I'm being priced right out of reborning

Baby Talk
41

I want to chime in a little and none of this is aimed at you, it isn’t personal nor meant to be insulting but your comment is maybe what a lot of people are thinking.

This is just my opinion.

These dolls, this “hobby” isn’t meant to be a for profit pop up business. The kits being sold are for painting and having fun and they are priced the way they are for a lot of reasons like manufacturing costs and fees, customs fees, taxes, freight, employees, buying rights to a kit or distributing/ supplier costs, artists need to be paid their cut, advertising… The general cost of running a business where you not only resell but manufacture and resell things. Then you have supply and demand, and honestly what the market is willing to pay. If you are doing limited editions that raises the price because of supply and demand.

Do our suppliers make money? oh hell yes but they also take all the risk, they have to fork over the capital and they take the hit with inventory that moves slow or won’t sell.

Kits are not designed with money making in mind, they are designed to be an art-craft supply.

Making and selling our work has become a “business” for some of us (me included) for me being able to make a little money from a sale is bonus, I think at this juncture I would still make them for fun if I won the lottery.

For others being able to sell a baby means they can buy another kit, more paint and keep enjoying what they love.

Some people thought it would be cheaper to make a baby than buy a baby…(um…no).

If you are new to selling be gracious. You are just beginning. Your work may be beautiful and you should not undervalue yourself but until you have created a lot of babies and people start following your work you may take a bit of a hit for a while (sometimes for longer).

You have people who want one of these babies and are in sticker shock, they will most likely look for a baby in their price range by the best artist in that price range and start trading up. The cool thing about this is if you are the best house in the worst neighborhood you will sell first. This is just an analogy not meant to say beginning artists are a “bad” neighborhood.

You have collectors who always have an eye out for beginning artists to invest in, artists that have a little something-something that no one else has and they can feel it out, they get in early before you get all popular, your skills take you new places, and your babies cost a grip.

I am not sure if you were throwing a number out there but a 1000-1200 bucks for a new artist, a vinyl baby, even if rooted is a fat ticket. You may be worth it, but be humble when you walk into a room. Let people get to know and trust you, pay your dues, we all do.

People are going to send awful emails begging for babies, telling you they have a week to live, sending you photos of three legged dogs, telling you stories that if true mean they need more than a vinyl baby to get through the roller coaster they are on. Then there are going to be mean people who don’t understand why they should have to pay so much for a doll, that it isn’t fair if only people with that much money to spend get one of these babies, hence you must be a ___________ (fill in the blank).

Best to ignore those folks.

Stay on your path, make your best baby every time. Ask for critique from your peers and be honest about you ability to deal with constructive criticism. Find your style, your groove, the thing that sets you apart from everyone else. This isn’t a money maker, I mean it can be if you are excellent, if people like you, if you work really hard, if you have a all the right marketing in place… It is a lot of work.

It is also a thing you build, just like any other business.

Just like any other business it takes time to grow and build and your have to keep growing.

My first babies sold in the 2-300 dollar range, I wasn’t low-balling I was learning.

Just something to think about. I could be way off base here and totally open to correction.

Oh, and yes prices going up means my prices need to go up a bit too (sad face).

Happy to give you a critique here or in private if you like. It doesn’t mean I know more or better than you its just another persons perspective, opinion, eye. It’s a good thing, and even better when more people chime it.

6 Likes
42

I can agree with what you said about vinyl. I have sold one vinyl so far and it was $380. The thousands I’m talking about are silicone babies. They are right around a thousand blank. Some a little less, some a little more.

The ridiculous standard that new artists don’t paint as well as more established artists and/or are nobody, so they should charge less is annoying but not exactly insulting.

I think the new artist thing is with the assumption that they are selling their dolls right away and doesn’t leave room for those that trash them instead and wait for something better from themselves to start selling. My early babies are either in the trash bin or were given away.

In respect to the market, I do understand that new means MUCH smaller customer base due to lack of notoriety. I still don’t see how that factors into quality or price. I think it will just take longer to sell a baby but should not equate to selling them for less. Personally, I got all the time in the world. This is a hobby for me because unless I move to sculpting and pouring my own dolls, there really isn’t a huge profit in it all.

I’m pretty sure that deep down, I didn’t want to sell the doll I had previously listed. However, even after re-evaluating it, I still come to the conclusion that the paint on that baby falls into a price range lower than I listed it, but higher than this undefined new artist price range. I think a fair price for it would fall between $2,300 and $2,500. I’d like to hear your input on that.

It isn’t like I’m selling my first dolls. I just chose not to sell the first ones because they were not good enough to sell. They were pretty horrible actually.

I’m all for constructive criticism. I was hoping for a bit more than came from the post I put up asking about prices but I also understand why the answers were vague. It is this debate right here why it was vague and because people take offense really easy when someone tells them their idea of a price is too high. I’d love your opinion on the price of any dolls of mine that you’ve had a chance to see. I don’t want to price them way high or way low. I’ve been struggling to find some place where they hold their value but aren’t being under sold.

