Originally Posted by
jmoriearty
You know, I've been doing wood working for a living for years and have never found a reliable formula for pricing the work I do. Generally, I price things at what I think market/retail value would be. I stay consistent by keeping up with what I have priced things at in the past. One example is turned wood pens. A slim line pen costs me around $3 to make since I buy around 1000 kits at a time. If I sold it at materials plus 25%, it would be sold at less than $5. If I did materials plus labor, it would be sold at $10.50 if I priced my labor at $15 per hour. But, in my region, the market value for a typical slimline pen is about $25. I sell mine at $20-$30 depending on the wood, custom clips, etc.
Another example is a quilt rack out of ash. Materials are about $25 to make it. I sell it for $129 stained and finished. You have to remember that you are putting a value on not just your time and materials, but on your skill and experience. While anyone can buy $25 worth of wood and make a quilt rack, they will not get the same quality and results as when a professional wood crafter does the same. We have years of experience in gluing, shaping, smoothing, carving, routing, and even finishing wood. Most people don't know to seal porous woods with shellac before starting a lacquer finish. Most don't know to use a conditioner or thin sealer on soft woods before staining. It's the little things we know and the skills we have developed over the years that makes our work higher quality that what a DIY would crank out at home to appease his wife.
