How much to sell for?

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rcflyer23

Kevin
Corporate Member
One of the girls at work saw the ornament I did for Josh and want's to buy one. How does everyone go about pricing their pieces. I was thinking $5 for something simple like that. Now I really wish I would have stack cut it since her nephews name is Josh as well. I had thought about giving one to my parents anyway so I guess I will stack cut these. :)

Am I pricing it to low?

I have no idea..
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
Can you develop the pattern and scroll one in 10 minutes? Then $5 would be a good rate. Stack cutting would help lower the costs. Pricing work is really hard, especially for friends and family. General rule of thumb is materials plus a profit mark-up + the time you have in the piece at a reasonable hourly wage. I generally figure $25 an hour.

Dave:)
 
J

jeff...

Can you develop the pattern and scroll one in 10 minutes? Then $5 would be a good rate. Stack cutting would help lower the costs. Pricing work is really hard, especially for friends and family. General rule of thumb is materials plus a profit mark-up + the time you have in the piece at a reasonable hourly wage. I generally figure $25 an hour.

Dave:)

You obviously do not belong to a job bank program - do you?
 

TracyP

Administrator , Forum Moderator
Tracy
You know, if it were me, and it is not; I would give a few away to start with and let the word of mouth build my reputation. If you sell it to her and she does not think the price is right, then the word of mouth you will get will be negative. On the other hand, if you give one or two away with the understanding that they tell friends and family who made it, and they just say the price was great, then you have spent very little and have the potential to gain business from word of mouth referrals. Just my :eek:ccasion1 two cents worth.
 

christopheralan

New User
Christopheralan
For the work that I do, I usually charge about $20-$25/hour, if it is high-end skilled work (scrolls, burns). For picnic tables, deck repairs and "rougher" work, I figure materials, say $200, and charge about $400.

I think that if you can make one in about 15 minutes, $5 is okay.
 

rcflyer23

Kevin
Corporate Member
To Tracy's point I was thinking about doing that for her. That is just giving it to her to develop the word of mouth. The problem I am against is that another one of the girls in the office heard us talking about it and said she may want 5 or more of them all with different names. So I don't know if I give one to one and not the other if that would cause even more of an issue.
 

TracyP

Administrator , Forum Moderator
Tracy
You could give the first one or two to the girls. A couple each, then ask them to buy the rest after the decide that they like them. Make your price fair and the word will spread fast. I think you have a win, win situation here.
 

PeteQuad

New User
Peter
I read an interesting story about an accountant who started a woodworking business. When he did a project he priced it based on materials, labor, and profit.

He made a comment saying that if you are only charging for labor (and not including profit), then you are not running a business.

Just some food for thought. More on topic - I haven't seen the ornament, but a handmade wooden ornament should go for a lot more than some mass produced thing at hallmark. I would think $25 or so would be fair, IMHO. At least that's what I'd expect to pay, if not more.
 

christopheralan

New User
Christopheralan
Just some food for thought. More on topic - I haven't seen the ornament, but a handmade wooden ornament should go for a lot more than some mass produced thing at hallmark. I would think $25 or so would be fair, IMHO. At least that's what I'd expect to pay, if not more.


I agree, but why would some one pay $25 for an ornament when they can go to hallmark and spend $5? This is one of the times where you need to check the market and see who you are selling to? The Walmart crowd, or someone who loves fine craftsmanship?

I would stick with $5 for a simple design, and as soon as someone wants something unique, double or tripple the price.
 

rcflyer23

Kevin
Corporate Member
Well I think for this one I am going to just give it to here. I don't have more than .50c in the wood and it took me a lot longer than it should have but she just wanted the one and I needed the practice. I do like the thought of materials + Labor + profit. I will remember that. Plus I had already designed the ornament for my son so I just had to reprint the pattern. I guess the other side of this is I literally just started doing doing scroll work on Saturday so I just really don't feel right about charging for it yet.

Now if the other lady wants like 10 or 15 with different names on them then yes I am going to charge since that will take me a bit.
 

mlzettl

Matt
Corporate Member
The first piece you make always takes longer. Essentially, it is a prototype. If, for whatever reason, you decide to make more of the same, or variations on the original design, the time invloved decreases considerably.