I’m not deluded enough to think I have nothing to improve. I have a list of things to improve on already and it would be helpful to add stuff I don’t have or don’t see. So, you can feel free to give your critique here. On that stuff as well.

I do agree with you 100% that a group of people can create more together than any one person could on their own. When 10 people talk about something there is a lot more to go off of than if only one person is judging or critiqueing it.

3 Likes
43

Thank you for your reply it was well thought out and respectful. Things can easily get heated here and there have been many occasions when I get myself into trouble. I tend to lack filters and I can very train of thought.

Again, it wasn’t meant to be about you personally or your work and I hope it was not offensive in anyway, your post just got me thinking. Pricing a baby is a topic that comes up often.

In general a lot of new artists (not all) show up thinking that this is some kinda “gonna make a whole lotta money” business opportunity.

They watch the box opening videos, they see a baby going for 14k on Ebay. .

I have seen people with limited resources sink a ton of money in before they even know if they can paint a baby. It isn’t rocket science but it does take some time to learn and at least a bit of creativity and some skill to do well, again just my personal opinion.

We also have people offering to “teach” people how to do this that say they make 3-4K a month.

I guess you could but that would be a lot of work and more than just a little skill…but maybe I am wrong.

I never want to discourage anyone, I just want them to be realistic and cautious. If investing in this hobby instead of making your house payment or rent in hopes that you you will make some fast and easy money is the plan, I would say make a new plan. That is just my opinion, I tend to be a little more practical and cautious.

This is fun, this is a hobby, a community has built up around it keeping it fun.

I think I digressed a little when responding to your post, I had all kinds of thoughts.

I think pricing is personal, at the end of the day you need to decide the value of your work. We all do it differently. I hope my reply didn’t sound bossy and too opinionated.

4 Likes
44

I can SOOOOO relate to that statement. :woman_facepalming:t2:
But I guess that’s the passion in us. :woman_shrugging:t2:

1 Like
45

You don’t sound bossy or offensive. It is a touchy subject for sure. It is also not a get rich quick thing. Lol!!

I didn’t get into making babies to make money. I realized the price of keeping a silicone baby rotation going but I wanted to do it anyway. It isn’t cheap so I picked up vinyl to learn that because they sell at a lower price and seems like they sell faster too. So, here’s me loving painting silicone but wanting to paint more of them without dipping into my own fun money. I figure once I get some decent vinyl babies to sell, I can get another silicone.

If this was a business for me, I’d be failing pretty hard. I’ve bought 3 full body silicones, 2 partial silicone kits, and 1 booboo partial kit. Those come to $3,730. Then I bought my awesome incubator for another $650. Plus silicone and supplies. Then the investment into the vinyl kits and supplies. For real, I spent over $5,000 so far. I can’t imagine laying out that kind of money on a wing and a prayer. So, yeah, you are not making a baby cheaper than you can buy a nice one either.

I’m happy to have spent the money though. This hobby has been a life change for me. It’s been a good change and I want to keep painting. I don’t make enough fun money to fund it completely from here on out. Thus why I started exploring price to sell.

I bought my first reborned vinyl a little while ago. Clearly I thought the price was fair or I wouldn’t have bought it. I figure my dolls will sell the same way. I’ll list them and either someone will find the price to be fair or I’ll eventually have to lower the price to sell it.

I think I just got annoyed with some replies about the price on the one I had listed. I hate being new to it when I’m trying to sell a baby BUT I love the learning process so far. I am annoyed at the mentality around new artists. Even if I paint 100 babies to get to prototype skills before selling a single one, I think it would still sell for way less than other babies in its class. That’s the part that annoys me.

4 Likes
46

What we mean about new artists, is not really a mentality, it’s more a fact. Sure the talent is what will set the selling price first, more than the experience. But it’s also the reputation. A new artist may have very high quality dolls, but no reputation. If you haven’t sold a doll yet, how can a buyer trust you ? How does he know if the real doll is as good as pictured ? How does he know how you deal with customers ?
That’s nothing to do with the quality of work, it’s more a trust issue.
You can’t get outhere selling your 1st few dolls the same price as well known artists. Your painting maybe as good, it doesn’t matter. If it’s good (and it’s rarely the case with new artists), it will not be long before your work will be noticed and you will be able to get more $ faster.
And it’s the same with all form of art. You have to get your name outhere for selling higher price.
It’s the way it is, it’s not infuriating for me, it’s just the reality. When your work is in demand, your prices can be raised.

And let be honnest, we all thought our 1st few dolls (not the "practice one we have in our closet, but the ones we are ready to sell) are very nice. Than after a few years we see how we have improved and can’t believe were proud of them😅

5 Likes
47

I can’t disagree with anything you said. I get it, I promise. I’m just annoyed by it.

This is one of those things where my emotions are more equivalent to a 3 year old than logical reality. I’m sure everyone has come across circumstances in life that just are what they are and can’t be changed but still felt annoyed. That’s me right now. I’m sitting on the couch with a pouty face because I want the damn cookie but I don’t want to eat dinner first. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

5 Likes
48

I can so relate to this too. :rofl:

4 Likes
49

Eat your damm broccoli. It’s good for you. Then you can have the cookie. :wink:

4 Likes
50

I’m with you on this. I gave away babies for an entire year before feeling like I was painting at a level where I could sell.

