"Why does this Finnish product cost so much? The foreign product is much cheaper."
Buying a Finnish product is a choice. A Finnish product is often more expensive than a product of the same style, for example, made in China. So why choose a more expensive product when you can get a cheaper one?
Before I go into the deepest depths of the blog, I would like to remind you that everyone's financial situation does not always give the option of buying only Finnish products new. However, sometimes it is also about our spending habits. Actually, we might spend the same amount of money on several cheap alternatives as we would have spent on one high-quality Finnish product. When it is possible to choose, you should choose the best option.
This blog focuses on three questions:
- What is the meaning of a Finnish product?
- Why does a Finnish product cost more, even if it comes from nearby?
- Does a high price automatically mean quality and at the same time guarantee Finnishness?
What is the meaning of a Finnish product?
Personally, I prefer to buy Finnish products because this kind of consumption choice is most in line with my values. I want to make a responsible consumption choice, the production of which I know as much as possible.
I want to support local production. When I buy a product produced nearby, my purchases do not accumulate as much damage to the environment, when the product is not transported from the ends of the earth to me. When buying a Finnish product, I usually make a more responsible choice than when ordering a product from a large supplier abroad. The route of a Finnish product to a consumer living in Finland is usually very short - either the entrepreneur sells his product to the consumer himself or through a retailer.
A short route for the consumer also makes it easier to find out the manufacturing conditions of the product. At least I want to know as precisely as possible where my product comes from. A short route for the consumer also reduces the parties sharing the price of the product. In this case, the creator of the product has a better chance of getting adequate compensation for the work, without the profit of the product being divided between several different parties.
I also want to support Finnish entrepreneurship. I like the fact that I pay tax money for the product to the government under whose wings I live.
There are also many regulations and laws related to the manufacture of products in Finland. In Finland, an entrepreneur must take these things into account. Knowing this, I feel lighter about buying Finnish products than products whose manufacturing process regulations I don't know.
Why does a Finnish product cost more, even if it comes from nearby?
Goods and services have their price. In Finland, we have a certain kind of price level at which we live. In order for an entrepreneur to make a living, his products must also be priced correctly.
Two-euro wool socks don't even cover material costs. Why do we easily pay 100 e/hour for expert work, but are shocked when a handmade product costs hundreds of euros?
Since it is often easier to figure things out in concrete terms, let's take a small calculation example: Let's take, for example, one hand-made product that costs 20 euros in the online store and in brick-and-mortar retailers.
The price of the product includes design, material costs, the entrepreneur's "salary" (from which personal income taxes and other expenses such as accounting, insurance, sales and marketing, workspace expenses, online shopping expenses and other running expenses are deducted), the retailer's share, packaging materials and VAT.
If I were to sell this product myself, as an entrepreneur, I would never get 20 euros for myself from this product. I first pay 24% value added tax on the price, which is 3.87 euros. After that, I deduct the material and packaging costs from the price, which would be around 2.5 euros (VAT 0) for this product. After this, there is 13.63 euros left. From this amount, I subtract other expenses and finally taxes. The final income for me would be around 8 euros from the product.
As a consumer myself, I usually forget when buying a product that I pay 24% VAT directly on the product (if the company is subject to VAT). In addition to that, I pay for the materials used, that is, in principle, I pay the company that has sold the materials to the entrepreneur. I pay the rest to the entrepreneur, from which he covers other expenses and pays tax to the state. So I don't give my money to the entrepreneur.
At this point, I hope that the next time you go to an interior design store and see a hand-patterned plate for five euros, you will think about what the manufacturer will get from this?
Does a high price automatically mean quality and at the same time guarantee Finnishness?
It is very important to remember that a high price does not always guarantee quality.
However, many Finnish entrepreneurs invest in materials, in which case the materials used are usually responsibly chosen. In this case, the products are often also of better quality. Of course, this is not a given, so it is always good for the consumer to check what kind of materials have been used in the products.
The higher quality materials used in the product, the more expensive the product usually becomes. In addition, the fact that the product is produced by hand creates an additional price for the products, but at the same time it also ensures that someone has checked the quality of the product while the product is being made. However, high price is never directly proportional to quality. Quality is determined by other factors.
A lot of Finnish design has also been produced abroad. I do not directly claim or can claim that the same criteria are not adhered to abroad, but I can say that the product can no longer be called Finnish. Often, in such situations, it is also about savings in production.
So it's a different thing to talk about Finnish design than about Finnish products.
With us, you can trust Finnishness
In our Kaarnavilla.fi online store, all products are Finnish, which means they are made here in Finland, close to us. Most of the products are handmade. The products are carefully selected and their quality control is strictly adhered to. You can always return or complain about a product whose quality you are not satisfied with.
In addition to being Finnish, we stick to our other values, such as closeness to nature and quality.
These things are really important to us. And for you?
- With love Päivi / Kaarnavilla.fi entrepreneur
Keywords: Finnish production / Finnish work / Finnish products / Product pricing / Finnish price level / Finnish handicrafts / valuation of handicrafts / price of handicrafts / pricing
