Is my pricing unreasonable

[businessfromhome]

im going to start selling home made shampoo made from natural ingredients, 120ml for £15 from home. My reasoning is that people will pay that much for a gift for a friend. It costs me £2.50 a bottle to make before I go into any other costs but before you jump on my case Im not a mass producer who can afford to flog a bottle of shampoo for a fiver. Companies sell thousands of those, Ill only get to sell a few because that is what I can afford. I live in a touristy village. i put a fake postcode in to mumsnet as i wasnt comfortable answering, sorry! other people are selling things like vegetables and eggs and jam from honesty boxes. there are a few craft shops but I wouldnt make anything as theyd want to make a big profit and i wouldnt make anything. that being said I know things are only worth what people will pay so just to get opinions, how much would you honestly pay for what I am selling

I don’t think anyone will buy that.

I understand your reasoning but no one will pay that.

People will pay what they think it’s worth. Selling it with some swanky social media or in a posh gift emporium is likely to be more lucrative than an honesty box on a wonky table at the end of your drive, but most hand made things rely heavily on targeting your people, so imagine who she is, where she hangs out, what’s important to her, and how your product fixes the problem she has with her other shampoo. Good luck!

I wouldn't buy it, I'm afraid. All the safety testing of ingredients and the final mixture still have to be done.

I don't think people will buy it. £15 is fine for a gift, but I don't think people would buy shampoo as a gift, it's too personal and people have their preferences.

Even all my curly hair shampoos don't cost that much. If you actually need it to make money I would pick a different product.

£15 for a bottle of shampoo from someone I've never heard of.... no I don't think so.

I wouldn't pay that. Sorry. I'm prepared to pay quite a lot for shampoo - but I'd assume that yours was a bit 'home made' and not worth the money.

It does sound very expensive. I buy handmade natural shampoo from a local whole food shop who also make their own shower gel, body lotion etc. Small town local shop, 3 staff type of place (ie not a big production). I pay around £7ish for 200/250ml.

The thing about shampoo is people want to find one that works for them then stick with it, that makes it a tricky thing to gift and maybe makes people less keen to buy home made or artisan, you want to know you can get the exact same product if it suits you.

Only 120ml?? That's nonsense pricing, more expensive than my posh kerastase.

I think you're on the wind up

what would you choose instead

I sell handmade stuff so I know the time and cost that goes into it.
But no way would I pay £15 for shampoo. I also wouldn't buy shampoo as a gift and would be quite disappointed to receive it. Sorry.

Not for 120ml, no. That's ridiculously expensive for something I can't read reviews about first and won't come with any kind of back up if something goes wrong/it's shit.

There's a reason people don't do this for a living.

But but but…! People DO pay silly money for cosmetics of all kinds.

How do you find those people? And how do you convince them that this is the one they want to spend it on?

I’m not saying it won’t be difficult, but

a) do you have amazing hair OP?! That would probably be the best selling point.

and b) do you have any sales experience? Channel The Apprentice (or not!)

I wouldn't even call 120ml a bottle of shampoo, surely that's more like travel size? About 10 uses on my short hair.

Its not 2.50, those are the ingredients. everything else and it comes to £7 per bottle. shouldve said

I think you would struggle to sell much at that price. I don't think people would buy shampoo as a gift either, it's not the same as soap or hand cream.

There is no way I'd pay that much for shampoo made by a random in their shed. There could literally be anything in it. At least if you are selling a tea cosy or a painting of an otter etc. you know what you are getting.

£12 for 120ml is a lot of money for a very small bottle.

What's the cost to you to make a bigger bottle, say 250ml or 300ml? Could you sell for the same price?

Have you got the legal labeling and testing set up? What's that costing you to undertake?

ok 😂 it looks like my business has failed before its even started

Unfortunately I think it will be hard to shift, one but price but also - shampoo is a necessity not a luxury ie. Not present worthy, and people have their preferences for a reason.

Well I wouldn't pay that.. Castile liquid is relatively cheap for a natural shampoo plus essential oils. I'm not sure what ingredients you're using but the bottles would have to look very special to attract people at that price.

I agree - that's too much for a homemade shampoo in such a tiny amount. Most people wouldn't pay this much for a normal sized shampoo eg 400ml, even if it was top quality.
You could do either free tiny samples, or the size you are doing now needs to be much cheaper for people to try it. If it's amazing, then they will come back but I still think you need to reduce your prices.

Your business model is not viable.

I think shampoo is something you want to get a loyal customer base who repeat buy because they love it. It's not really a tourist item. Food items, soaps, cards, candles, even bath bombs but I think shampoo isn't a gift.