How often should I reevaluate or change my prices?

The Narrative

The Empathy

You set your prices, print tags, and hope they feel right, then one slow market has you second-guessing everything. A customer says, "That's a little high," and you wonder if you should drop the price before the next event. On the other hand, you notice a few items selling out in the first hour and worry you're leaving money on the table. It's hard to know whether to stay steady or make a move.

The Education

The best pricing changes are triggered by clear signals and reviewed on a steady cadence. Signals include rising material or packaging costs, repeated sell-outs at the current price, inventory that stalls for three or more events, margins falling below your target, or new booth fees that shrink your take-home pay. Watch for customer questions that cluster around value ("Do you have a smaller size?") because they hint at a pricing tier problem rather than a product problem. As for timing, do a quick cost check monthly, a deeper pricing review every quarter, and a seasonal reset at least twice a year if your product mix changes with holidays or weather. After any major change in supplies or labor time, update pricing within a week so your profit doesn't lag behind reality.

The Solution

Build a simple review system: log your costs, set a target margin for each item, and attach a review interval to every product card. Use a monthly checklist to update raw costs, a quarterly review to compare sell-through rates and margins, and a post-event note if a product sold out early or went untouched. With that rhythm, price changes feel intentional, and you can explain them to customers with confidence. The system keeps you steady enough to avoid panic discounts while still nimble enough to protect your profit as your inputs change.