You may have noticed we sell in several *very different* locations

You may have also noticed that we sell very differently in those spaces. In different places we sell different products and there’s even variations in prices.

I wanted to take a moment to explain why our markets look different.

PewPewZap.com VS Etsy

I can tell you’ve found our personal website. But, have you seen us over at Etsy? Yeah that’s us.

But, why are the prices different?

Etsy takes 11% just right off the top of all our sales. Then there’s other fees, and dues that are behind the scenes. We don’t even charge 10% more over on Etsy, and even before other fees, we’re already behind.

On top of them getting the first cut, a surprising number of people on Etsy treat us like we’re a huge, international corpo that can afford to eat into the margins. We’re told things didn’t arrive when there’s pictures confirming they were put into a locked mailbox, and people asking for refunds for no reason and being unwilling to ship (at our cost) their “unwanted” product back.

So, it’s a little more expensive over there than here. We’re still losing out on Etsy.

So why do we sell on Etsy at all?

It’s sort of an expectation. Some people use that for their craft shopping, despite it being a lot of drop-ships. People will tell us they searched our name there and expect to see us. Other more-over like the protections Etsy offers. There is a big international corporation in the middle, and there’s a type of person that likes that.

We would rather you shop here, with us. We’re also available there, if you need it. We do not, as of posting this, sell online elsewhere.

Online shops VS Market Booths VS Other Market Booths

It’s not unlikely you met us at the Portland Saturday Market, Eugene Holiday Market, Washington Ren Faire, Oregon Ren Faire, or possibly even Oregon Country Fair. We get around.

I saw you in one place, and your pricing was different elsewhere.

It sure was! Every event has wildly different costs of attendance. While at our more local, non-profit-run Oregon markets we can offer products on a sliding scale — a method where people are able to decided of they are available to support artists more or if they need a bit of a discount in a place free of sales taxes.

In other places, daily booth dues can be nearly $1000, with steep sales taxes we bake into costs, and big travel costs involved. We still try to offer our wares at the lowest price we can be happy with and on a scale to what we would love to hear.

But, in some places, the pace is too busy to accept a sliding-scale pricing. The concept is alien to many folks, and for ease and comfort, we just split the difference and sell them for a number in the middle.

Supporting your artists

We’re not a big corporation. We didn’t sell our designs to a producer or ship our plans to be produced on slave-wages overseas. We’re real people, doing real work, and trying to be cool about it. We don’t have vast wealth and are trying to get by in a way where we price our work fairly for everyone to have while still being able to eat meals most days.

We’re pretty self-conscious about our pricing. When I wrote this, it was weird times. Only time will tell if it’s getting weirder. Material costs change. Market attendance changes. Hopefully with your support I can bring people on and scale up from a just some guy crafting out of a workshop I rent into a small business helping our community thrive.

Thank you for your support!