Pricing suggestions

[Green Aura]

I need some advice.

Following fashion tips from my gal I understand that beanies are old hat and slouch beanies are the new titfer of choice

So I made a couple to see how they sell. Both made out from Noro wool (approx £8 a skein).

I sold one yesterday but the customer really pulled her face when she found out it was £35. It was made of 2 full skeins so cost me £16-ish before I started. It is unique and handmade and took a while to devise the pattern then crochet it but now I'm feeling like I ripped her off. There's a "designer boutique" near (70 miles away ) and I know it would have cost £60 at least in there because I went in there to get some idea of pricing.

Any idea of what I should be charging? Or do these people think I should make things for nothing - OH says I should give up but I enjoy designing the patterns and making them and they seem to sell - even with shocked looks!

[Annpan]

Pricing handmade stuff is a nightmare and everyone I know who sells wrestles with it at some point.

I have heard a few theories and formula...
(minimum wage + materials + overheads) x 3 = starting price, this is the price you would sell direct to a customer, leaving you room for maneuver if you are selling through another outlet who usually split 50:50

I work at £15 per hour (ish) but I cover all my costs in that... including materials and overheads... some things the materials cost a fortune, others they are pennies.

Thing is, most people are used to the prices in high street stores and very few understand the value in 'handmade' Others think they could make it themselves and would never pay. It helps me to think of a Star*ucks coffee... in my house it costs me 5p or something to make a coffee and yet, every now and then if we are out we might buy a coffee from a star*ucks type place... it costs £2.40.

I try to apply the same reasoning to my products.... people ARE willing to pay a bit more for the service, for the individuality and for the skill and you need to price accordingly. But then you get into the territory of presentation and marketing... and making it look worth the money... and that's a whole other show...

So yes, I think £35 is appropriate, but only if you can sell them at that price... if not, or if your formula doesn't add up, maybe you need to find a more economical material, or (and this is my cheat) use chunky needles so things are made in super fast pace.

[Millymollymandy]

I somehow found myself watching some telly programme about people starting up in new businesses making things and one of them was knitting chunky scarves on enormous needles, took her 3 1/2 hours to make one and they were going to retail at about £160 in Jigsaw (personally don't know the shop from adam). Hand knitted (or crocheted) is and always was, very expensive so my view is if they don't like those prices they should learn to make their own . I think your price is a good one.

[theabsinthefairy]

Saw the same programme MMM - knitted by the nation handmade scarves, anyway, Ann Pan is right. The prices of handmade things are a devil to work out, you need to set some sort of formula and try to stick to it other wise you do yourself out of money and the time you spent making it when you could have been doing something more profitable.

I sell hand made beanies and berets, but mine are mostly made from recycled wool that has not cost me anything, and I usually knit in the evenings when I am just watching TV, so on that minimum wage no materials cost basis I charge not very much for my hats.

Once you start to factor in expensive wools etc, costs obviously have to go up to reflect the increased costs to produce the item, and a handmade item should be a premium quality item and that reflects in the price in comparison to high street economies of scale prices - which you cannot compete with. Stress the quality of the wool, highlight its homemade uniqueness and time that goes into making each item with love, and you may find that £35 is too low a price.

[JulieSherris]

I know I'm not selling crafts, but I didn't know what to charge for eggs & plants & the birds either.
I know folks who charge anything up 5 euro for a dozen eggs, but knowing how much you can buy eggs for in the shops, I think that price is way too steep, so I just charge a euro for half dozen - doesn't matter if they are hen eggs or duck eggs, all egg boxes are a euro.

Then when I sold my birds at the bird sale, I charged a tenner per bird - yes, I know I usually pay 20 euro for a duck, but I've always bought laying ducks & the ones I was selling were just 8 weeks old. The 8 to 10 week old chicks were 7 euros - 2 for a tenner.

Next is plants.... a cauli plant or pea plant is 50cents - potted into individual pots & larger than the shop ones - but even here deep in country world, folks are asking when the veg will be ready & don't really want to buy plants to grow!
That said, I sold 12 pea plants for 5 euros to one lady.

