%  [ 3 ]
�16.00
35%
 35%  [ 5 ]
�18.00
7%
 7%  [ 1 ]
�20.00
28%
 28%  [ 4 ]
�other suggested below
7%
 7%  [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 14

Author 
 Message
toggle



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 07 9:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

knitters also have a habit of trying to spread their addiction to all others. A nicely presented sock kit, with beginner level instructions (have your instructions road tested by someone not experienced in sock making) would be picked up by a knitter for a parent, cousin, child, friend because we want to give them something nice and they have already made 3 garter stitch scarves.

 
Penny Outskirts



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 07 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Stacey wrote:
Nick Howe wrote:
You don't think someone attempting to sell a product would have a different view on what it's worth than someone who's wishing to buy it?


No


They have very different views, I think. One is intimately involved with the product, know the in's an the out's of it, in fact has too much information, and is often much too close to it to make a proper valuation of it's "worth" to a customer.

A standard customer just thinks "Oh! Hand knitted socks, I've always fancied having a go at that, that would be nice. �23? Not that nice....." Unless you knew the price of all these yarns, and you knew the rarity of what you were getting, and knew how much hand knitted socks cost. As a casual buy from a fair, I don't think that would happen at that price. If all the people who are coming through Wonderwool are going to know the value of the wool and the things they're buying, then why would they want a beginners sock kit? What something is worth is only what someone is willing to pay for it. Yes exclusivity is important, as is perceived value, but not as a "get people onto the stall" at a fair.

 
wellington womble



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 07 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jamanda wrote:
Would you get that many beginners at Wonderwool? Or are you looking to sell to shops who would stock your kits?


probably - it's a reletively small part of the smallholders and gardeners show at Builth Wells, so there's potentially a lot of people who've gone for other things. And, for some odd reason, people think that socks are hard, so often fairly experienced knitters come socks late. There's nothing like a lovely yarn to tempt a knitter into buying something she doesn't need, isn't sure quite what to do with, and isn't quite sure her skills are up to. Believe me, I know!

 
toggle



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 07 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

wellington womble wrote:
There's nothing like a lovely yarn to tempt a knitter into buying something she doesn't need



particularly if it's for knitting socks with. there are people who have serious obsessions with socks.



just to add, i have knit 2 pairs of socks and have collected enough yarn for about 15 pairs, inlcuding 2 20 quid skeins and put the effort into making handspun, on a spindle, for socks.





and i have a fairly mild case of sock yarn addiction.

 
lottie



Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 07 11:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Why all the dull shades for men bit? my O.H. loves red socks which I have trouble getting---if I could get a kit with a SIMPLE pattern to knit him some socks as a pressie I would be prepared to pay for it----but not slipper socks for heavens sake ----proper ones he would wear

 
sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

lottie wrote:
----but not slipper socks for heavens sake ----proper ones he would wear


The only reason these are being pitched largely as slipper socks is the thickness of the yarn, they would work under really big boots, but I don't think most people would fit them inside their current shoes, However, I'll have some sample socks knitted up so a prospective buyer could decide whether they would be house socks or bootsocks

 
Fee



Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

sally_in_wales wrote:
Took me one gentle evening to knit the sock, so I'm hoping it will appeal to relatively novice knitters who like the idea of doing socks for the family. The pattern is basic and simple to follow, so I was going to set it out as a 'fun socks for your loved ones' package and really push the 'socks make great presents' aspect.


It appeals to me, I'm a very novice knitter! I think it's a fabulous present, just something I would buy

 
jamanda
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 6:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

lottie wrote:
Why all the dull shades for men bit? my O.H. loves red socks which I have trouble getting---if I could get a kit with a SIMPLE pattern to knit him some socks as a pressie I would be prepared to pay for it----but not slipper socks for heavens sake ----proper ones he would wear


Sally - Could you advertise the capacity to make up the kits in colours specified by the customer as well as having some to sell then and there?

Boot sock sounds more macho than slipper sock. If my OH was there, he'd just say that he doesn't wear slippers so why would he need slipper socks.

 
Stacey



Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 8380
Location: Kernow
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 7:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Penny wrote:
Stacey wrote:
Nick Howe wrote:
You don't think someone attempting to sell a product would have a different view on what it's worth than someone who's wishing to buy it?


No


They have very different views, I think. One is intimately involved with the product, know the in's an the out's of it, in fact has too much information, and is often much too close to it to make a proper valuation of it's "worth" to a customer.

A standard customer just thinks "Oh! Hand knitted socks, I've always fancied having a go at that, that would be nice. �23? Not that nice....." Unless you knew the price of all these yarns, and you knew the rarity of what you were getting, and knew how much hand knitted socks cost. As a casual buy from a fair, I don't think that would happen at that price. If all the people who are coming through Wonderwool are going to know the value of the wool and the things they're buying, then why would they want a beginners sock kit? What something is worth is only what someone is willing to pay for it. Yes exclusivity is important, as is perceived value, but not as a "get people onto the stall" at a fair.


