Pricing Question

[MetalSmitten]

don't let mass-produced items govern the price you charge for your handmade items. handmade should be and usually is a mark of higher quality, and most people know (or should know) that. if people have told you you're undercharging, then you are.

if you saw a blanket in a store for $50, next to a similar one for $100, you'd automatically assume that the $100 one is better, even if you can't immediately see the difference. when you underprice your work, people automatically assume that it's inferior. so really, you hurt your own image by being afraid to charge more.

as long as you apply some sort of fair guideline, you're not ripping people off. materials cost multiplied by at least 2, maybe 3, plus an hourly wage that you set for yourself based on the difficulty of the work. it's fair.

 

[framing fowl]

If most people say you undercharge... believe them. You shouldn't let a couple of people who wanted something on the cheap devalue or set the future value of your product. With any business, there are those who want something for nothing and will try to get a cheaper price no matter what. Listen to the majority of your customers.

Another guage is are you able to keep up with demand? If you have a waiting list, you should be charging more. If it is awhile between orders or you wish you had more business, maybe charge less. I do have to say that when I sell things on craigslist, if it doesn't sell the first time, I actually raise the price the second time I list it. If items are priced too low, people automatically assume that something is wrong with it. If it still doesn't sell, I'll relist it a third time at a lower price than the initial offering.

Final thought... I work at an art gallery. Original art off the walls is one price. Commissions are a whole other pricing structure. If you have people requesting specific patterns/colors/materials you may consider whether or not there is an increase in your skill needed to complete the item, and if the materials for the special request cost more.

Good luck!

 

[moolie]

If most people say you undercharge... believe them. You shouldn't let a couple of people who wanted something on the cheap devalue or set the future value of your product. With any business, there are those who want something for nothing and will try to get a cheaper price no matter what. Listen to the majority of your customers.

Be sure that you value the time and love that you put into this work, because others definitely do! You are making things that are in high demand by people who value quality finished items, who value craftswomanship, and who value having something unique

For items that you sew:

I'm not really sure how to price these because it will all depend on the pattern/time spent and the cost of materials--and all of this can vary quite widely. I've sewn quilts (tons of work!), baby clothing and diapers (usually pretty quick but can get complicated), and a wide variety of children's and adult clothing (some things are super easy, some make me want to tear my hair out!) so it is so hard to say what an item is worth without going through the process first. You may need to research what others are charging for similar items (say on etsy), then work it down by looking at your cost of materials and see if the hourly rate seems ok to you--then tweak as necessary based on your client base.

For hand crocheted or knit items:

I'd price afghans or blankets by the square foot or standard blanket size (baby, twin, double, queen, king) plus cost of materials. My Mom used to crochet bedspreads and priced this way (unfortunately what she charged won't help because she did it in the 70s and 80s ) For more complicated stitch patterns I'd definitely charge more--come up with a price difference between say a cable or lace stitch sweater vs a plain knit one.

Please take the baby items WAY up from $5 each, that IS low for hand-made and people are getting a serious deal! I'm guessing people are buying these as shower gifts etc. if they are saying you are charging too little--it is probably the people who want them for their own children who would like to pay less? For baby items I'd charge by the hour (some patterns are more intricate, others crochet or knit up quite quickly) plus cost of materials. If you always make standard pieces (baby sweater and hat set, baby dress etc.) come up with a base price for a simple version of each, then add for extra colours or more complicated stitch patterns.

etsy link for baby sweater

and another

and a sale (!) price

See the range just between those 3 items? Of course the "organic merino" one costs more, that's the materials cost coming in, but there is also a range of difficulty in the patterns and very likely a difference in the time it takes to make each item--I just picked the 3 most recently listed items.

Final thought... I work at an art gallery. Original art off the walls is one price. Commissions are a whole other pricing structure. If you have people requesting specific patterns/colors/materials you may consider whether or not there is an increase in your skill needed to complete the item, and if the materials for the special request cost more.
Good luck!

Ditto this--if you have standard items you make, these can have standard pricing--but definitely charge more for commissioned items!

 

[FarmerJamie]

I wouldn't work for $5 an hour. That is kind of insulting.

Depends on the work and how bad you need the money. Been there, done that.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I might work for the 5 bucks, but only because I have a 'do-nothing' job that I can bring hobbies, reading, movies....anything to. So, while I'd be relaxing and doing a hobby which paid me cash money, I am also on the clock, getting my paycheck earned.
But I am selective about what hobbies I am working on. I find crocheting too expensive lately because the price of yarn has skyrocketed, so I avoid it, unless a friend just cleaned out their closet and gave me boxes of free stuff. I have been working on homemade pin cushions, using scrap fabric and making my own doilies for the top, edging with crochet thread....uses less than making a large one in crochet only.
It takes me about 4 hours all total to make a pin cushion, so even if I don't add anything for the material, I would still need to charge 20 dollars for each pin cushion. A lot of people wouldn't want to pay that kinda money for a pin cushion, even if it does look better than most.
Honestly, I think I would eventually need to get together with my daughter and a few others that do crafts and we can take pics of our stuff and put prices and have our own booklet to show people our stuff and maybe start a web-site. Then if someone is interested, good...if not, oh well.

 

[chickenone]

I wouldn't work for $5 an hour. That is kind of insulting.

Depends on the work and how bad you need the money. Been there, done that.

Well, I couldn't support a family on 5 bucks an hour, so if I am going to work, it is going to be for a living wage.

 

[hwillm1977]

Definitely don't undervalue your work... it can also make it harder for people who are trying to make a living at whatever you are doing...

I draw portraits, and charge about $100 for a custom portrait... but other people will advertise on classified websites doing portraits for less than $20... it's hard to compete with that and it makes it look like I'm trying to rip people off, although I think that mine are a higher quality... it takes me about 10 hours of work to finish a portrait (in pencil) so I'm charging $10/hour for my time (which is minimum wage here)

I also sew custom horse show clothes... the materials for one jacket can cost me $200-300, plus about 40 hours of sewing time... but I generally don't have trouble selling them for $600-1000 each, depending on how intricate the patterns are.

I'd have to charge $600 for a baby sweater if I charged people by the hour for my knitting

 

[k15n1]

C = [cost of materials] + [labor] + [shipping/handling]

This (C) is the price of your product. Ideally, you would like to get a bit more that the mere cost of production. You should get some reward to taking the risk, right?

The cost of labor is a good question. As a rule, I assume that your hourly wage must be higher if you're doing something that does not pay regularly. If you're selling as much of your product as you can make, a lower wage is OK. If you only sell a few large items per year, you have to charge more to account for the risk and the variance in sales.