Monday 20 August 2012

What Price?

Hello again, hope you are managing to keep warm in this chilly weather...well, it is chilly in the Adelaide Hills at the moment! And let's not start on the rain. Never mind, we will be desperate for it in six months time...
Ok, a little bit further along the path that I started on in my last blog, An Authentic Life. I very briefly touched on the price of things, or their value. This also relates to pricing your items to sell, if that is the direction your making takes you in.
Now, if you do want to sell you items, how do you charge a reasonable amount? You had to design the item, source the materials to make it, plus all the extras that go into producing it (threads/glue/buttons etc). You need to develop the item, so that it is of high quality and suitable for its purpose. You then have to actually make the item. Bearing all this in mind, a rule of thumb I have come across is that you should charge about 2.5 times the amount that the materials cost you. Now, all us crafters know that the price of materials can be quite high! So it can be quite uncomfortable when someone implies your are overcharging for your item! It's true that people could buy a cheap mass-produced item for a lot less than you are charging. But your item is unique and special. So, be proud of what you made! Don't undercharge. And let people know the care that went into that one-off item.
If you are charging a reasonable price for your work, you are also supporting other crafters to charge reasonable prices for their work.
Ok, off the soapbox now! I hope this has given you a little to think about, and maybe even make you look more kindly on the prices people are charging at markets or on Etsy.
Keep warm
Jo xx
http://www.facebook.com/theraspberrywren?ref=hl

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