On Being New and Selling Pipes
Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 1:23 am
I have had the good pleasure of having interaction with a few new pipe makers in the last several months, and additionally reading comments by new folks here. In that interaction there has been a common thread: a big worry about selling pipes.
I fear this is the curse that comes with the blessing of information.
Because there are so many resources for learning how to make pipes on the Internet, it is very easy to gather the necessary information these days. That's good. Unfortunately, with that information is an awareness of what is wrong with the pipes you create. Critiques are readily available and while helpful (even critical) for improvement it can also paralyze one from being willing to sell. The maker is too aware of flaws.
So I arrive at my point:
It's OK to sell flawed pipes.
You have to. We all have to. The key is simply to sell at a fair price. Granted, that raises a whole new set of concerns, but those have been at least addressed over the years on this forum. (viewtopic.php?f=15&t=93&hilit=prices , viewtopic.php?f=15&t=32&hilit=prices , viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2105&hilit=prices )
So my encouragement to new makers is this, don't sacrifice workable on the altar of perfection. Get help determining a fair price for your pipes and sell them. You cannot and will not prevent the sale of pipes that make you cringe at some point down the road. It's going to happen. That's OK. Heck, it can even be funny. Name this pipe maker:
I think the above maker would agree with me when I say that I'm glad I didn't know how bad I was when I first started. (For me, its important that I maintain my delusion, for the above carver not so much.) I address this "ignorance" from the negative end in my open letter to new pipe makers -- explaining that as a new pipe maker, you are not "all that" even though your local buddies say you are -- but I want to cushion that with this post.
Sell pipes. That's a good thing. It's scary, but you've got to give it a go with imperfect pipes or you'll never sell one.
Most of all though, have fun.
Tyler
I fear this is the curse that comes with the blessing of information.
Because there are so many resources for learning how to make pipes on the Internet, it is very easy to gather the necessary information these days. That's good. Unfortunately, with that information is an awareness of what is wrong with the pipes you create. Critiques are readily available and while helpful (even critical) for improvement it can also paralyze one from being willing to sell. The maker is too aware of flaws.
So I arrive at my point:
It's OK to sell flawed pipes.
You have to. We all have to. The key is simply to sell at a fair price. Granted, that raises a whole new set of concerns, but those have been at least addressed over the years on this forum. (viewtopic.php?f=15&t=93&hilit=prices , viewtopic.php?f=15&t=32&hilit=prices , viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2105&hilit=prices )
So my encouragement to new makers is this, don't sacrifice workable on the altar of perfection. Get help determining a fair price for your pipes and sell them. You cannot and will not prevent the sale of pipes that make you cringe at some point down the road. It's going to happen. That's OK. Heck, it can even be funny. Name this pipe maker:
I think the above maker would agree with me when I say that I'm glad I didn't know how bad I was when I first started. (For me, its important that I maintain my delusion, for the above carver not so much.) I address this "ignorance" from the negative end in my open letter to new pipe makers -- explaining that as a new pipe maker, you are not "all that" even though your local buddies say you are -- but I want to cushion that with this post.
Sell pipes. That's a good thing. It's scary, but you've got to give it a go with imperfect pipes or you'll never sell one.
Most of all though, have fun.
Tyler