Why Cheap Imported Goods Make Handmade Craft Seem Expensive

Cheap imported goods have quietly changed how people see handmade products.

Many shoppers today are used to mass-produced items that cost very little, and that can make the price of handmade craft seem shocking at first glance.

I see this reaction regularly when I sell my woodturning at craft fairs. One moment people admire the piece in their hands, the next moment the price changes the conversation entirely.

If you have ever stopped at a craft table, picked something up, admired it, and then quietly put it back when you heard the price, this post is partly about that moment.

I don’t say that to criticise anyone. I understand why it happens. But I also think years of cheap imported goods have changed the way many of us judge handmade work.

My woodturning table at a craft fair in Manor West, Tralee, with handmade bowls, pens and small turned gifts on display.

A Craft Fair Experience in Tralee

On the 31st of March 2018 I attended a Food and Craft Fair in Manor West Shopping Centre in Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland where I was given space for a 6 foot table to show my products. I met loads of people who told me that my work was beautiful and some who picked my bowls recognizing how special and unique they looked.

Their look of wonder evaporated when I told them the price of the bowl they were holding. I tried to explain how much work goes into each individual piece, how rare the wood is and that if anything I am not charging enough for my work but the damage was already done.

They put the bowl down like it was a primed grenade, thanked me for my time, and moved on. The reality was they couldn’t put it down fast enough before melting away back into the crowd.

If you’d like to explore where I believe some of these reactions come from, I also wrote a post called “Why Are Craft Products So Expensive?”, where I break down the real costs behind handmade work and why small makers can’t compete with mass-produced pricing.

Why Craft Tables Still Matter for Woodturners

One thing a website can never fully show is the feel of a handmade wooden piece.

A photograph can show the shape, colour and grain, but it cannot show the weight of a bowl in your hands, the smoothness of the finish, or the way the curve feels when you pick it up. That matters a lot with woodturning. So much of the appeal is physical.

At a craft table, people can lift a bowl, turn it over, feel the finish, see the grain move in the light and understand the scale properly. They can also ask questions about the wood, where it came from and how the piece was made.

That direct contact is one of the reasons craft fairs and market tables are still important for woodturners, especially for those who are just starting out. They give people a chance to understand the work in a way that a product photo on a website never fully can.

I no longer rely on craft fairs the way I once did. They were vital when I was getting started, but my business has changed and expanded since then. For newer makers though, market tables are still one of the best ways to learn what customers actually respond to.

It is easy to make the stock you enjoy making, but that does not always mean customers will buy it. At a market table, you quickly learn what people pick up, what they ask about, what they admire, what they put back down, and what price points make them hesitate.

That experience teaches you something a website never fully can. It also shows something very clearly: many people admire handmade work, while still struggling to understand why it costs more than mass-produced alternatives.

A Side Effect of Importing Cheap Goods

That hesitation around price is not unusual, and I can’t say I fully blame anyone for feeling that way. Most of us have become used to seeing mass-produced goods at very low prices, so handmade work can seem expensive at first glance.

Still, when you are the person who made the piece, it does sting a little. I remember having my work admired at a craft table, only for the mood to change completely once the price was mentioned. I suspect that reaction is partly a side effect of cheap imported goods constantly flowing into Ireland, gradually changing our sense of value.

Cheap imported products have also changed how people view natural materials. When something is mass-produced and sold for only a few euros, it becomes easy to forget that many materials take years, or even decades, to grow or produce.

I wrote about this from a woodworker’s perspective in my post Why Aren’t We Planting More Trees in Ireland?, where I talk about the long-term value of timber and why replacing the trees we cut down matters for the future.

Perceived Value Versus Market Reality

I can understand why someone might hesitate at the idea of paying €100 for a salad bowl. It does sound like a lot of money for what appears to be a simple hardwood bowl, and of course there are cheaper alternatives available, although the quality is often questionable.

Even I might pause before spending that kind of money without knowing the story behind the piece.

What surprises me more is the way many people think about time and labour. Almost everyone I meet at fairs would refuse outright to cut their own wages in half, yet some feel justified calling something a craftsperson has made expensive without first hearing how it was made or how long it took.

How much is your time worth?

The Effect of Ultra Mass Production

The other answer I believe is the effect of mass-production and importation of ultra cheap products from countries I don't need to mention. In the interest of higher profits, companies source foreign factories to mass produce their products at a much lower rate than if their goods were made in factories in Europe.

This was fine when it was only a few companies doing it but now we see many more following suit. The negative results are already visible in many countries but does not really concern the people because they are buying cheaper products.

We often don’t see the full cost of cheap goods straight away. The price looks good at the checkout, but the long-term cost can show up elsewhere, in fewer local jobs, weaker town centres, and less appreciation for skilled work.

Local businesses are suffering as a result. I don't even need to name any city, town or village specifically as it is happening everywhere.

Throwaway Economy

Nowadays, people are also buying with the knowledge that the item may break quickly but "that's ok because it was very cheap and I'll just bin it and buy another". I'm guilty of this myself, in case you are wondering.

