How to Price Handmade Products and Why Underpricing Hurts Every Creative Business

If you've ever thought, "I'll keep my prices low until people start buying," you're not alone. Many creative business owners fall into this trap. On the surface, it makes perfect sense. Lower prices should mean more customers, more sales and a successful business... right? It also keeps that little chimp on your shoulder quiet – you know, the one whispering that until you're a "proper" artist, you should keep your prices reasonable. But have you ever thought about the long-term cost of that decision?

The hidden cost of underpricing

The reality is that talented artists, makers and designers are working harder than ever, earning less than minimum wage and wondering why they feel exhausted doing something they once loved. I've been there, in fact it very nearly ended my career as a full-time artist.

When I first started Craft Happy, I thought pricing was simply about covering my materials and adding a little for my time. Once I'd settled on a price, I'd ask myself one question:

"Would I pay this?"

It's a question I still see asked every day in creative forums. Someone shares a photo of their latest creation and asks, "What would you pay for this?"

I understand why we ask it, but I think it's the wrong question.

If you ask someone whether they'd pay £40 for something, many people will naturally think, "I'd rather pay £30." Not because your work isn't worth £40, but because everyone likes getting a bargain.

When it comes to learning how to price handmade products, creative businesses need to understand that they aren't built around bargains. They're built around sustainability.

A much better question is: "Does this price allow my business to survive and grow?"

How to Price Handmade Products

One of the biggest mindset shifts I ever had was realising I wasn't simply pricing a piece of sea glass I'd picked up on a pleasant beach walk.

I was pricing years of learning, failed experiments, trips to the beach where I didn't find any treasure and the hours and hours spent sketching new ideas. This is without even mentioning all of the time spent photographing products, writing social media posts, answering emails...

I could keep going, but I'm sure you recognise plenty of those things in your own business too.

Customers shouldn't just be paying for the time it takes to make one piece. They're paying for the years it took you to develop the skills, knowledge and creativity that make your work unique.

Underpricing changes more than your bank balance

When every sale leaves you feeling like you've worked all day for very little reward, something begins to change. Over time you will stop experimenting, take fewer creative risks, rush your work, say yes to projects you don't really enjoy. Eventually, you start wondering whether it's worth carrying on.

I'm not suggesting running a creative business should be all sunshine and sketchbooks. Every business comes with admin, paperwork and jobs we'd rather avoid. But if the joy is disappearing because you're working harder than ever for less than minimum wage, pricing isn't just a financial problem, it becomes a wellbeing problem too.

Underpricing affects every maker

There's another consequence we don't talk about often enough.

When one maker continually underprices their work, it quietly changes customers' expectations of what handmade products should cost. Suddenly, every other artist has to explain why their prices are higher - not because they're greedy, but because someone else is charging too little and the bar is too low. It becomes a race to the bottom. A race that nobody can win, least of all the customer, because eventually talented artists stop creating altogether.

Help people understand the value

Over the years I've learnt that peop

le rarely value something because it's cheap.

They value it because they understand the care, skill, experience and story behind it.

Our job isn't to have the lowest prices, it's to share the joy and the love that has gone into something and help people understand the value of what we create. That's a much healthier conversation—for both us and our customers.

Sustainable pricing creates sustainable businesses

Today, I no longer see pricing as simply charging for my time, I see it as protecting my ability to keep creating, because in the Christmas of 2024, I came very close to giving up Craft Happy.

I'm passionate about protecting our industry, protecting the welfare of our artists and keeping creativity alive and thriving. Every fairly priced piece helps fund the next painting, the next workshop, the next idea and, hopefully, the next customer smile.

I'd love us to start using the word sustainable when we talk about pricing. Not high.

Not low. Not 'what would you pay for this?'

Simply sustainable. Because without sustainable pricing, creative businesses can't invest in themselves, their skills or the future of the handmade industry.

A final thought

If you've ever felt guilty about raising your prices, I'd love you to remember this... charging enough isn't greedy. It's what allows you to keep creating work that brings beauty, joy and meaning into the world. Creativity deserves to be sustainable - not just environmentally, but financially and emotionally too.

Because when artists can afford to keep creating, everybody wins.