Grasp Profits from Enjoyment of Crafting

In my tale for today’s post, a man possessing fine aesthetic tastes comes across a distinctive handmade vase at a craft fair. He locates the artist to express his admiration and present a special request. “I’d like to purchase two more which look just like that one to give to friends. How much would it be for the three?”
     The artist thinks for a bit, then replies, “You saw that I want $75 for the vase that’s there. My price for the second one would be $100 and for the third one, $150.”
     “I don’t understand,” says the man. “Why would you charge me more for the copies?”
     “It’s because when I make duplicates, it changes the joy of craftsmanship into the burden of toil,” explains the artist.
     An explanation consistent with conclusions from a study at Tilburg University, Northwestern University, and Lehigh University. Well, actually, perfectly consistent with the obverse of one of the conclusions. The researchers report that sellers will accept lower prices for merchandise they enjoy making and services they enjoy providing.
     But it’s an additional conclusion which is of more interest to retailers: Shoppers are willing to pay higher prices when they learn that the seller enjoyed producing the items. Shoppers are also more likely to click on ads for the items and to end up purchasing the items. The researchers’ explanation, supported by their studies, is that both sellers and shoppers view production enjoyment as leading to higher quality outcomes, but only the shoppers rely on this view when determining a proper item price.
     An important condition is that these conclusions apply only when the shopper believes that creating the particular item requires specialized skills. We don’t expect to see it with automated mass production or simple manual assembly.
     The production enjoyment effect is quite different from the commonly experienced endowment effect, in which, with items carrying an emotional attachment for the seller, sellers tend to set noticeably higher prices on items than shoppers are willing to pay. A possible reason for the difference is that the endowment effect is usually encountered when the seller is not the same person as the manufacturer, such as with sales of secondhand merchandise.
     When facing the endowment effect, consider lowering prices. When facing the production enjoyment effect, consider raising prices. And for items which require specialized skills to produce or provide, give shoppers evidence of your enjoyment.

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Harvest the Joy of Selling Your Creativity 

Wash Your Hands of the Endowment Effect 

Gimme Some Lovin’ Handmade

Image at top of post based on photo by Nigel Hoare from Unsplash