But why does that mean that sally should sell her stuff for less than half the price of other people selling the same thing?
Are you a knitter Penny?

Toggle has posted links to similar products and a quick google search shows that the going price is a lot more than sally is thinking about charging.

And with due respect, the fact that you'd only pay �6 for a pair of handmade socks means that you aren't sallys target market

Last edited by Stacey on Tue Apr 24, 07 7:22 am; edited 2 times in total

 
Stacey



Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 8380
Location: Kernow
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 7:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sally - I've been thinking about this in the night (insomnia is a wonderful thing) and I wondered if it might be an idea to do a quick bit of market research re the 200g thing. Personally it would put me off as I don't like knitting two pairs of socks in the same yarn. I'd buy one of your 100g kits for �16 - �18 but but not a 200g one. In my head I would be paying for yarn that I'm not going to use. It may just be me that thinks like that so maybe between us we could ask on knitting groups etc?

 
wellington womble



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 7:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

toggle wrote:
wellington womble wrote:
There's nothing like a lovely yarn to tempt a knitter into buying something she doesn't need


particularly if it's for knitting socks with. there are people who have serious obsessions with socks.

just to add, i have knit 2 pairs of socks and have collected enough yarn for about 15 pairs, inlcuding 2 20 quid skeins and put the effort into making handspun, on a spindle, for socks.

and i have a fairly mild case of sock yarn addiction.


True - despite the fact that I am perfectly capable of knitting socks (I have knitted 2 and 3/4 pairs now!) and collected at least 5 more sets of yarn and some spinning stuff for socks, I would still buy one of Sally's kits (if she has any left!) because I love handmade needles, and have never seen walnut ones, and becaus the yarn is lovely colours. And because patterns are always interesting and different. Almost all handknitted socks are too chunky to wear under ordinary shoes. And heavy yarn is quicker to knit

I have a fairly mild addiction too. Honest!

 
Stacey



Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 8380
Location: Kernow
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 7:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

wellington womble wrote:
toggle wrote:
wellington womble wrote:
There's nothing like a lovely yarn to tempt a knitter into buying something she doesn't need


particularly if it's for knitting socks with. there are people who have serious obsessions with socks.

just to add, i have knit 2 pairs of socks and have collected enough yarn for about 15 pairs, inlcuding 2 20 quid skeins and put the effort into making handspun, on a spindle, for socks.

and i have a fairly mild case of sock yarn addiction.


True - despite the fact that I am perfectly capable of knitting socks (I have knitted 2 and 3/4 pairs now!) and collected at least 5 more sets of yarn and some spinning stuff for socks, I would still buy one of Sally's kits (if she has any left!) because I love handmade needles, and have never seen walnut ones, and becaus the yarn is lovely colours. And because patterns are always interesting and different. Almost all handknitted socks are too chunky to wear under ordinary shoes. And heavy yarn is quicker to knit

I have a fairly mild addiction too. Honest!


I also have a fairly unmanageable stash of sock yarn. I think it's because they're portable, relatively unexpensive (in terms of buying 600g of yarn for a jumper) and for a little effort you get a complicated looking end result. I've been wondering if there's a bit of an ebb in the knitting frenzy that we've recently seen but it doesn't seem to apply to socks.

How do you feel about the 200g of yarn?

 
toggle



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Ok, the basic thing I'm getting from knitting forums is following yarn harlot's lead and trying to cut down on having loads of yarn in the house they will never knit. There's a huge stash reduction thing going on amongst some of the on-line knitting communities.

However, there's the other factor, sock yarn doesn't count when you go on a yarn diet, and it doesn't count as stash, so it's the only thing you can buy when you really don't need anything else.

Now the whole thing may seem a bit strange, but these people are the target market for a luxury hand dyed yarn kit. So use their strangeness to your advantage as a seller.

 
Stacey



Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 8380
Location: Kernow
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Also - are you intending on putting all the yarn in kits or will you have some available for sale on its own?

Sorry - sally - I'll leave you alone soon

(I'm on the pooter for a bit as ironically I'm putting my prices up today )

 
toggle



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 07 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

If I was going to sell the kit, I would definitely reskein it. at the very least into 2 100g skeins that will look better when skeined at a different length to show off the colours. Stack up the skeins, don't stick all one colour together, go for a riot or rainbow effect, should be enough yarn there to see at least 30 feet away as yummy.

offer 2 different colours per kit for about 25, basic kit with 100g for at least 2/3 of that. People will go for the big kit as better value.

Then, add a small cloth bag holding the kit, preferably drawstring. market it as a bag to keep your socks in progress in as you travel, socks are a small portable knitting project, ti's not like toting a jumper about......

That's a small added expense, and doubles the appeal of the kit.

 
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