I was just giving an example of how I charge for my jewellery. Of course, this formula may well not work for everyone and, when it comes down to it, makers need to charge what they’re happy to sell for.
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I think that if you’re aiming to create a viable business, then what Gaynor @TheReluctantGem says makes perfect sense. If you’re doing it for pleasure alone and don’t care about profits, you can charge whatever you feel comfortable with and what works for you…however, it will never be a sustainable business.
Many products that people like making, such as cards and knitted items, items that require many hours to make or that are usually mass-produced in huge quantities, are probably not suitable products for a profitable handmade business. One of the first things you do when starting a business is to look at demand for your product at the price you would have to charge for it, or a gap in the market. If there is none, why would you even contemplate trying to make a business work with that product?
Of course, if you’re aiming for the luxury end of the market, have a must-have product or a rare skill that can command higher prices, then you can probably charge whatever you want and people will buy it by the bucket-load…but if the demand ain’t there, it just won’t work.
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Christine you have said this in words I couldn’t have expressed better.
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I love your bags and I think they are very reasonably priced, a lot depends on the type of event you are at. I don’t know where you are but they’d go down really well at something like the Rhythm Riot week end event… https://www.facebook.com/RhythmRiotWeekend/
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Oh yeah! This is an ideal location.
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Thanks! I would love to do an event like that, last time I checked at one locally the stall was £60. I just couldn’t afford that initial outlay 
One day though, one day…!
Thank you!
Its hard when you’re just starting up and the working capital isn’t there however it can be well worth the while to save up the pennies to do the more expensive but much more targetted events where your work will be better received. Its the difference between paying £15 and doing a school christmas fayre and selling £30 of the cheaper crochet items and paying £60 and selling half a dozen record bags and cravats at the time and walking away with an order book full of custom requests. I’d ask Santa nicely to loan you the money for the next one, I’m sure he’ll understand.
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I did an art and ceramics event at the weekend, and even people there wanted cheap prices! Didn’t help that some of the ceramics sellers were selling items very cheap, and they would probably just cover their costs. One of the ceramicists asked if I would like a pot for free (and I told him off and said I would pay!) as he made it as a hobby. The funny thing was if we as artists/crafters/designer makers don’t value our own time and skill then why should any paying customers?
One fellow artist misread the price of my textile art crow and thought it said £10 rather than the £100 - she went to pay for it and I had to point the actual price out. She then put it back. The weird thing was her artwork retails at well over the £100 mark so I couldn’t understand the confusion as she obviously understood the value of handmade/artwork.
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You should follow twitter account @forexposure_txt and see how much creative work is worth in the eyes of so many! It is so common for artists and makers of all stripes to be expected to work for free or for very little.
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just checked out @forexposure. I’m not quiet sure how to react! Shocking! Speechless!
Unfortunately Andy @ChompStomp I’m not surprised by the posts on Twitter. I run my husband’s photography business and we get requests to use images ‘for credit’, links to our website or promises of future paid work all the time. Our answer - none of these pay the bills or put food on the table. And if they use them anyway they get a letter from our solicitor and a large bill for breaching copyright.
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Have you seen the programme on BBC1 Money for Nothing. One of the retailers that Sarah sells to is Smithers of Stamford, they have a website. One of the bags in their shop was made from an old leather settee, by one of Sarah’s designer teams, it was for sale at £144 but is no longer available, so presume it has sold.
Your bags are lovely and very retro and would fit in with this shop’s lines. I just wondered if you had thought of contacting any retail outlets (you probably have).
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It’s a shame there are people out there still thinking they can turn up to a craft fair and start selling as a ‘hobby’. Please please crafters remember, as soon as you sell something, it is a business and you have to register with HMRC.
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I keep mentioning this on Facebook when I see people saying they only sell to make enough to buy more supplies, they seem to think that by registering there will be lots of complicated forms to fill in and the tax office will immediately demand lots of money from you. I’ve been self employed for 15 years (firstly as a childminder then as a crafter) and have never made enough profit to pay tax (when I went on a course before startig childminding the person taking the course said that if we needed to pay tax from childminding alone then we needed to check we were deducting all our allowable expenses)
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It’s deceptively easy isn’t it? Most of the form for Self Employment is Yes/NoAnd If its yes (namely you got money in or paid money out) they just ask for a figure.
People think the tax man is out to trip them up.
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I do too but it’s so easy to register. Basic accounts and the taxman pays you back some money if you make a loss.
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Jinkies Kookie… WOW!!! I absolutely LOVE your record bags. I love vintage fairs but I’ve never seen anything like them. I strongly suspect you are actually under pricing rather than over pricing. LOVE LOVE LOVE them.
You’ve put a huge smile on my face! Thank You!
Hi
I have been a stallholder at several craft fairs over the years and used to take it personally when people said an item was too expensive. Eventually the penny dropped and I realised that for many of them it wasn’t that they didn’t like the item, and were unwilling to pay the price, it was just too much for their particular budget. So I don’t fret it now and am pleased when they tell me they like it. Some of my pieces can take days to make and some a few hours so I price accordingly.
Also I believe you have to include in your pricing your level of experience. If you have been a jeweller for say, ten years then you can and should command higher prices than someone who has just started jewellery making. The minimum wage for top end age group is £7.50 per hour which is low for some and they have to deduct their fares, lunches etc… However, for me this is reasonable as I have no travelling expenses, I commute to the end of my garden and I don’t have to get dressed up or even brush my hair if I don’t want to!
Think if you have a tradesman come to your house to do a job such as gardening or erecting a fence, or redecorating a room, the minimum they will charge before including materials is usually in the region of £80-150 per day depending on skills. Some will even charge to come out to give an estimate. Or, you go to a dentist and have to pay quite a sum to put the smile back on your face if you have a broken tooth. Again, we will pay what we can afford for the best option for our budget.
I looked at your record bag and thought it was really quirky and imaginative so I think your pricing is a bit too low. But that’s my opinion. I bought a teeny handmade leather bag recently and I paid £90 (in a sale) for it which, for a unique item, handmade in Britain, is a bargain and I absolutely love it.
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