In retrospect, I think that some of the earlier babies would have sold for really cheap, but I just didn’t want crappy dolls out there with my name attached to them.

Ultimately I’m glad I waited. Most of my customers are adult collectors and they all talk. Many of them post their babies, other collectors see them and they want to buy. In the past 4 years, I have built a good reputation for putting out well-made dolls, so people aren’t afraid to buy from me.

So many collectors have been screwed over that they are cautious. They’ve spent good $$$ only to receive poorly painted dolls that didn’t look like the pictures, ones where the paint eventually started peeling, even ones that were stuffed with all kinds of crazy stuff. So a doll from an unknown artist, they might be afraid to buy until that person has a proven track record, even if it appears to be beautifully painted.

The notion that new artists don’t paint well isn’t always true. Some start off making prototype level dolls from the very beginning, it’s just that most artists don’t fall into this category (I sure didn’t, my earlier dolls were horrible :sweat_smile:) Some of these portrait painters who have crossed over just blow my mind.

So ultimately new artists have a choice between holding out for what they believe their dolls to be worth or selling for a little less just to get their name out there. Holding out just might take a little longer, that’s all. :blush:

6 Likes
51

I can comment that, even as a newer artist, making a baby HAS been cheaper than buying one. I didn’t spend $700 making one baby. I won’t count labor, as I’m not really losing or spending money on the labor of making one. I spent $700 on a baby. So it is at least for me, cheaper to make one. Probably several, but for sake of argument, one.

1 Like
52

My initial investment was one kit, one genesis starter kit, body, rings, plugs, eyes, cables, varnish, mohair, rooting needles, a nuwave, glass, thinner, brushes, sponges, tweezers, two pencils, diapers, clothes, a blanket.

At that time a baby was about 3-400 for a decent baby.

Those supplies made (not counting glass, eyes and kit, clothes) three more babies with paint left over.

It took about 10-20 babies before I felt like I had a decent baby.

Didn’t keep me from selling the funny looking ones cheap.

2 Likes
53

It was way cheaper for me too, with airdry. And that was why I decided to make one.
The problem was that I couldn’t stop with one… that’s why it was wayyyy more expensive at the end :rofl::rofl::rofl:

@Gabriell I started with Luminaire airdry and cheap mohair on Etsy. A cheap 25$ kit from BB with a body, pillow stuffing and pool filter sand (it was for me anyway). I have painted and stripped the same kit 15 times until I was happy. I already have paintbrush and pencils so my cost was below 200$. Pretty cheap. And I have discovered a nice hobby/addiction!

2 Likes
54

Nice! Way to make it work, I love resourceful women.

I was making my first for a friend, had no idea what I was doing, she offered to pay for supplies but in the end I didn’t let her because I was hooked and didn’t know it.

If I had it to do all over again, air dry for sure.

I love that you painted that baby over and over, I preach it on You Tube, it’s smart!

After three years I may have sent a couple of the Pratt kids to college.

1 Like
55

People seem so affraid to strip and start over. But that’s how you learn !
I remember that I, in fact, start with craft paint and bought Luminaire only around my 6-7 attempt.
I started selling only when it was obvious that I couldn’t keep them all. I didn’t even though about making money out of that.

1 Like
56

I got you! I bought a starter kit first that was around $200. I’ve since spent more of course.
However, one baby def is cheaper than buying a painted one.

2 Likes
57

Even though my first one cost a lot because I did not know what I was doing, etc. But it was cheaper than buying one. But the quality was sure not there.

58

I bought the starter kit with the three preemies from BB for $100 maybe back in 2005. Funny thing is I still have the paints. I bought a few more kits and sold my first one on Ebay for $100. Rest is history. When prices raise I increase my prices. I have plenty of kits but I wait for sales. Everything goes up in price. I paint because I want too. I make decent money nothing to live on but it’s my stress reliever. I closed my door and stay in my studio.

5 Likes
59

You KNOW I love you right? :grin:

I bought a baby over $600 and although one baby to make is cheaper than that, your first baby is nowhere near the quality of a really nice more expensive baby.

Now, I don’t know what the start up costs REALLY are for vinyl babies because I had everything already except paints.

I just feel like the cost of one baby is not the same as the cost of your first good baby. I suppose if you strip the same kit 20 times to get good skills it would be less but is it really?

Time is way more valuable than money and when you are giving away your minutes to painting a doll, you are losing those minutes forever. The minutes you could have spent with family, actually enjoying a doll, yoga, etc. I have a hard time converting time to money because the value is based on what you got from it.

I’m saying that I disagree that making your own doll worth a few hundred dollars is not cheaper than buying one very well done baby.

3 Likes
60

I agree. Three years later and I’m still “practicing” to get good enough to paint a doll for myself that I really like. I could have bought a prototype or several for the money I’ve spent “making one cheaper”. I never feel like I’m wasting time when I paint, though. It’s my favorite thing to do :wink:

5 Likes