How do I price my work

[montgomery0]

It seems that the time we put in on a project and get nothing but frowns at the price tag.

Say I put 16 hours into some scrill work, used 8 blades and around $12.00 for materials. seems things sell real well if I put the price down to $2.00 per hour for my pieces. In other words , The shelf I put up for $32.00 means I pay for the wood the blades, laquor, etc...That puts me in the $ 1.63 per hour.. Hmmmm. Hmmmm..Dose any one here at SSV have a formula -Cheat sheet- Rule of thumb spread sheet or some thing you use to price and sell your work. I am no asking for any trade secrets, just a guide post or two to help me find my way..

Much Respect...Mark

[mikesscrollsaw]

That's always an issue. Some projects can never be sold for what labor you put in to them. I find that some projects I can basically over charge to make up for the ones that must be undercharged.

 

No easy solution that I've found. Personally I think selling scroll work won't ever be a career. You can make a little money but to really make a living you have to mass produce. And large projects just don't allow that. People dont spend money on hand crafted items at least not where I live anyway.

[Dan]

Where are you selling them (craft show, online)? I did a couple of shows last year and some things that I thought would sell (because I really liked them) didn't sell. I don't know if it was because of the prices or not. On the other hand, I had some ornaments priced at $6 and sold them really fast. That was at the first show. At the second show, I sold the same ornaments for $8 each and sold out of them really fast. I guess my point is, if something sells quickly, maybe consider raising your price on that item and lower prices on other items. I don't keep track of my hours, but I know I've given away a few things for next to nothing, but I feel I've made up for it on other items.

 

Dan

[amazingkevin]

Hello Mark. we've had one scroller that roams around in his motor home and scrolls on the side of the road ,in camp grounds and such and tells us he buys things from the dollar store ,clocks ,etc and incorporates them in his scroll work enough too donate 4000 dollars worth of his sold projects to a good cause .Wish i had the posts to refer you to so you could pm him for more answers your looking for.Maybe one of the scrollers remembers his name and you could look him up in the members list.i do good tradeing work but getting the almighty dollar is a tough one !

[andy chew]

IT TOUGH TOO PRICE THINGS OUT ONE DAY YOU CAN SELL THING LEFT AND RIGHT THE NEXT AT THE SAME SHOW NOT ONE THING. MY RULE OF THUMB IS START OUT HIGHER THEN YOU THINK IT WORTH YOU CAN COME DOWN IF SOMEONE REALLY WANTS IT.(ITS HARD TOO RAISE THE PRICE IN THE MIDDLE OF SELLING IT) I GOT ONE PIECE I CAN'T SELL IT BEEN IN THE PAPER IN A WRITE UP FOR A SHOW HAS DONE VERY WELL IN JUDGINGS ,PATTERN SELLS GREAT. SOMETIME HIGHER PRICE SELL BETTER THEN A ROCK BOTTOM PRICE. CHEAP PRICE PEOPLE WONDER WHAT WRONG WITH IT. ANYWAY A BASE FORMULA I USE FOR SIMPLE PATTERN AND WORK IS $15.-$20. A HOUR . BIGGER WORK AND COMMISSION JOBS YOU CAN GET MORE

[Old Dust]

I do about 30 shows during the "Winter Visitor" season here in Arizona. Mostly at RV/Mobile Home Parks/resorts. As most of you know I do it to raise funds for the Handicapped Camp.

My basic rule of thumb is to stack cut at least 4 at a time. I then use about $20 an hour as the base. That means for a 4 stack cutting my base charge is $5 each. I than add $1 for finishing, another $1 for the dollar store frame. That now gives a base of $7. Now I at least double that for a starting asking price.

If the cutting has won any awards at the County Fair I add another few $$$.

 

Since that does not account for time at a show, I have a number of 'mass produced' items in the $1 to $5 range that, normally, covers the booth charge, and perhaps a little more.

 

A couple of the 'mass produced' items are "HUGS" with a poem, ( 2 for $3, 4 for $5, 10 for $10); Name key rings, 'Love', 'Peace' 'Jesus' etc. ($5) Here "Kokopellies" always sell during that time.

 

Just some of what I do. Hope it helps someone.

 

John

 

Old Dust

[Travis]

Pricing your work is tricky. It is also very dependent on where you're selling your work too. I wrote an article for our newsletter about pricing your work awhile back. It should give you a jumping off point: http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/village ... mber-2009/

[Clayton717]

I keep track of time spent on a project and multiply that by my shop rate. which is .12 cents a minute,(7.20 an hour). I add all my supplies, wood (figured by board feet) and other materials. I do mainly intarsia this way but use this "formula" as a base for everything. It sounds low and may be, but it pays for my supplies, lumber included and I don't have to many projects sitting around.

The way I look at it is I going to be working in my shop making things anyways, so if I can sell something to support my hobby/addiction all the better. I've still have people say its to much(but you always will), but most pay mt asking price and several are repeat customers. My intarsia is my biggest seller, my intarsia prices as of now range from $20. for small items(like praying hands) up to $225 for larger items(eagle). I have a couple in the works that will be more but they are still based on my same formula. time x shop rate + wood = price.

[montgomery0]

Hey folks ,thank you all for putting some thought into this for me and coming up with some some solid guidposts for me to follow. I do not have a camera capable computer yet or for that matter dont even have a camera yet, starting literally from scratch. I will post my work soon. I got a full sheet of 1/8 baltic birch and a half sheet of 3/8 to start some stack cutting as Old Dust suggested. I will do overlay on most of the thinner stock.

Got some nice sized pcs of solid cherry 3/8 inch- mahog-canary- sugar maple. all cupboard doors so they are nice sized. Am going to read your artical now Travis and thanks again everyone.......Much Respect Mark

[Xray]

I think people have become jaded, and well,,, just plain cheap, in the dollar store age.

You can get some pretty neat things for $1, all cut on a laser or CNC router, mass produced, and drop shipped from China.

That has cut the bottom out of alot of hand made crafts, and people really expect you to practically give stuff away.

Not that I have much experience with selling, I don't ... But thats the impression I get.

 

I think the key is finding something unique, eye catching.

Something that doesn't look like it came from a shipload of Chinese products.

Exotic wood can turn a drab, ordinary item into something with a wow factor, but of course the cost can be far more than domestic.

Also, when profit is a factor, it will pay to stack cut as much as possible. Theres not much more effort involved to make 4 instead of 1, that right there will drastically cut down your per hour calculations.

[Just don't stack cut anything that has a bezel, unless you don't mind them coming out different sizes].

[wombatie]

An old friend of ours used to say:

 

Total cost of materials used multiplied by 2 and add 10%.

 

I sometimes go by this but not always.

 

Marg

[mikesscrollsaw]

Xray I think you hit a good point

 

You've got to have a product people want, and can't find mass produced at walmart or the dollar tree. (sometimes easier said than done)

 

I've only been trying to sell for less than a year now but Christmas ornaments was a big hit. I think that time of year people are looking to spend money and it's a little easier.