Lack of appreciation or just being cheapskates?

Just now I watched a YouTube video of a woodworker who creates small products and sells those locally.

Honestly, I’m a bit jealous now. Not because of his skills or the nice tools he uses, I’m jealous because he can sell his products for a reasonable price, and I can’t.

I live in an area where most people do not appreciate quality and craftmanship.

Some years ago, I managed to buy a load of solid pine shelves and I turned those into step stools and pet steps in an attempt to generate some extra income. True, I was able to sell them but only because I kept the price very low, too low actually.

Considering the cost of the materials, wear and tear on the tools and my labor I was working for a few dollars an hour.

And despite the low prices some people were asking for upgrades to the standard product and not wanting to pay extra.

I offered them unfinished, light stains or dark stains. And some wanted to have them painted in a specific color. They were surprised when I told them that it would double the price. After all, I would have to go to the store and get a quart of paint and depending on the color, put 2 or 3 coats on. Just for my trip to the store, paint not included, I would have to charge $20 for my time.

Then I suggested they could paint it themselves, but nobody wanted to do so.

Someone gave me a piece of carpet, so I offered the steps carpeted as well. And sure enough, some wanted a different color than the standard beige.

And there were people who wanted custom sizes, extra wide, extra height, more steps, etcetera. And all for the price of the standard size.

At some point I got frustrated with low ballers offering me half of the sale price or wanting me to deliver it for free when they lived twenty-five miles away.

So, I stopped building them.

Over the years I have also bought and sold some items, including MCM furniture pieces. And while such items sell for good prices in other parts of the country, I have never been able to get a similar amount here.

It is odd that my solid maple end table in excellent condition won’t even sell for $25. And at the same time people are tripping over their own feet to get a cheaply built pressboard table for the same amount, or even more.

With the recent issue that keeps the nation in its grip it has only gotten worse. I’m trying to sell some, like brand new, power tools and can’t even get a third of the retail price.

I’ll just keep them; I refuse to give good stuff away for next to nothing.