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Buck-Beaver
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I might be completely wrong about this, but I don't think anyone has ever discouraged anyone because they charged less for their work. Several people have mentioned that people who charge less for puppets are probably underselling themselves and their work, but I don't think that's meant to be discouraging or disparaging.
If that's happened in the past, can you point out the specific thread/post Phantom?
I think like a lot of semi-controversial subjects, this is a complex issue that's very nuanced and complicated with a lot factors.
Cost is relative. If builder A spends 100 hours on puppet and charge $2,000 for labour then the math works out to $2000 ÷ 100 hrs = $20 an hour. At the same time, if builder B charges $400 for a puppet but builds it in 20 hours, they've made the same money. Is builder A's puppet maybe a little better made than the one that took twenty hours to build? Well, probably. But builder A spent five times longer building it. On the other hand, I bet that on the average, the person building the $400 puppet sells more than the person selling $2000 puppets.
The golden rule of the market economy is that you charge whatever the market will bare. In different markets that means different prices. Personally, I think what different people do depends on their priorities and the reality of the market they're in. Some people build for schools or ministry and don't want to charge a lot of money. Some builders have no business training and don't know how to cost their puppets appropriately. Some people just love building puppets and don't care about the economics.
A few years ago I met this German violin maker in rural Ontario. He was a blacksmith and in his retirement he took up making violins. He builds these incredible instruments and not only does he make the violin, he uses his forge to make all the tools he uses to build the violin. His work is incredible; he builds world class musical instruments and he won't charge a dime for them. They take months to build and he gives them away as gifts.
Sometimes, price matters not.
If that's happened in the past, can you point out the specific thread/post Phantom?
I think like a lot of semi-controversial subjects, this is a complex issue that's very nuanced and complicated with a lot factors.
Cost is relative. If builder A spends 100 hours on puppet and charge $2,000 for labour then the math works out to $2000 ÷ 100 hrs = $20 an hour. At the same time, if builder B charges $400 for a puppet but builds it in 20 hours, they've made the same money. Is builder A's puppet maybe a little better made than the one that took twenty hours to build? Well, probably. But builder A spent five times longer building it. On the other hand, I bet that on the average, the person building the $400 puppet sells more than the person selling $2000 puppets.
The golden rule of the market economy is that you charge whatever the market will bare. In different markets that means different prices. Personally, I think what different people do depends on their priorities and the reality of the market they're in. Some people build for schools or ministry and don't want to charge a lot of money. Some builders have no business training and don't know how to cost their puppets appropriately. Some people just love building puppets and don't care about the economics.
A few years ago I met this German violin maker in rural Ontario. He was a blacksmith and in his retirement he took up making violins. He builds these incredible instruments and not only does he make the violin, he uses his forge to make all the tools he uses to build the violin. His work is incredible; he builds world class musical instruments and he won't charge a dime for them. They take months to build and he gives them away as gifts.
Sometimes, price matters not.
