Paracord guild Empowering the paracord community.
Have you ever considered how you got into paracord crafts? In my experience, most paracord fans are drawn to creating with knots from sheer passion of creating. It may have developed during your childhood or became a hobby later on.
Many of us who have been creating with paracord got the opportunity to sell our works to the public. And some of us agree to it. It is a fun way of making extra cash or in some cases even a living.
I have been looking into the prices of paracord products, especially bracelets and the prices seem to differ by a HUGE extent. I saw a simple paracord bracelet being sold for 45 dollars, while a more intricately designed one went for 5 dollars. Both sell. But the demographic of buyers is different. And so is the demographic of the sellers.
The point I am about to develop is this: “we as paracord fans often undersell our products”. Frankly, I have met only a few people so far that earn good money from crafting. And they do well because they value themselves and their time. And why should not you, as a crafter, an artist even, be justified to be compensated for a job well done? A bit of a materialistic view, but still, I find that a lot of very creative people undersell their products.
Why do we undersell?
I think there are two main reasons we tend to not value our crafts as much as we should.
The first is that we view crafting as a hobby and are often happy to cover our supplies. Making money from something fun is unethical for a lot of us. But it should not be! What you enjoy doing is often something you do well. Very well. I know I am surprised daily by the amazing creations posted on Facebook and Pinterest.
The second reason we tend to undersell is that we are on the inside of the craft. Most people can not do what you can. Seriously, something as simple as a shark jaw bone bracelet seems like a mountain to climb to most people! But for you, who have probably done a ton of bracelets in different designs, making one is easy! And there is no such thing as easy money, no?
The point I have tried to make in this article is that your time is valuable and your skills unique. There are not many who can do what you do, nor do they have the time to do it. Be proud of your work, make quality products and do not be afraid to charge a fair price to compensate for the time you invested.
You make a very good point here. As a good friend said to me, “if you have a skill, don’t just give it away!”
Really enjoy reading you pages here, much more than just tutorials. Thought provoking stuff.
I started braiding Paracord sageo (cords for Japanese swords) on a kumihimo disk. At first I just thought about covering the cost of materials but some of my dojo mates urged me to charge for my time as well. So I created a price structure based on time and materials and now I have a hobby that will support my unfortunate habit of buying sharp things!
Your comments and advice re selling our creations really hit home for me. I have never apologized for my skill level…I reproduce anything if I have a good tutorial (thank you, Mark, for your brilliant instructions), but I still seem to come up short when pricing my products. My family and friends don’t understand my cheap prices…and honestly, I don’t either! Even as a hobby, it would be nice to have a return on my talents, time and materials.