The Price is Right: How much will you pay?

Are you getting the results that you want?

No?

If not, what small changes or experiments can you run to help you make adjustments and get closer to reaching your goals?

Recently, I set up a pricing and selling experiment, and you can do it, too.

Years ago, I ran a textile design business that designed and created one-of-a-kind handwoven scarves. I sold them online, at fine craft shows, and at a gallery that I co-owned. Ultimately, I shut down the shop, focusing more on my work in education and shifting creating to a personal endeavor. I also started a publishing company to produce and sell books with my educator brother, Ashley Sollenberger.

The Weaving Book, inspired by my brother’s book, The Body Book, re-sparked my love for weaving, particularly paper weaving, and it’s been something I’ve picked up here and there over the last two years.

After feeling more stressed than I’d like, I decided that I needed to turn back to creating to reap the benefits of the sense of calm that it provides.

I set out to create 50 mini paper weavings with no real goal but to have fun, destress, and create gifts for family and friends. About halfway through the project, the results were more interesting than expected, and people asked if I would sell them.

My first thought was, No! Because I didn’t enjoy my previous experiences with selling online, this project was supposed to be fun. After a few more nudges, I decided to establish an experiment and see if I could set up an online selling experience that worked great for you and that I enjoyed.

I determined the price would change every few days and that money would be donated to charity as the price rose. I wanted to understand how much you would pay for a piece of art.

Would you pay more if you knew that you were getting a piece of art AND positively impacting the world?

I was curious if you were looking for a way to make a difference and just needed someone to make it easy. So I set up an experiment.

For the first five days, the pieces were $25, and shipping was FREE. Ten pieces sold.

The work was $50 the following four days with FREE shipping and half of the proceeds going to World Central Kitchen. One piece sold

And now, we’re on the final leg of the experiment.

The pieces are $75 with FREE shipping; half of the proceeds will go to World Central Kitchen. What will you buy? The shop closes at the end of the week, and you will no longer have the opportunity to purchase one of these pieces for you or a friend.

Stay tuned for a final write-up about the experiment results next week.