Whatever happened to the old way of buying something that's made to last? This attitude is contributing to oceans full of plastic waste. When will we learn?

How do you change what is happening without costing you a fortune? It's quite simple. Spend €5 to €10 a week in a local business that you wouldn't normally go to. If everyone did this, your town would flourish and businesses would in turn put that back into the local economy.

Short-sighted Spending Patterns

Buying cheap and/or throwaway goods is a false economy and very short-sighted spending. I am one of those small businesses out there and small purchases allow me to make a small living wage.

Bigger purchases allow me to live a bit. Going back to that €100 Salad Bowl from earlier, which took about 8 months to dry, 4 hours of work to process start to finish, 3 years of learning to dry wood, on top of 15 years of general woodwork experience, not including overhead charges and VAT.

€100 doesn't sound like a lot for something that could conceivably last forever.

What Goes Into a Handmade Wooden Bowl?

If you strip away the price for a moment, there is a lot behind a handmade wooden bowl that most people never see.

● storm-fallen or locally sourced wood

● cutting and sealing

● months of drying

● rough turning

● checking for movement or cracking

● final turning

● sanding

● finishing

● years of trial and error behind the process

That is the part people rarely see at a craft fair. They see the finished bowl sitting on the table, but not the waiting, waste, mistakes, cracked pieces, blunt tools, sanding dust, or experience that went into getting it there.

A massive 22-inch bowl blank sitting on my lathe bed before turning. This is the stage people rarely see or appreciate when they pick up a finished bowl at a craft fair.

What can you do about it?

You do not have to spend a fortune to support handmade work or small local businesses. Even a small purchase can make a real difference.

If you are at a craft fair, a market, or a small independent shop, consider spending €5 to €20 on something made or supplied by a real person. It might be a small handmade gift, a card, a ribbon, a decoration, or something practical for the home. That one purchase may not seem like much, but to the maker or small shop owner, it genuinely matters.

For my own part, I try to work responsibly with the materials I use. Most of my woodturning pieces are made from fallen or locally sourced wood, and I support replanting through donations to Hometree in the West of Ireland. I do use some felled wood as well, but I try to make sure the work I produce has a long life and a proper purpose.

So the next time you see a craft table, don’t feel you have to buy the most expensive thing there. Even a small purchase, a kind word, or sharing that maker’s work can help keep small creative businesses alive.

Adapting to a Changing Craft Market

Over the years, my own business has had to change as well. I started mainly with handmade woodturning, but I have since added carefully chosen retail products to my website.

That was not a cop out. It was survival.

Covid, rising costs, inflation and changing customer habits all affected small businesses like mine. Selling related products for a small profit helped keep the business going during times when handmade work alone was not enough.

That does not mean I value handmade work any less. If anything, it has made me more aware of how difficult it is to keep making, selling and teaching in a small craft business. Handmade pieces take time, but the bills arrive whether a bowl sells that week or not.

So my website today is a mixture of my own woodturning, woodturning supplies, craft supplies and other products that help support the business as a whole. It may not be the romantic image people have of a craftsperson, but it is the practical reality of staying self-employed.

Conclusion

Moments like the one at that craft fair happen more often than people might think. It’s not that people don’t appreciate handmade work, most genuinely do. The problem is that years of cheap mass-produced goods have quietly reshaped what many people think things should cost.

When you understand the time, materials and experience behind a handmade piece, the price begins to make a lot more sense. Craft isn’t just about buying an object, it’s about valuing the skill and effort that went into creating something that could last for decades.

Over the years I’ve written quite a bit about woodturning, the materials we use and the realities of making things by hand. If you’re curious about the craft itself, you can explore more of my experiences and practical advice in my Woodturning Guides & Articles section.

Thanks for Reading,

David

About the Author

I’m David Condon, a woodturner and small business owner based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. I’ve been working with wood for most of my life at this stage — 11 years as a carpenter and over a decade running my own woodturning business.

Over the years, I’ve learned that woodturning is as much about patience and problem-solving as it is about tools and technique. I work mainly with Irish hardwoods, teach woodturning full-time, and spend most days learning something new in the workshop myself. On this site, I share the same practical knowledge I pass on to my students, shaped by experience, mistakes, and time spent at the lathe. If you’re interested in learning in person, I offer woodturning lessons in Tralee, with details available on my Woodturning Tuition page.

© David Condon Woodcraft – All Rights Reserved.

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More Woodturning Pages to Explore​

● Hampshire Sheen - Fine Finishing products that will highlight your project pieces

● Hamlet Tools - Fantastic Woodturning Tools from a well trusted brand

● Woodcraft Hub - View my woodcraft creations for inspiration of gift buying.

● Sanding Essentials - Essential sanding products for Woodturners & Woodworkers.

● Woodturning Blanks - A fine range of Hardwood Spindle Blanks & a few Bowl Blanks too!

● Woodturning Pen Blanks - A huge assortment of Acrylic & Irish Hardwood Pen Blanks.

● Crafter's Haven – A vast range of craft supplies for crafters and gift givers!

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