Mill Girl: Paying for Handmade: A Gentle Rant
I am sure we have all encountered these types of conversations at shows or in your own studio gallery. Just last week a customer said to me "I am paying by check, do I still have to pay sales tax?". I politely said, no and she still made her purchase. She was buying a $25 dollar item, sales tax is 7% in our county. There is no advantage to me as the seller to pay her sales tax if she doesn't use her credit card... my credit card fee is no where near 7%! And if she used her card, the money goes directly into my account. No writing a deposit slip and making a trip to the bank, and hoping that the check clears.
...and now on to happier thoughts.
Jeff's workshop went great. Everyone who came appeared to be having fun and went away with some new skills. They are already making plans to come back for a raku workshop in the beginning of March!
Love the colors!
ReplyDeleteWe don't charge tax we collect tax for the state of NC. People can be so strange.
ReplyDeletewe work so hard....get paid so modestly....but we are COOL, so fuk 'em all :)
ReplyDeleteMeredith, you are so right! I lived in NH up until 2 years ago, where there was no sales tax... we paid our taxes via REALLY high property tax... you couldn't haggle with the tax collector over that (most times). I am always taken aback when people ask about not paying the sales tax... we are a business, really we are, we have to collect the tax.
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes folks are wanting to ask for a discount but don't know how to phrase it. Gary was selling a few of my experimental mugs at the local market some time ago. A woman asked if he would take 1/4 below what it was priced. Gary said no but she could get a mug for less at some local stores and she said, "but I can't get a mug like that (mine) anywhere else". Gary said that's true and explained each mug was made by hand by his wife one at a time and not from a mold in a factory, still she didn't buy one, they all sold to others that day though.
ReplyDeleteSo you should pay the 7% tax for her as well as the gas it takes to drive your car to the bank to deposit her check. Not to mention your time to go to the bank to deposit her check.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard when people don't get it, but the ones that do are really such a joy. We need to focus on them, they love us as much as we love them.
Lori you are right... the price hagglers are the minority, most of the people we encounter are appreciative of handmade and pleasant deal with.
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