The hardest part of pricing handmade work is that the maker is usually the person least willing to charge for it.
Start from the hours
Materials, then hours, then everything the business costs. That total is your floor, and it is not a negotiating position — it is the number below which making the thing costs you money.
Metzee takes its commission on top of what the buyer pays, as a separate line, so the figure you need to clear is the one you have worked out here. What comes out of a sale.
Then decide how the floor is protected
Low start, no reserve works when you have a room and the piece is quick to make. It is the best way to build an audience, and it is a decision, not a default.
Low start with a reserve is the right answer for anything slow or materially expensive. What a reserve price is.
Do not use a high starting price as a substitute for a reserve. It reads as expensive and it kills the bidding before it starts.
Do not price against factory goods
Somebody in your room can buy a machine-made version for a fraction of your price, and they are not your buyer. Explain what the hours bought instead; that is the whole argument for handmade work and a live show is the best place to make it.
Series and seconds
Running several similar pieces across a show gives the room a reference and tends to lift later lots. Seconds — pieces with a flaw — sell well when they are labelled as seconds and the flaw is shown.
Questions people ask
What if my work does not sell at my floor?
Then it did not sell that night. Repeated selling below your floor is worse than not selling.
Should I show how long something took?
Yes. It is the most persuasive thing you can say and it costs nothing.
Is it worth running a cheap item to open a show?
Yes. A quick, honest, low-value lot fills a room, and the room is what pays for the next item.