Now, I think along these lines..... I'd rather sell my eggs at 1 euro for 6 & get them sold rather than have any left to throw away (I don't throw them away, I boil them for the birds & dogs) and they are our spares anyway.
Selling those pea plants have paid for the pea seeds & we now have free peas for the year once they grow.
Selling the birds at a low price has paid for the bird feed & all put together, it's enabling me to have these 'hobbies' and whilst I'm not making a fortune, or a profit even, it's helping us to live the lifestyle of our choice.

But like I said, I'm not selling handicrafts. I've just made a crochet bedspread for our bed - it's a superking size, so the bedspread is 7 foot square! If I sold that & worked out the hourly rate alone, it would cost hundreds!
I don't envy you having to put prices on your goods, but I wish you all the luck in the world & hope you sell heaps & heaps!

[Susie]

I think £35 is fine (especially for Noro!) but I just had another thought - if it's an original pattern, have you thought of making it available for download (for a charge) on Ravelry? It wouldn't affect your sales of actual hats I wouldn't think. Only you're absolutely right, slouch beanies do seem to be really fashionable, and I think I've seen more knit than crochet patterns so it might be quite popular. I think people normally charge about $2-5 (not a lot but then a lot of people might download it!).

Also, are sure she wasn't grimacing in a 'ooh bugger this is £35 and I've spent all my money this month. Never mind, it's worth it and I'll buy it' kind of a way?

[Green Aura]

Thanks folks. I didn't think it was too much, I would pay it, but sometimes the customers want so much for so little.

I've recently made some perfume, it took two years to mature, and is absolutely gorgeous. I can't sell it until I get it safety assessed and in the meantime have lost the flipping recipe, so it's a one off. So I put it in 2ml vials and give it away as a free gift for anyone spending more than £25. I had a couple of (posh) old dears in the other day - they spent £26 between them and paid together so I gave them a vial - the cheeky beggars asked if they could have another!

What can you do?

As for selling the pattern - I very stupidly never write them down - so no two are alike because I never remember how I did the last one. I really must get better organised

[Silver Ether]

You could have given them another emty bottle and said share

[Green Aura]

[Millymollymandy]

Note to Maggie - write down patterns, and more importantly write down your perfume recipes!

[crowsashes]

thats pretty reasonable if you ask me! i usually double the price of what the materials cost to buy. i crochet hats and use acrylic yarn for them ( as they are usually wanted in bright colours) that cost me £2 a ball and just 50p for the wool to do the detail bits. i use 1 ball of each per hat. so i get about £6-7 per hat. they take an evening to make and i usually do it while catching up on my programmes or watching a film. i dont make much, just enough to fund making my own things for the house! what ever i make usually gets spent on the sale yarn in the shop! picked up some lovely balls of multi-coloured 100% wool yarn the other day reduced from £4 down to just 99p :-D

i really should sit and do more but with all this decorating i just dont have the time at the moment!

[Susie]

I've recently made some perfume, it took two years to mature, and is absolutely gorgeous.

It sounds lovely!

[Peppa Pig]

I have two items Im finishing knitting at the mo in Stylecraft and King Cole. Noro is v expensive , are you aiming at the high end market?
I knit items for others but not in the more expensive ranges as with washing, shaping Im afraid unless you have the time to gently wash things and so on something with some percentage acrylic in is my preffered choice.
Is it the case that you knit up stuff in the pricier brands and possibly have less sales or go for cheaper brands and make more of a mark up and possible sell more as more people see them as value for money?

There are some great cheaper wools out there with a wide veriety of pattern,texture effects that wash up better and are easier to clean if you get a food stain etc on.
One of the cheaper brands has just come out with a brand new 100% wool (cannot remember who) but I know that when I looked it up its been v popular.

Clickety click, Happy knitting!

[homegrown]

I think your pretty much on target with the price, some people are just misers who cannot appreciate the quality of time and effort put into handmade goods, anyway eventually when the consumerist paradise falls apart due to extroadinarily high petrol costs, they won't have a choice but to my local made goods

[red]

i think my problem is i just dont buy much stuff so have very little idea of what things cost...