Your first sale

[LatakiaLover]

It is rewarding, it's deep fun.

At some point, you will probably say "This isn't a hundred dollar pipe, it's a goddam 125 dollar pipe!" and then 200 and then 300... at some point that little critter in your mind will say "My time is worth more than this" and when it does, you go for the next tier. And if you are happy at any particular level... yeah, shit, that's okay. There's a strong unspoken obligation in this community that making high grade pipes OUGHT to be the goal and I've fought that forever. The goal is whatever the hell you like. Make 1000 pipes a year and give them to needy lesbian pipe smokers. Whatever. Make 10 pipes a year that are nicer than Bo Nordh's. Great. It's all good. And yeah, if you want to make your living as a pipe maker, there's probably certain goals to strive for, but most of us have the luxury of being able to do this at our own pace, for our own reasons, and find our own style of success.

I find your intolerance and dogmatic approach to be infinitely galling. I thought Canadisians were supposed to be nice.

[Sasquatch]

Gonna keep smoking Italian midgrades too, until the pipe making police come and get them!

[Tyler]

The change in subject to the nature of this forum was off topic and important enough to merit its own thread. I split the thread:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10229

[wdteipen]

The first pipe I sold was my 5th and I sold it for $50. In hind sight, I think it was worth that but it was an exception. Most of my early stuff was terrible. There are several pipes that I sold for way too much. That's the worst mistake you can make. Take the advice that several have already given and sell if you want but price them appropriately. And for God's sake, if you don't want the pressure of pipe orders then just turn them down. I do it all the time. The last thing I want is for pipemaking to feel like a job so I fight that all the time. That being said, if you're fighting that battle then you know you're on the right track value-wise.

[Tyler]

There are several pipes that I sold for way too much. That's the worst mistake you can make.

How come?

[wdteipen]

There are several pipes that I sold for way too much. That's the worst mistake you can make.

How come?

Once you sell a pipe at a particular price point and the quality doesn't warrant it, it puts you in a difficult position. The more experienced consumer knows the lack of value in your product and word spreads that your quality isn't up to snuff compared to your prices and sales drop. What now? Lower your prices to where they should be? How does that look to the poor schmuck who bought the pipe at too high a price if all the sudden your prices drop? He likely will feel taken. You can work real hard and get your quality up but your going to go through a slow and painful process of convincing the experienced consumers that you're quality is now worth your prices all the while having sluggish sales in the meantime.

[sandahlpipe]

When social media gets involved with all the hype, it's so easy to get people buying pipes from you. Within a few months of my first sale, I had a waiting list of 16 commissions. I think the pressure to get a pipe out the door made it harder for me to focus on quality over quantity. I wish that I had learned to turn down orders sooner than I did. Now, I've learned to be more picky about the orders I take.

[Tyler]

There are several pipes that I sold for way too much. That's the worst mistake you can make.

How come?

Once you sell a pipe at a particular price point and the quality doesn't warrant it, it puts you in a difficult position. The more experienced consumer knows the lack of value in your product and word spreads that your quality isn't up to snuff compared to your prices and sales drop. What now? Lower your prices to where they should be? How does that look to the poor schmuck who bought the pipe at too high a price if all the sudden your prices drop? He likely will feel taken. You can work real hard and get your quality up but your going to go through a slow and painful process of convincing the experienced consumers that you're quality is now worth your prices all the while having sluggish sales in the meantime.

Well said.

[Charl]

True words, Wayne!
It's so easy to think that your own pipes are wonderful, especially after you've been doing it for a year or 2. You know it all, of course, and can see mistakes a mile off (on other pipes, your's don't have mistakes anymore!). So, you up your prices! You work hard and long hours on a pipe, you've learned a lot, off course people should pay more.
Take care with this one! In a couple of years you're going to realise that you still know nothing.

[Literaryworkshop]

I think I sold my third pipe. It was the only reason I kept at this whole thing--people kept asking me to make them pipes. I didn't sell them for much, just enough to cover materials and a little shop time, which I enjoyed (mostly) anyway. I haven't yet made 40 pipes, but I've sold maybe 25 now. I still have a lot to learn, but I keep making them because people keep buying them.

I know my pipes still need a lot of work, but right now, my goal is to make each pipe to the best of my current ability. When I ship one out, I want to be able to say, "well, I made that one as well as I know how right now." I try to learn something with each pipe and make each one a little better. I don't always, but that's the goal.