I started this business in mid-September, and today for the first
time I had a table at a craft show, hoping to get some advertising
and bring in some sales. I am also hoping for orders for the
holidays.
Many fliers and biz cards were taken.
I did ok in sales, but not like I hoped at all.

I know times are tough for nearly everyone right now.
It seems like everyone wanted prices to be next to nothing at
the show today.
It's a lot of work to prepare for this, and even though I can't
charge too much, I can't short change myself either - I need to
make a profit!

I've seen prices way under (not sure how that person makes ANY
money), and for much more than what I'm asking.

Please give me your opinion.

Thanks so much!

Here is my site:

www.cookiesbycathy.com

I wrote a response, but it looks like it got deleted for some reason. I was just saying I thought your prices were reasonable for high quality cookies. And yours look delicious!

I just went to your website and if I want to buy your cookies they would cost me $17.00 a dozen, so $1.42 a piece. That seems like a lot to me for a cookie. The question I would have for you is: do you think your customer is willing to pay $1.42 a cookie? Are there enough customers out there willing to pay that much to make the venture worthwhile? Can they get reasonable cookies, maybe not as good but edible, elsewhere for much less?

Without any further analysis and very little information about your business I suspect your prices are too high, or better put, you are not offering enough for what you are charging.

My first impression is that you need to decide whether you are a bulk cookie maker or a gourmet cookie / gift maker. In the former case you should focus on making as many cookies for as little as possible and selling them through retail outlets or in greater quantities. Stick to bakers boxes, but sell 24 or 36 cookies, sell them for say $15.00 + $8 shipping, and you are under a dollar a piece. Labor is probably not much more, but you will need to manage raw material cost.

If you go gourmet you can charge a lot more but you have to dress them up. Look at www.grammawalt.com - they sell 8 cookies in a basket with a personalized greating for 25.95 + $3! That is nearly 3.50 a piece. (I have no idea how well they are doing or whether they have any customers, I also think their website could be a lot more convincing.) You might also look at www.hotelchocolat.co.uk. They sell one kilogram of chocolate for roughly $30. Their packaging isn't fancy (it isn't expensive) but it is distinctive, they add a bottle of wine, a couple of candies... They are great gifts.

How about gift baskets with your cookies, a half a pound of gourmet coffee (100% arabic, the kind you buy in Costa Rica, $4.0 cost retail), and coffee mug (buy bulk for $1.5 each) for $30? Or how about a year of cookies - 6 cookies in a wooden gift box once a month for $5 a month ($60). Through in some personalized messages...

I hope this helps, have fun.
Jeff