Pricing my work

[Rob Horton]

Just looking for some advice on how to price my work. I'm thinking of selling some smaller pieces of work just here and there - for extra pocket money. And I've read a good deal of how to establish a 'shop rate' for pricing my work.

The problem is that following some of those general guidelines, it seems like the work ends up being really pricey.

As an example, the foodsafe that I posted in this thread, would end up costing a consumer around $80. That seems like WAY too much. (it only cost $35 in materials)

Just wondering how others here at the Creek have dealt with pricing things.

Thanks all,

[Jim Becker]

Who do you want to compete with? If it's quality craftsmanship, than you're pricing is probably inline. If it's K-Mart and WallMart or flea market vendors...well...

The bottom line is what will your prospective customer base be willing to pay for your excellent work...the labor, in particular. If there is an abundance of similar pieces available at below the $80 you cite, than you'll have trouble selling at that price. If it's unique or others charge similarly...go for it. Geography and selling location will make a difference in that respect.

[Michael Ballent]

I agree with Jim, your time involved should be compensated as well. You should place a value on your time and charge accordingly. If the work you are doing is unique then people will be willing to pay a premium for the work, but if you are trying to compete against Walmart furniture just pack it up and keep your work to friends and family. You cannot compete against people that work for a buck fifty an hour. Come up with something original and sell to the people that will appreciate your hard work. Let them know why your work is special and is an heirloom instead of a particle board throw-away. Remember that $80 may seem like a lot for you but for others it's just an hour's work. Keep that in mind. Provide them value and craftsmanship but do not cut yourself short. Especially the guys that actually do woodworking for a living. Too many times someone that is retired and has a nice pension gets into the action and severely undercut the pros. Personally I look at the higher end catalogs (Ethan Allan and such) and charge accordingly. Provide the customer some customizations and you are in business.

Best of luck
Michael

[Ian Barley]

Rob

As Jim says, you should consider who your products will be compared against.

Don't make the mistake of comparing a hand made piece with the mass produced stuff you see in the stores. If you imagine that the prices of those bears any comparison to the materials you are wrong. The retailer will probably be taking a markup between 50 and 100% of his buy in price. So an $80 item in a retail store probably cost the retailer around $40 and probably has no more that about $6-10 in materials in it (if that). The raw ingredient price of a can of Cola (Coke or Pepsi or take your pick) is probably measured in fractions of a percent of its resale price. Materials cost is the worst possible way to establish a selling price for anything.

The only basis on which to price is the value that a purchaser sees in the item. If you want to dispose of your work to people who have little regard for it - sell it cheap. If you want to find homes for things that you have cared about, and hope that they care about them too - sell it for a real price.

I would make one other point. If you (or anybody else) undersell the value of hand crafted individual items by pricing them cheaply, you are effectively making it more difficult for anybody to make a living by being in that kind of business. The guy who is in busiess has to pay insurance, taxes etc and try and make a living. If every prospect he talks to is making a comparison with "a guy they know who does this on the side" he will never make a sale.

[Rob Horton]

Excellent advice and much appreciated everyone! I especially liked what you had to say Ian.

Thanks again!

[Steve Jenkins]

"I would make one other point. If you (or anybody else) undersell the value of hand crafted individual items by pricing them cheaply, you are effectively making it more difficult for anybody to make a living by being in that kind of business. The guy who is in busiess has to pay insurance, taxes etc and try and make a living. If every prospect he talks to is making a comparison with "a guy they know who does this on the side" he will never make a sale."

From one who tries to make a living at this, Thank you Ian. Steve

[Jim Baker]

As an example, the foodsafe that I posted in this thread, would end up costing a consumer around $80. That seems like WAY too much. (it only cost $35 in materials)

I too think that material cost has very little to do with the final selling price of something. For example, have you ever considered the materials cost in the bottles of water that people think nothing of paying anywhere between $1.00 and $5.00 (or higher sometimes) depending on where they are?

Don't sell yourself short.

[Todd Burch]

Rob, there is no scale to judge how big the food safe is, but it looks like it might hold a small pie. To make one of those, I would not charge anything less than $150, and at $150, if I spent more than 2 hours on it, I'd be wasting time that I could be spending on a real paying job. Now, if you wanted 100 of them, that's a different story.

Now, would someone pay $150 for a #2 pine item like that? Most likely not. Curly maple, figured cherry, walnut burl - you are still pushing it. It's a utilitarian item, and quite a niche product at that.

There are several "Making money at woodworking" type books that you might consider reading.

Good thread.

[Robert Cox]

I'm new here but here is my opinion.

I develop software. Specialty stuff.

The first time I priced something for a potential client they actually yelled at me for trying to overcharge. No respect for my work.

Needless to say I did not get that job.

A few weeks later I got another chance with another client. I doubled my rate. That was very lucrative. Very.

I had figured out that if you price your work at a professional rate you will get treated professionally.

Now I'm working on marketing a package.

Same quandry. How do I price it fair? I will not undercut just for business. It will stand on it's own merits or not.

So, my advice and experience. Pro work and pro price.

[Rob Horton]

Rob, there is no scale to judge how big the food safe is, but it looks like it might hold a small pie. To make one of those, I would not charge anything less than $150, and at $150, if I spent more than 2 hours on it, I'd be wasting time that I could be spending on a real paying job. Now, if you wanted 100 of them, that's a different story.

Now, would someone pay $150 for a #2 pine item like that? Most likely not. Curly maple, figured cherry, walnut burl - you are still pushing it. It's a utilitarian item, and quite a niche product at that.

There are several "Making money at woodworking" type books that you might consider reading.

Good thread.

It holds two 9 inch pie pans. The box itself measures around 12" square and 8" high. And wow, good eye with the call on it being pine. Someday, I'll know how to recognize wood that well Thanks for advice!