A price to pay

[tinytim1458]

Hope someone can help

When you have made or built your projects how do you begin to price your product so as to sell it.
Of course you do not want to overprice it but also you want to make sure you have made a small profit after the costs of making it so that you can begin to buy newer tools that you need to do better or finer products.

Where also are the best places to start to sell your products if you have never sold anything you have made before at all

What are the best finishes that people like to buy, is it leaving it plain, staining it or painting it.

Thanks Tim

 

[Supernova9]

A Quick search of the forums gave these:

what-s-your-cost-per-item-produced-t44677.html?hilit=pricing%20up%20job

pricing-up-how-much-profit-t45156.html?hilit=pricing%20up%20job

how-much-should-i-charge-t44819.html?hilit=pricing%20up%20job

I'd suggest you make some things first seeing as you're very new to the world of woodworking and see if anyone would like to buy them rather than rushing in making things for the purpose of selling them.

 

[miles_hot]

I'd agree you need to get the skills (and hence the speed) up as you'll never recoup your time otherwise. For instance turning - it used to take me all day to make a good sized bowl, i is now down to 2-4 hours. Well done me....or not - when I asked Mark S how long a bowl brought to the bash would have taken to get to the point of cutting it around with a carving tool (i.e. to get to a finished bowl) it seems 20-40 mins was acceptable. So some way to go yet then Mind you my little lathe will not take that sort of cut so that's my excuse however reality says I need to get a damn site faster and more accurate before I'd even be able to charge enough to cover my time.
I suspect the same (only more so) in the flat world
Miles

 

[clk230]

your best bet is to post some pics of your work and ask for opinions on standard of design/finish ,all comes down to what your times worth if you start selling alot you'll have to register as self employed and stop claiming some benefits though

 

[Danielb]

You need to work out how long it takes you, how much you need to live on and what your overheads are and other costs. Once you know the above look around to see what your product is worth.

Think about if your product is unique to others to work out the price to charge.

 

[Jensmith]

Wouldn't it be best if you posted photos of your work on here then at least people get an idea of what you're making and what quality it is?

I think the main driver is to find out what people are prepared to pay. If you're new to woodturning like me then I wouldn't really expect to command a high price. I'd be looking to cover my costs initially.

You have to be able to turn out these things pretty quick if you want to make a profit. Although not woodturning, I know how hard that is as people just rant willing to pay for labour what with the recession.

Why should they buy from you as opposed to someone else? What's your unique selling point? What are you looking to gain from it? Cover cost of materials/ buy new equipment etc etc

I think you might struggle to be honest. I know I have. It's not exactly a cheap hobby either...

 

[tomatwark]

Hi Tim

As others have said it is really a case of the quality of your work and the speed you can make it.

There are alot of people who try to sell things at craft fairs and do not make alot of money.

The other thing is show your work on here we will give you an honest view, but don't be upset if we don't think it is good enough to sell, we all have to start somewhere and practice makes perfect as well as speeding up your work rate.

Friends and family are not the people to ask, they will always say your is great and make you think you can suceed.

I have been making furniture for over 25 years and have seen lots of people set up and fail because they do not reailse how long things take to make and find that they can not charge enough to make money.

The other thing you will need to think about, is if you decide to sell at craft fairs is that you will probably need public and products liablity insurance.

As for pricing your work you really need to work out how long it is going to take. You need to decide how much you need to live off, how much your workshop is costing ( even if it is just the electric) and also allow extra for replacing and upgrading tools.

If you are working from home, woodworking can be a noisy job and your neighbours while not objecting to you doing it as a hobby may well not like you doing it for a living.

I hope this has not put you off and I would always have a try if you think you can make it work.

Tom

 

[Blister]

Tim

as you are selling your lathe , what are you intending to make now ?

I dont think you have ever posted a image of anything you have made so far ?

so why not post up some images for us to see

Allen

 

[motownmartin]

Hi Tim

I make a few pieces in view of selling, I do a few craft fairs and people do pass favourable comments but many are not keen to let their cash go.

Its difficult to price things, if you price too low, people get a bit suspicious or if you price too high people say I am not paying that much, having said that, if you are selling something that is unique and well made, there are folk at there that will pay for it, its just finding them.

The craft fairs coupled with my website get me enquiries for commissions, some I do and some I dont, I prefer to design and make my own products and the judge peoples reaction to things which gives me an idea of what to make.