Cost vs Pricing

[cjudas]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this post but I am gonna ask anyhow.

If you are selling items, how do you price them? I have sold some but for the most part I have pulled the price out of my butt. Does anyone have a "formula" to come up with their pricing? If I figure in cost of materials, general overhead and my time I feel like I'm way over priced. How do you figure what your time is worth?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Chris

[Digitalwoodshop]

I start with the rule... Price it 3 to 4 times the material cost....

Hobby Rules apply and Just have fun with it...

Good Luck....

AL

[dbemus]

I generally charge $10 an hour for machine time plus the cost of materials. Then make a judgment on what the customer is willing to pay and adjust accordingly. I'm retired and this is a hobby so my time is not so much of an issue.

[myshop1044]

Pricing depends if it is a custom job or craft show, on the craft show items, I use the age old theory, " ask your wife what she would pay for it and you can bank on that price" .

[Digitalwoodshop]

When I was doing the Craft Show stuff a Bear Clock would sell all day for $35.00 but not for $45.00...

AL

[myshop1044]

Al, you are correct, profit per unit does not have to be great when you sell a lot of units in a day or get orders
for them.

[normrichards]

I try to price similar items and then go out for flea markets or shows and throw out a few different prices when people ask. I don't individually price items, then you soon learn which price point seems to garner the most sales. I then look at my costs and time to make the item and see if that item is worth continuing to make and sell. When I come up with a new product I will only make a few and based on my sales and price point I end up with I determine if the item is worth continuing to make and sell.

[Digitalwoodshop]

I try to price similar items and then go out for flea markets or shows and throw out a few different prices when people ask. I don't individually price items, then you soon learn which price point seems to garner the most sales. I then look at my costs and time to make the item and see if that item is worth continuing to make and sell. When I come up with a new product I will only make a few and based on my sales and price point I end up with I determine if the item is worth continuing to make and sell.

That is really EXCELLENT Advice on not going Compulsive Craft Crazy and making a BUNCH of stuff like I did.... The Quilting Girls were all excited when I could make Quilt Racks and with a few shows on the Horizon I went nuts....

Sold only a few... When it came time to open the Granny's Wallet.... it didn't happen.... But a stroke of luck happened when at a Craft Show 2 Guys looked at the Quilt Rack and asked if I could turn the rails up on END and put 6 Rails to hold CD's... Hence the CD Rack was born... Then I was going to a Wine Show and built a tray to hold Wine then a idea came to SAND bottle holder divots into the rails... Hence.... The WINE / CD / BOOK Rack came to life.... And they sold WELL.....

I think I still have 80% of the Quilt Rack sides... To make more rails will cost more than I can get the the Quilt Rack...

Good Luck....

[cestout]

I start with $40 (rounded up) a sqft for the carving then adjust for the wood above pine and complexity of the design (design time). I have to up the price on one site I work with because they charge 10% but and their pay methoe, WePay charges about 3 as does PayPal.
Clint