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Monday, March 3, 2014

Pricing Wrap up

Shame on Me.
I got side tracked, and spaced completely wrapping up this series on Pricing.  I will admit that this subject, like so many began to snowball. The more I dug, the more treasures I found.  The topic is rampant just now. If you were to do a Google Search, it is likely that you would find a multitude of good posts on the subject.

Let's be fair, to all.  There is nothing wrong with what ever mode you choose to use.

I feel very strongly that three times the cost of materials is a good place to start.  If you are new to the craft, and it takes you 6 hours to make a hat, You really should not be charging $10.00 or more an hour for your hats. That is not to say your work is bad, but that it is a standard that is not fair. If that were the case, I would never finish a hat, and just keep racking up the time.  BOGUS BUSINESS PRACTICE that will never get me a sale.

Three times the cost of materials is also a great place for a wholesale price. If you invest an hour or two in a hat, that has two colors in it, each color skein is $3.50, that is $21.00 for a wholesale price. You will have yarn left that you can use for other things, but not likely enough to recreate another adult size hat, so dividing the cost would not be appropriate.

The craft calculator that I posted has merit. It uses some sort of algorithm to set prices, based on your level of experience. I like it, I use it often. I saw a new one today, laid out for people in the sewing industry. It is wonderful because it allows you to set an hourly wage, that you can clearly see.  You will find it here

I respect the artists that have a set hourly wage that they use, on top of the cost of materials.  I have not actually put that method into practice, even though I have mapped back a price to get one. It is never that high, yet I hiccup at the prices.  They are fair, I am worth it. My skill is what is being used here.  It has taken me years to develop it.

My goal was to get people thinking, and talking. putting a value on a hand made item is not easy.  Putting a value on ourselves is even harder.

We are not the box stores. We do not have access to the mass produced, poorly constructed knit look stuff that comes from factories in other worlds. We should not try to compete with them with our price tags.

We sit in our living rooms, reading patterns, stitching as we listen to the children play, or a program on television. We pull out 8 rows because of an error.  We hold it up and get excited, we decide it needs that color flower, or this color trim work. We invest ourselves into our work. What good is an investment if there is no return?

Until next time

Becky

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