so i’m going to get a little mad for a moment…
Here’s my problem. They’re priced at $6.25/sheet. Put one in your shopping cart to have a sheet sent to you… it’s up to $9.25. For one, single sheet of stickers.
Why am I so mad? Because I could create this sheet of labels for you in less than 5 minutes using Illustrator. Polka dots? Scalloped brush? Easy as pie. All I’d need to do is print them out for you on a sticker sheet, which at a high price, is going for $0.81.
So I’m thinking that I could make a good profit off of hitting “print” on my color laser printer if I sold this sheet to you for $3 + $1 shipping. :( Anyone want me to start carrying them via etsy?
I’m just so sad when people overcharge and others buy into it. I need to get over this. I really do. But it just makes me sad when the markup is so obvious and the ease of making it is apparent.
11 Comments
Broke-Ass Bride
I completely agree – its really, especially sad, during this tough time when all are struggling. Sure, people wanna make a buck, but its not fair to take advantage of people either. Maybe you should start selling them… at least then you’ll maybe draw business away from your overpriced competition…
Stacey
Ack! I know exactly what / who you are talking about and being a girl who also makes her own labels…. I was thinking – WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?! Grr. I had no idea that they were so pricey, though. Yikes!
Julie
I saw that, just about 5 minutes before I read your post, and thought the exact same thing. In fact, what really struck me the most was how, in her blog post, she stated that she wanted to sell “affordable” labels… and then I saw the prices per sheet, for labels you print at home, that are just standard old labels (not like, laminated waterproof labels or anything)… I fail to see the affordable part. Of course, I understand that not everyone is competent in Illustrator, but I completely agree that I feel like it is someone taking advantage of others… of course, everyone wants to make money for what they do, but it’s not like you are hand making each and every label — it takes 5 minutes to make the original sheet, and then you print it out over and over and just sell what took 5 minutes of work. It made me cringe as well.
Jenny Louwheeze
I think it’s arrogant to assume that people will pay an outrageous price for something this simple, as if you have to be an “extremely talented graphic designer” to download a font and print it with a pretty border on sticky paper. The business idea isn’t bad, there’s definitely a market for things like this. But $6.25 a sheet? That’s just shoddy business.
Vir
Hey Kim I saw that too!
My thought was maybe it has to do with the print process? I didn’t do much digging because I wasn’t that interested in the product to start with, but I sorta assumed that maybe they’re produced with offset litho and Pantones or something that would merit the price. Maybe a special Neenah label stock or something too, rather than your run of the mill sticker sheet?
If not, however… you are right on.
Heidi
I completely agree with you and everyone else. It’s sad when you see such a high markup on items. I understand that the cost of running a business has to be recouped somewhere, but that big of a markup on such a simple item? That doesn’t make sense at all.
lindsay willman
yeah, i saw this yesterday…
i’d support you and etsy. go for it!!
talda
this is the first i’ve heard of that but i agree with you on the price. while i’m not that handy with illustrator i can make something similiar for much cheaper myself…and often do. a lot of the things i make have been based on things i’ve seen that were overpriced [either in store or online] that, with a little bit of effort, can be reasonably recreated at home for much less. i understand upping the price a bit to cover labor but 10 bucks for one sheet of labels? i can buy a pack of plain labels for that and make my own whenever i want!
obviously “affordable” and “reasonable” are two different things here. :(
Jen
$9.25??? That’s quite steep.
Myra Greenlee
I know exactly who you are talking about. I am happy for this person that she’s going to do what she loves to do and earn some hefty cash doing it. I even left a comment on that post! I feel the same way that it’s a huge markup and I’m glad someone came out and said something about it! Personally I wouldn’t purchase it because I can make them myself also, so thank you for venting.
Brooke
I’m so glad you wrote this. I love the blog you’re talking about, but I’m disappointed in the prices that are being touted as “affordable” — even on other popular blogs. What world do these people live in that a SINGLE SHEET of 20 labels is affordable at $9.25 (with shipping)? I will still be a devoted reader of said blog, but I will most definitely not be frequenting the new shop.