Do I look like wal-mart?

Why do people expect my handmade items to be at wal-mart prices? Do I look like I buy in bulk and have child labor make my items oversea and pay small wages to people to sell my items? Do I? I don't get it. I think what I charge for my handmade items are way more than fair. I usually make my cost and I'm lucky if I make a small profit. I realize that I am underselling myself. But I feel if I go too much higher then my items won't sell. I now understand why my dad doesn't do stain glass anymore. Yeah he's brilliant at it but he said you can't make money off it because people are use to buying the cheap fake stuff at next to nothing prices so they expect your one of a kind hand made thing to be the price of the plastic mass produce tiffany lamp replica.

This rant was brought on because a co-worker keeps complimenting my rings I've been making. Like this one:



and this one:



I have other designs like squirrels, elephants, and apples and what nots. She asked me to bring all the different ones in and I thought yay to buy right? Well she looks at them, tries one on. Ask how much I tell her $8. And think she doesn't have to pay shipping and handling so it is a flat out 8 bucks. She tells me she doesn't have any cash on her. Well every day since she still compliments my rings but yet still hasn't bought one. I am assuming it's because of the price? I will assume the best in people and that maybe when she has a spare 8 bucks she might buy one from me.

But this is not the only example. I did a craft fair in November and had a drying rack full of scarves. Price ranged all the way from $8 to the highest one being $20. So many people made comments about the $20 scarf and would walk away without looking at the others. Now I think my prices on my scarves are insainly low. It takes a lot of time to knit one. I am not a machine.

Ok so I might not sell $8 scarves like walmart (oh wait, I do have some at that price) but it cost me that alone to buy the yarn! Yet I've seen the acrylic things they sell for 20 bucks or more at places like Old Navy, and Abercrombie , people don't have a problem paying that. And maybe those wooden rings might sell for 6 bucks at Wal-mart or Claires but was it handmade? Is it mass produced? I wish I could explain this to every price gawker but unfortantly you can't.