Presentation, is it worth the additional cost?

[Glenn]

When a product is ordered, is the packaging, first exposure, presentation, worth the additional cost? 

Or should it be just a brown paper bag or box with a great product on the inside?

After all someone is going to pay for that great presentation, either the seller or the buyer when the seller adds the cost of presentation to the cost of the product.

 

Does presentation and packaging matter to you? How much are you be willing to pay just for a great presentation or packaging?

 

 

Edited May 28, 2015 by Glenn

[John McPherson]

Ask Cinderella if presentation matters..........

Or any young swain trying to get a certain someone to go to the prom with him.

"Clothes maketh the man."

[Frosty]

If you take into account you can buy high quality knives at Fred Meyers folk buying hand made custom knives are already paying a LOT for the prestige, what I call bragging rights. So, yes the packaging counts.

Frosty The Lucky.

[arftist]

Depends on the product. 

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

One agrees with Arftist, but as "value" is as much in the perseption of the buyer, presintation can make the difference between "costs less than $20 and looks good in a doublewide" and prestigius handforged peice of art, the pacage counts. For a knife that may be velvit lining, wile a toilet paper hanger is pacaged with burlap. 

[Quarry Dog]

  Even fer that fancy 2-ply stuff?

All jokes aside, it depends on the product, as well as how far you are going to go with presentation.  A cool looking $1000.00 skinning knife?  You bet my bearclaw it better come in a fancy box, even if I have to pay an extra 30 bucks, 50 if it doubles as a display stand too.  Otherwise I'd go to Horibble Fake and buy one, or Big 5 for a slightly more pricey unit that might actually last

  Good presentation on high end items just makes sense.  It is another form of advertising, if done right.  Even on lower end items, their is usually some effort put into presentation.  If you see a loaf of break in a white bag with a few multicolored polka dots who do you think of?  Wonderbread?  I don't really want a stand for my bread though, so that would be too far.

  The least that can be done for a customer would be to make sure that a reasonable effort was made to ensure their safety in opening the package, and the protection of their investment.  If you can get the customer to pay a little more for it because it looks cool, even better.

[SpankySmith]

I picked up some very small (think playing card size) silk bags for nearly nothing in a bulk lot, I find that placing a split cross necklace on one to display makes them fly out the door, people like the idea of the necklace AND an attractive drawstring bag to place it in, presumably as a gift as I can't imagine anyone storing one in there long term.  It's a tiny touch, cost a couple of pennies a piece, but it makes them more attractive to the potential buyer.  So well worth it, even for a very small item.   But I agree, it depends on the product.  I make a lot of larger scale crosses using steel and wood, can't even imagine what fancy packaging I might put on those or WHY I would.  They're basically wall hanging items.  If I made knives I'd definitely do some nice packaging, similar to what Naz displayed on a related thread.   It just depends on what you're selling, whether the cost of packaging is a reasonable addition, and whether once you've gone to the trouble to package it in something particularly nice looking what's going to actually HAPPEN to the packaging afterwards?  If it's going to be something someone will keep and use I'd say go for it, but if it's going to be discarded or become a plaything for a toddler or feline, I wouldn't go to the trouble - it's just packaging at that point. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

true, Spanky, but a used cofee pot box still isn't a cood idea, atleast take the time to make a box (utility knife and ball pointed creaser) that dosnt look taky. A shot of low expanding foam in a bag and a patch of berlap to camoflage it, we are pacaging a hand made peice. This is what Shiping and andling charges are all about. 

[VaughnT]

I'm so glad you asked this question, Glenn!

Presentation is critical and it applies to far more than how you package the item.  Every little thing about you, your shop, web presence, packaging... it all tells a story.  And it will all work together to make or break you.  It's synergy.

A good example of this is the Mad Dwarf Workshop and how they always made sure to dress up their photos.  Even what appears to be a quick snapshot of them working in their smithy was actually a carefully crafted photo with good lighting and visual interest all the way around.  The walls of the shop are decorated.  The lighting was warm and inviting.  Everything was done with the idea that the visual matters.  Once it goes on the internet, it's there forever.... so make it count!

Compare this to the average blacksmith that goes to a demo in a pair of dirty jeans and a baggy t-shirt.  Yea, folks like to see the smith doing his thing, but the lack of showmanship makes that smith fade from memory rather quickly.  Years after the Mad Dwarf Workshop shut down, I'm still using it as an example of how you should market yourself on the internet. 

What makes you stand out from the crowd?

Does your website have a cold, sterile white background?  Do you hope that this will focus the viewer's eyes on the beautiful product photography?  More often than not, the subconscious reaction to a hospital-like background is not the warm-fuzzy-gotta-buy-it-now feeling a business is hoping for.  And all the great product photos won't change that.  First impressions are lasting impressions.

Do your business cards look professional, or do you just think they do?  Do they match your website's general look and feel?  Do you include them with every order?  Is your ironwork packed with wadded up newspaper, or did you go through the trouble to get some nice craft paper?  Does that craft paper match the general feel of your work, or did you simply buy any old thing because it was on sale? 

Whether it's fair or not, we all judge a book by its cover.  You can do a lot of damage to your reputation simply by being visible when you should be invisible.  Much like we give much-earned kudos to Ethan and his family, we also make a subconscious decision to not buy from people that rub us the wrong way.... even if we can't put a finger on exactly what the problem is.

I just watched a short video where a guy made some bolt tongs.  He was so proud of himself... except for the fact that he kept "justifying" the shoddy workmanship.  As I looked around the guys shop, I couldn't help but think this guy has done everything as wrong as he could possibly have done, even though there's an entire internet out there to show him the proper way.

That might sound a bit harsh, and I'm sure a lot of people with attack me for not treating him with kid gloves, but that's my honest first reaction and there is absolutely no way I would knowingly buy any product from him. 

In closing, I would simply say that presentation is more important than people think, and it doesn't stop at pretty wrapping paper.  You need to create an entire universe around your shop because it's the story that customers want to buy in to.

[ThomasPowers]

I like to use my business cards as price labels. punch a hole in the corner and use a bit of thin ribbon to tie to the item.  People who have bought from you once are more likely to buy from you again...if they can find you.