Sponsored by TWIST - Tablet Weavers International Studies & Techniques
> May I ask (with some trepidation): what on earth is there to > connect Big Macs with TW belts?? The differences are much easier to see.... :) No connection whatsoever! > A $15 asking price (if I was an ignorant potential buyer) > might make me think there was something reject and perhaps phoney about it > (eg, perhaps not REALLY hand-made?). That's where the Big Mac standard comes in, you see. There's an explanation at http://www.dushkin.com/connectext/wp/ch11/gdp.mhtml, but briefly: Financial exchange rates do not take into account average earnings, taxes, cost of living, available spending money etc, so sometimes a much more effective comparison between two countries is the price of a Big Mac. According to http://www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml, a Big Mac here (South Africa) costs around R10.-, or $0.8817, and a Big Mac in the US costs $2.54. Using their conversion, we end up with a purchasing power parity of 3.82. Applying this principle to other prices (eg tabletwoven belts): Using the real exchange rate (+- R11 to $1), R150 = $13.5 (approx) But using the PPP, R150 = $39, which is actually a more accurate measure of what the amount means to an individual person. So, does $40 for a belt sound better? > If you took another route, you might make a start with the > minimum earnings per hour that the humblest worker in your area would earn > (would you pay yourself less?) And how much did the materials cost you? (do > you actually want to make a loss?) What about all the skill & experience > put into the work? Well, yes, that last part is rather hard to define, isn't it? I've used cheap materials (acrylic, mostly) for the belts I'm selling, but to be honest, I think my estimate of the price is on the low side more than anything else. I think part of the problem is that people here don't know tabletweaving and don't know how to value it, so what looks expensive to them seems cheap to me. > Please don't undervalue your work. If you do, others will be > inclined to do the same. True. I used to have the same problem with my metalwork. Fortunately it's not critical, it's a fundraising drive and if I don't sell anything I'll just give my stuff away as presents. Eckhard. Eckhard Gartz AFA Systems - Investment Software Solutions Tel: +27 (0)21-799 9822 Fax: +27 (0)21-799 9900 http://www.afa-systems.co.za http://www.afa-systems.com ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. www.mimesweeper.com ********************************************************************** Send private reply to Eckhard Gartz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----------------------------------------------------------- To stop receiving tabletweaving (not tabletweaving-digest), send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: unsubscribe tabletweaving. To stop receiving tabletweaving-digest, see the end of a digest.
