Why are Craft Products so Expensive?

"I'm not paying that."

It’s a phrase I’ve heard a few times over the years while selling my work. Not often enough to make a scene, but often enough that it still stings a little.

Most people are far too polite to say it out loud. But when you spend enough time selling at markets or events, you get good at reading people. Someone picks up a piece, turns it over in their hands, checks the price tag… and suddenly the item is placed back on the table very carefully, like a primed grenade.

Why are Craft Products so Expensive?

Why does a craftsperson charge more than what you might see in a supermarket or big retail store? Why does something handmade cost so much more than a mass-produced version?

I wrote about the human side of those awkward market-stall moments in my humorous post How to Avoid a Market Trader’s Imploring Gaze. That article now lives on my other blog, David Condon Finds, so that this website can stay focused on woodturning and handmade craft.

To answer the question properly, we first need to look at how our shopping habits have changed, and where we choose to spend our money today compared with where we used to shop.

The Real Costs Behind Handmade Craft

When I’m making a woodturned piece in my workshop, the price you see on the shelf isn’t just for the timber and the time I spend at the lathe.

There are a lot of hidden costs that most people never think about:

● Materials – Good quality hardwood isn’t cheap, especially when I’m sourcing storm-fallen Irish timber or something with a unique grain. The same goes for finishes, oils, and craft supplies like ribbons or boxes if it’s a gift item.

● Tools & upkeep – A gouge or chisel might last years, but it needs sharpening every day and eventually replacing. The same goes for the grinding wheels. Then there’s sandpaper, polishes, safety gear — all those consumables add up.

● Time – A small bowl or pen might take only a couple of hours to turn, but that doesn’t include drying timber, design choices, setting up, or correcting mistakes.

● Overheads – Rent, electricity for the workshop, delivery costs, packaging, and even card transaction fees. They all have to be factored into the final price of a handmade product.

That’s why handmade craft is never going to match the prices of mass-produced imports. But what you’re paying for is originality, quality, and something that has a real story behind it.

If you're interested in the wider impact cheap imports have on local makers, I explored that in my post“A Side-Effect of Importing Cheap Goods”.

I also wrote about another challenge facing small craft businesses in “When Making What Sells Stops Working,” where I talk about how customer trends can sometimes make traditional craft products surprisingly difficult to sell.

The Death of the Small Shop

And these pressures don’t stop at the workshop door. Small independent shops selling handmade crafts are squeezed just as hard, competing with big chains that can undercut them at every turn.

Firstly, the small corner shop has been replaced by the monster international conglomerate retail company that can buy in bulk, dictating the price they want to pay to manufacturers big and small. We in turn buy these goods at a price that seems less than it is possible to make them, warping our sense of value in each item. The giants can push and undercut wherever they wish and if you are a small business selling to them, god help you.

Small local store under pressure from bigger retail stores

Several big companies operate in this country that sell knock down goods at a price you can't really walk away from. You know who they are and yes, I have used them too and I still do from time to time. I still try to support the small businesses when I can. The big chain stores can offer cheaper prices by buying sometimes millions of units at a time direct from the manufacturer. A small store has limited budgets for bulk buying and limited shelf and storage space. A small crafter on the other hand can only create a handful of items per day or week. Which do you think is more special?

The small retail shop would have offered you a more local choices but at a higher price. It is this margin that we have been uncomfortable with long enough to go to the giant stores more & more and support them instead of the local shop. That has backfired against us all by the way.

Delayed Consequences from the 2007 Recession

Secondly, the recession from 2007 was a major kick in the teeth for all of us in Ireland and the hurt is still there today in Tralee. I have seen people walk away from my table (back when I was selling at markets) over the last few years when the cheapest item was €5. They love the look of the products but just don't have the disposable income to justify even €5. Everything has gone up in price in Ireland except peoples wages and there's a tax on everything. The only thing the Irish government haven't come up with is a tax that we would continually pay as a corpse........yet.

So here we have a change in attitude about spending and spending only where we get the cheapest deal (even without quality or guarantee) and a lack of disposable income. Two big issues. Think back to every item you bought on the cheap that broke within a short space of time. You didn't care enough to take it back to the shop because you paid so little for it that it now isn't worth your time and effort to return it and look for a refund. Is this a good thing or a bad thing in your opinion?

The Effect on a Small Craft Business

Now the Craftsperson (someone like me) is working in this economy where everything is at a higher price (from insurance costs, tools, materials all the way down to petrol for the chainsaw) and is up against prices from the far east. One cannot lower the price to compete and probably cannot create more product because of how time consuming the work is. The shops also take their cut from you which is when starting out, an unfortunate and necessary evil.

From my own point of view, for my business I have never worked so long and so hard for very little reward. In any job I had previously I would have walked away after a few weeks of no wages but I persist here out of a love for what I do. Each piece I make has to be sourced at source (where the tree fell) and had to be cut up and each log dragged back to my van and then on to my workshop to process without the aid of any heavy lifting equipment. Rough processed, sealed and then dried over many months. Finally ready to finish, only 2 or 3 more hours to go. Finished now, inventoried, stored and then finally brought onto the market table only to hear "I'm not paying that....."

I talk a bit more about what drives that sense of value in Why Woodturning Is More Than Just Making Things — and why, despite it all, I still wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

A Happier Ending Note

To move away from the bleakness of that last section, Viking bowls that are 1,000 years old have been unearthed, cleaned and are now displayed in a museum in Dublin. They are far from perfect condition but they give a clear indication of how they were made and what they were possibly used for. My own hope is that at least one of my pieces makes it in good enough condition to be discovered several hundred or even 1,000 years from now and someone from that future date marvels at its creation, by hand, by an Irish craftsman.

That’s the real value of craft — you’re not just buying an item for today, you’re supporting skills and traditions that can last for generations. As I always say: buy smart, buy local.

Thanks for Reading,

David

If you’d like to see whether you have what it takes to get into craft yourself, check out my post Is Woodturning a Good Hobby?, where I spell it out in real terms.

About the Author

I’m David Condon, a professional woodturner and small business owner based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. I spent 11 years working as a carpenter before starting my own woodturning business, which I’ve now been running for over a decade.

For more than ten years, I’ve been designing and making handmade wooden bowls, serving boards, and functional pieces from Irish hardwoods, selling them across Ireland and beyond. Bowls in particular have always been a core part of my work, from large salad bowls to smaller serving pieces, each one turned, finished, and food-safe treated in my workshop.

I teach woodturning full-time and work with wood every day. The advice I share here comes directly from hands-on experience — not theory — shaped by years of making, refining, and learning at the lathe.

© 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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