Tailor Archive
Thread: Price Hikes
I've got a problem.
I started out early on Shadowfire - for those of you that don't know, Shadowfire has a far less credit-glutted economy, especially right when it opened, and everything costs at most half what you're likely to see on the 'mature' servers - and made Master Tailor fairly early. I established a good customer base, and have since gathered a nice nest egg (1,000,000+ credits with everything I could ever want already bought, from Krayt Enhanced Weaponry to a PA Hall).
Right, so you want to know what the problem is. Here it is: I'm undercutting.
I wasn't when I started. In fact, when I first started I had a neighbor (15m away) selling items for half what I am now. My prices were considered a bit high back then, no question about it. The problem is that they haven't changed in the slightest since then, while the rest of the server seems to be steadily increasing its prices. The result is that I'm now charging half or less the price for some items (especially high-end ones) that most other tailors on the planet are.
This isn't just about being a "team player", of course. I'm also swamped with orders, and while I'd like to think it's because of my impeccable taste and business smarts, I'm sure my prices have quite a bit to do with it. I wouldn't mind selling less simply so I'd spend less time restocking my vendor every day.
The question is, how do I hike my prices without upsetting the customers I actually like? This is especially a problem with the dancers, who make up the vast majority of my clientele. I adore them, and I know that even with my relatively low prices, many of them spends hours running extremely tedious missions to pay for their purchases (I extended one a line of credit and she literally ran back to my house constantly through the course of the evening, paying what she could from her most recent missions).
I'm torn on how to raise my prices without leaving these loyal and extremely polite customers feeling like I'm sticking it to them. Even with a barking vendor, I really can't reasonably expect to explain my situation to all of them. There are too many of them (and they're far too spread out) for me to strictly do custom orders for all of them.
This is all compounded from the fact that I've completed my Merchant skills and I'm now looking to take over the administrative/advertising duties for other crafters and move into a PA Mall. I'd really like to lean more on my Merchant side, since that's always how I've seen myself, but I just don't have the time. On the other hand, reputation is a big part of being a Merchant, so can I really sacrifice that to make time?
So, for the other tailors out there who've raised their prices after a long time of holding steady, do you have any advice? Are there any tricks to smoothing things out, or do I just have to bite the bullet?
Greetings Ebon!
I, like you, am a master tailor on Shadowfire. I agree that our economy differs greatly from other servers so often it is difficult to know how to price, especially in the start.
I think pricing is a personal preference.. it all depends on how busy you are, what type of clients you want to attract, the service you offer, etc. If it makes you and your customers happy, don't worry about anyone else.
I'm not sure what your prices are but if they are less than mine, I'm ok with it. You won't get any grief from me about undercutting, nor will I hold it against you if you have more customers than I have. I may charge more than you, but I charge less than others... My point is, there will always be someone above and below you price-wise so never feel the need to change to suit anyone else.
If you are considering a change because it's getting to be a bit much for you.. a lot of work for not quite the pay off you first imagined. You should just do it, if your customers ask just say you were unaware of the costs required to keep the shop running, factories, resources .. not to mention your time.. and now that you are more experienced you have been able to better calculate your costs.
I have heard many MANY nice things about you and your tailoring services.. I'm sure the dancers would understand. While they may enjoy your prices they must, on some level, realize that you may be cutting yourself short. If you worry more about making them happy than yourself you may find yourself quickly losing pleasure in your craft.. and then they would really lose out.
I know we share the same profession on the same server .. and planet even.. but I hope we can consider ourselves collegues rather than competitors. 
If you ever feel the need to vent or just want to chat about our craft, feel free to drop me a line!
Good luck with whatever you decide
Your customers will forgive you, I'm sure. Most people who are loyal to a particular tailor shop with the same person because they enjoy working with them, not because of prices.
I'm assuming you have a list of your most frequent customers, you may want to just tell them directly. Send out an email to all of them explaining that because of a variety of reasons you need to raise your prices. Before you do it, you may want to give them a few days to come in and get things at your previous prices, so if there's anything they know that they want right now they can go ahead and get it. If you decide to do that, tell them in the letter, and let them know how long they have to get to your shop before your prices raise.
They'll probably appreciate knowing that your prices are going up ahead of time, and that way you also won't have to deal with their immediate reaction face to face. That might sound a little cowardly, but they'll have time to get over their initial disappointment before they see you again. Most of the customers who know youwill probably realize that you wouldn't be raising prices unless you need to.
Just a few ideas, hope they help. Good luck!
I would raise prices very slowly.
Take your time, most people won't notice too much.
Raise the prices in your shop, raise your prices across the board, and offer a discount to your better customers, i.e. the ones you're afraid of upsetting. Send em an email telling em what's up. Not only will they understand, but appreciate the fact that you're cutting them a deal, and your fellow tailors will appreciate you being, as you said, a "team player".
UnaSalusVictus wrote:
I've got a problem.
The question is, how do I hike my prices without upsetting the customers I actually like?
Raise the prices on your shops, but when you work directly with your good customers, give them the old pricing...