New business, slow to get going

[Bluebug74]

I've just set up a new business, hand making nursery lampshades. It is a unique concept of combining a drum lampshade with mobile decorations. So far I'm yet to make a sale. People who seen my lampshades love them but I can't seem to convert this into a sale.

So honest opinion, are they any good and would you pay £50 for one?

Photos are on my profile
Thanks

No, because I would not have my child staring up into the light!

The are pretty, but I dont like the combination of lampshade and mobile.

Also, for children that young, they cant really focus on anything that far away, so a bit wasted.

Why not turn those pretty dangly bits into bunting, or actual mobiles that match the lamps? You can either sell as combinations, or separately.

I paid just £9 for a beautiful butterfly mobile with led lights.

I think they look lovely and if I were decorating a nursery I would be very tempted BUT I think the price would make me hesitate.

They're lovely but £50 for a lampshade is £££ to a lot of people.

It is difficult to make money on handmade bespoke items. People do not appreciate the time and effort required.

Yeah at first glance, £50 is too much, I feel like I could make something similar for much less. TBF they would probably not be nearly as nice, but that is what I would think if I were looking to buy something like that.

If you can cover lampshades nicely then you might like to know that I am still looking on ebay for some nice lampshades covered in 1970s fabric - and anything labelled "Vintage" on ebay goes for twice the price that identical stuff goes for otherwise.

Yes, 50 quid makes it a luxury item for an awful lot of people, where in their head this would be a brilliant sticking filler. I couldn't justify 50 on a lampshade, but wouldn't think twice about £10. Maybe£15 would be absolute limit because this will only have a short life (older children and teenagers will not want this lampshade).
2 things....
Is there enough margin to drop your price to the10 to15 pound price bracket, and drive up volume of sales?
Secondly, is there a similar product for older children / teenagers/adults you could add to the range?

.....also, what about diy kits, and supplies that your customers could make their own. Again, it this could be under the £10 mark, it would open up your customer base.
Good luck!!

.....also, what about diy kits, and supplies that your customers could make their own. Again, it this could be under the £10 mark, it would open up your customer base.
Good luck!!

I agree with others, they're nice enough but not in the gosh I must have one category.

Whilst for some people furnishing a nursery for their PFB is a no expense spared thing I think most do realise that anything they buy specifically for baby will have a very short life so not be prepared to spend £50, especially when you can get a perfectly decent lamp shade for a child's room for around £10

I also agree with Shadows. I'm not sure what it's for. The baby can't see the toys and if they could you wouldn't want them staring at the light. If it's just decorative there are loads of equally good options available much cheaper (not handmade but does that matter to most people?)

PS I also think the no expense spared brigade often have a themed room, so would want something that had matching bedding etc available.

They are cute and look well made.

Price wise, I would go for more than £20 but less than £50.

Where are you advertising / selling them?

I think you need to ditch the mobile decorations and just sell nice lampshades in a variety of fabrics, maybe even custom-mkae so the customer selected the fabric and then you make it.

£50 is hugely over the top. Unfortunately the cost of handmaking things puts the price up too much for most people to buy it unless it is amazing.

Sorry to be so honest with you, but those lamp shades are not worth £50.

A simple lampshade covered in fabric for between £10 and £20 would sell nicely I think.

I agree with overmydeadbody when I was decorating DS nursery I really struggled to find a nice variety of lampshades in anything other than blue/pink/characters. I think the lampshades are nicer on their own and presumably by dropping the mobile decorations you could sell them more cheaply. Maybe you could have the mobile decorations as an added extra for those who wanted them?

Thank you for all your input. It is worth thinking about making just the lampshades without the mobile decorations and yes I would be able to drop the price as the time consuming part is making the decorations. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to drop the price to £10-£20 as I would barely be covering costs let alone my time.

The lampshades are not intended to hung over the cot so wouldn't expect babies to stare into the light. This has given me plenty to think about so will start to make just the lampshades on their own and also the mobiles on their own.

Thanks again and hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Hi,
I am a mum of 2, a toddler and a 9 month old.
Following the birth of my first child I set up Mum Plus Business.
It is a free online resource for mums who are interested in developing a flexible career.

We also offer a free online service helping mums form local business partnerships.

We offer advice, inspiration and all the resources you need at www.mumplusbusiness.co.uk

I wish you best of luck with your venture and enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

Esther