What Does My Brand Mean?

Today I had my first experience with an Etsy BNR.  I'm not so sure it was a good experience.  You may be asking yourself right now... what is an Etsy BNR anyway.  Well, I'll tell you.  It is a type of Treasury (collection of items from many different shops displayed together) where each of the items displayed can be replaced by an item from your shop.  In order to do that, you have to buy in.  In other words, you have to purchase something from one of the shops listed in the BNR.  The curator then picks an item from your store to add to the collection and you stay in the BNR until someone buys your item.

I had never tried a BNR before and, for some unknown reason, I decided I would buy my way into one today.  I actually bought my way into 2 spots on the BNR.  These 2 items were available on the BNR all afternoon:

In addition, I offered a 20% discount to anyone buying something from my shop.  No one offered to buy either of them.  The BNR was a very busy one and items were flying off the BNR.  But not my items.  Everyone participating was commenting on how beautiful my items were.  However,  they were also saying that my stuff is too expensive to really work in a BNR.  I have looked at many BNRs and the average price point for most of them is about $12.00.   Some items sell for a dollar or two and the most expensive ones are listed for $40 or so.  I received a lot of friendly advice (one wonderful thing about Etsy is that the sellers are always willing to help by providing free advice) from several participants that I should create some low cost items for use with BNRs.  That got me to thinking...

What does my brand mean?  The 2 pieces above are some of my lower cost items.  The earrings sell for $20.00 and the necklace for $40.00.  I wonder what my brand means to shoppers.  Is it worth the few dollars I would make selling cheap items on BNRs to weaken my brand?  I use only the best materials in my designs.  I spend my little free time painstakingly creating these pieces.  Therefore, my designs are not cheap.  I don't think I want shoppers to be able to wear a Jill's Jewelry design for so few dollars.  I think I prefer that when my customers put on their Jill's Jewelry creations, they can know that only the best, most beautiful components make it into my designs.  Maybe a Jill's Jewelry creation is a bit more expensive than some other's designs.  I suspect it may also be a bit cheaper than some other designs on Etsy.  Regardless, I price my items so that you get what you pay for, and I get a fair price for the one of a kind pieces I create.

I guess I'll simply have to find another way to promote my beautiful creations.