Etsy Item Pricing - How Low is Too Low?

I was once proud of the fact that I had items as low as a dollar in my shop. That worked for me for a few years. This past year, however, I have had to face cold cost-effective facts.

A dollar item doesn't even let me break even these days. See, Etsy charges a very low listing fee of $.20 for four months. That is an excellent fee, IMHO. However, if I listed something for the first time last December, and it hasn't sold, I have re-listed 3 times - this alone resulted in $.60 in listing fees. When that item is sold, PayPal takes its cut.

This said, I will be increasing my prices at the first of the year. If anyone sees any dollar items that they want, they should grab them before the end of the year. If you see something and it is sold and gone before you can order, just get in touch with me and I'll still make it for you and at the current price. Even if it isn't mailed until after January 1st, so long as it is ordered before then, I'll honor the current price.

I will need to adjust my store description to reflect that, too. I cannot imagine having anything in my shop, come January 1st, for less than $2 or even $2.50.

Some of my personal friends, neighbors, cyber-friends, and previous buyers already know of my dollar products and for those folks, if they ask for something at the old price, I'll just add $.50 to cover the PayPal fees, but I'm not sure how long I can do that.

If I were wealthy, it would be fun to sell very cheap. However, I am not wealthy and need to make at least a small profit for my time and materials.

Any of you with Etsy shops, now is the time to re-visit your prices. Sit down and re-evaluate what it costs you, dollar-wise, to make each item. Then at least double it for your time and effort. Let your buyers know the prices are going up - this might result in a short rush of sales for some of you. Personally, I am not comfortable raising my prices without making my buyers aware.