Pricing Christmas Ornaments

[Robert Santiago]

Hello everyone !

This is my first Christmas in the business, and I'm kindda struggling with setting up a fair price for my products. I need some advise for those of you who sold acrylic ornaments in the past.
For instance ... how much should I charge for a set of 12 ornaments (3" X 3"), which takes me 20 minutes to cut on my machine. If I want to engrave them (front and back) it takes me a full hour, including the cutting.
First of all, I don't have a store front, so I'm considering selling my stuff through local stores, which means that they need to make their profit as well.
How much percentage of the final price should I offer to the stores, so they stay interested?
As you can see, I'm pretty confused (I might not even ask the right questions), but I hope you guys got the idea of what's going through my mind.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Joe Pelonio]

Take a look at places like Michaels, Ben Franklin, and Joanne's. They sell similar items made in China for $1 or less each. If you don't have that kind of competition you may be able to find a gift store or two that will be willing to sell your work, but expect to make 1/2 of what you would retail them for if you did have a storefront. The one year I had my ornaments in a Holiday Craft Sale, I found that the ones priced $3 sold well, those at $4 sold OK, anything $5 or more just sat there. And that was with a healthier economy.

[Roger Ronas]

having owned a hobby shop back in the mid 80's, pricing structure was similar to this.
commission was: 10-20% it's your money sitting on the shelf until sold.
Sell to store: 40-50% off retail. Stores money sitting
on shelf until/if sold. Clearance after the holidays.
MSRP is typically 10 times the cost to make a product out the door.
Manufactures (you) typically charge 4 times the cost to make a product as the price to a distributor, who then sells to the retailer at 40-60% of MSRP. Retailer stands to make 40% after it sits on shelf for who knows how long, or they put on sale or clearance.

HTH
Roger

[Bill Cunningham]

I charge $15 to prep a 'simple' photo for engraving, then if I engrave the photo in a snowflake, I work it out like this..if takes 7 minutes to engrave and cut two, and the material costs a dollar, then the cost is $15.00+$7+$2 = custom price of $24.00 for two the same. Extras of the same are $9.00 ea. What people will pay for custom, is considerably more than what they will pay for a "Hey!! thats neat!" Impuse sale..

[Barbara Buhse]

I have always had luck with the following price sturcture...

cut designs-
ornaments and bookmarks, I sell at 3 for $10. I have found that its easier to get a $10 bill out of everyone for three ornaments and/or bookmarks than try to sell them individually for $4. (If they insist on only one I charge $4) I should tell you I package them in clear lollipop bags with a thin colored ribbon, and I DON"T string the ribbon. I close it with a sticker advertising my business.


Larger cut desings-
crosses and really intricate designs are a little bigger and I sell them for $5 each. The test is whether it would be considered by most to be a gift all by itself, just one. If so, Then its $5

Photo ornaments-
I sell them as a set of three for $24. The front are all the same.. photo and maybe the names or year or "baby's frist christmas" etc.
On the back I offer three different messages (ie, to Grandma, Love Kelly)
That way they can buy three, and usually its something like one for the parents, and the other two for the grandparents. I have customers who buy multiple sets of three for the whole family.. then I'll give them a discount... but I tell people who want just one... the first one is $22 the other two are $1 each

So far I've had success with this. I also haven't raised the prices in three years on the "cash and carry" stuff. There have been craft fairs where I've sold hundreds of ornaments in one day.

I don't want to be long winded.. but I want to add that I have no fancy displays, and it actually seems better this way (maybe its more "home-made" looking). I just lay them out in piles on the table flat.

I do package some in sets of three, in a decorative box with fancy ribbon and cellophane, and usually charge $12 to $15 for these ready-to-give gifts.

[Bill Cunningham]

I tell people who want just one... the first one is $22 the other two are $1 each

If the second two are $1ea, Then what do you tell them when they say, 'fine' I'll take the first one, and twenty more for $1.00 ea... (And you just 'know' it's going to happen)

[Stephen Beckham]

I try to give simple pricing. I've two types of ornaments - flat glass (discontinued & I'm under 300 in stock - sold over 450 last year - oops) and 1/4" acrylic.

For the last three years I sold the glass at $10 that includes the photo conversion. In most cases, it's simple 3-5 minute conversion (size it/set DPI/save/PhotoGrav it/etch it) I can easily do 6-10 and hour ($60-$100/hour sales). Then you get the 'can you slice these two pictures and add them together?' or 'can you take out all the background?' types. They are about to start getting the artwork charges. I'm figureing about $10 to do the additional work.

Anyway - by flooding the local area with these ornaments and dropping hints about "the hardest thing about these ornaments is waiting till Christmas - then they'll have to wait a year to hang them" which in most cases encourages early gifting. So with the business lable on the box, I just got two-three more customers for that same season.

Next tip - Everyone has revelled over how cheap they were, I explain that I don't do cheap, I do inexpensive. The glass may be from china, but my machine and my conversion is 100% American. Add's intellectual value in some people's minds. Tell them if they want cheap, to go to Walmart. Which by the way - charges way more than we do for the similar type etchings - and they have a two week turnaround.

Well, now that I'm overwhelmed with them - I've raised my price to $12.50 each. Still a puny price for a photograph to be place on a glass ornament - in most cases, while you wait.


The next step is the acrylic. I charge $10 for them if they are relative to 4"x4" in overal size. Special sizes or large quantities of same item will change the price accordingly.

And - I have tacked on a $18 charge to setup the cutout shape to their specifications. I waive that if they are buying 10 or more of the same ornament. This is to discourage a customer wanting four ornaments and to have each one a different shape with different text.

Have fun....

[Robert Santiago]

Thank you all for precious information.