If you are going to make something to sell, then the first few can certainly be given away, or "test marketed" at a very reasonable price. After that, you can determine the actual cost of materials, labor, etc., to help determine a price.

Good craftsmen often devalue their own time. How much does a plumber or mechanic charge per hour? In my opinion, $20-25.00 per hour undervalues skilled work. You will never be able to price compete with Wal Mart, even if you charge $1.00/hour. That is not the market you're looking for anyway. You're looking for the buyer who values something unique that was produced by an individual craftsman.

Take a look what a glass blower charges for a unique hand-blown ornament. You might be shocked. A skilled artisan can most likely make one of these in a few minutes. The buyer is paying for the unique design, the skill required to create it, as well as the time involved.

I guess my point is, don't sell yourself short.

Matt
 

sawduster

New User
Robert
I would charge $10 for the custom ornament , stack cut several of a simple " generic " ornament and give that for free as a bonus for their appreciation of the work and talent required to hand craft their unique custom ornament :icon_thum

Pricing is tough and I have struggled with it ( as have others ) for ages
What I have found though , is that if you " Wal Mart " price it , it will be no more important to them than a Wal Mart purchase. You are providing a hand crafted custom item that can be cherished for years . I charge accordingly. If the ornaments are made from solid hardwood I would go $15 ( with the free one ) . I was pleasantly surprised at how many people will pay the price. First I had to personally believe that my work was worthy ( that took some time ) . I'm far from an expert but in my opinion your work is worthy :eusa_clap

Now you get , from time to time , those people who look at your prices as if you were crazy :eek: I let 'em move on down the road and go to Wal Mart to do their shopping :mrgreen:

This is my hobby and my passion . you will not find " made in China " stamped on any of my work :icon_thum

That's my 2 cents anyway
 

steviegwood

New User
Steven
You also want to keep in mind that you are selling personalized ornaments with different names on them. JOSH being a shorter name and you already have the pattern. I personally would come up with a price of so much per letter and a base price for creating each pattern. I also get paid up front for the personalized things that I do because of being stuck with a few projects that I have made. It was not the anything to do with my projects, they just decided to get something else somewhere else and left me stuck. Keep in mind the economy but also do not cheapen yourself or your work. If they want handmade and real wood personalized they should not have any problems paying the price and pre-paying due to the personal nature. Just my two-cents worth. Steve
 

rcflyer23

Kevin
Corporate Member
All this is good information and insight. I appreciate it. I know for the one I am just going to give it to her. The other lady has not committed yet so I haven't committed one way or another on those. We will see how many she wants and then I can decide.. Thanks for the help.
 

christopheralan

New User
Christopheralan
Something else you could do is give her two. Just tell her that the second one has to be given to a friend or family member, with your belssing (meaning you, the craftsman). Also toss in a business card if you have one, or just your name and number.

It just might lead to more sales.
 
J

jeff...

Can you develop the pattern and scroll one in 10 minutes? Then $5 would be a good rate. Stack cutting would help lower the costs. Pricing work is really hard, especially for friends and family. General rule of thumb is materials plus a profit mark-up + the time you have in the piece at a reasonable hourly wage. I generally figure $25 an hour.

Dave:)

Now that you are #1 - that means you'll need to work all year for $1.00 like the big three CIO's
 

rcflyer23

Kevin
Corporate Member
I guess I do need to come up with some business cards or something to give her. Looks like it is time for a trip to Office Depot.
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
Hey, you guys lay off DaveO right now. Its that time of year when his beard turns white and his elves are REALLY busy, (you know anyone else with elves in their workshop??) and Momma's busy cleaning up those red velvet duds with the fur trimming, and he's got all those lists to check, (you know: the naughty and nice ones), and then there's that big belly thing he has to deal with in a couple/three weeks, the reindeer messin' up the yard, etc, so just LAY OFF the Big Guy. Just 'cause he's No. Uno here doesn't mean you can snipe at him like he's a Detroit CEO or somethin'.

Go

PS. Howd I do DaveO?? Huh? Huh? Okay? I really would like that lump o' coal upgraded this year to charcoal so I could at least use it on the grill. Well, think about it. Okay??
 
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