“$70 for a t-shirt?!”
“I love your website, but everything on it is overpriced!”
“Your stuff is too expensive.”
“Are you rich or something?”
“I could make that for $5.”
“Sorry, but that’s a rip-off.”
“$80 for a hoodie? You’re not Gucci.”
I’ve heard it all. It’s not something I hear often, but any other seller will tell you- you remember every comment like this. They get under your skin. They fester. The next thing you know, you’re a walking rage zombie! At first it made me worry that my prices were too high. And even now that I have years of success under my belt and wonderful repeat customers that assure me my stuff is worth every penny, the rude comments still hurt my feelings sometimes.
This is my job. It may not be like your job. I don’t have a boss or regular hours, and I don’t have to drive to work or even get dressed for it (heh), but this is how I pay the bills.
I’m always tempted to asked these people, “How about I come down to where you work and tell your boss you’re overpaid?” Because that’s essentially what they’re saying to me. Why not be rude right back? But I’m too polite to do that (and afraid of karma).
Because I think a lot of these comments stem from a lack of awareness versus rudeness, I decided to write this article to shed some light on the work that all of us that run a handmade business are doing… including all the behind-the-scenes stuff you probably never even think about. (And that most of us don’t charge for.)
And sure, some people will still be rude doucheballoons. That’s life. Karma will be all over their asses.
But maybe I can just make a few people think, “Oh, I hadn’t realized how much work goes into that!”
[Note: If you are a handmade seller looking for guidelines on how to price your items, please don’t use this article as a model for your own pricing. THIS IS NOT A PRICING GUIDE. It’s not how I price my items, it’s merely a representation of the massive amount of time it takes to create and sell a handmade item. As you’ll see below, I am a hypocrite when it comes to underpricing. Please do as I say and not as I do. Read this guide for pricing instead, if that’s what you’re looking for.]
Step 1: The design phase
I sketch most of my ideas before I start cutting. Sometimes it’s completely spontaneous. I just start doodling and see where it takes me. Other times I have exactly what it will look like all planned out, and I want to get it down on paper so I don’t forget anything.
It’s usually just a quick scribble of pen or pencil on paper. Other times I take more time. I’ll add color with colored pencils or do the sketch 4 or 5 times before nailing down a particular design.
Since most of my sketches are quick, we’ll say the total time spent sketching one piece is 5 minutes.
Sketching: 5 minutes
Step 2: The drafting phase
I make a lot of one of a kind designs, which naturally requires some drafting. This can range from drafting an entirely new pattern to altering an existing pattern in my collection.
For most custom orders, I redraft my pattern to match the customer’s measurements, as most people don’t fit into “standard” sizing.
This shirt is pretty simple, so it only took about 15 minutes
Step 3: The cutting phase
This is another step that varies from piece to piece. My fairytale coats take at least 2 hours to cut because there are so many pieces. A simple tube top might take me 20 minutes. A zip-up hoodie takes an hour or more.
Again, this one is pretty simple, so it only took 30 minutes
Step 4: The sewing phase
The most time consuming of all the steps, but one that also varies depending on an item. The formal dresses on my site, like the Nightshade dress, can take more than a full day to assemble. Same with the coats. A tube top takes 30 minutes, but a hoodie takes 3 hours.
This one took about an hour and 15 minutes. 75 minutes
Step 5: The photo phase
I usually make a big batch of items and photograph them all at once to make it easier. Because photos are The Most Important part of selling an item online, I like to be thorough. I generally take a modeled photo, a photo on the dressform, and a detail shot of the item.
This is one of the few steps that pretty much takes the same time, no matter what. I spend about 20 minutes on hair and makeup. Photographing 15 clothing items takes about 3 hours. Dividing the whole 3 hours and 20 minutes by 15 gives us 13 minutes per item.
Photographing the item: 13 minutes
Step 6: The measuring, weighing, and inspection phase
Before I put the completed items on the garment racks to wait to be sold, I measure and weigh each piece. I also take this time to inspect each one for any detail I might have missed before: stray threads, a skipped stitch, etc. Then they get a good going over with the lint roller and are put away.
Measuring, weighing, double-checking: 5 minutes
Step 7: The photo editing phase
The most tedious phase of all. I have to pick through all the modeled shots I take and find the ones where I’m not making a stupid face, blinking, or blurry. I adjust the light and color balance, crop, resize, and I add my watermark.
Editing the photos for one piece takes 30 minutes.
Step 8: The listing phase
When I add an item to my website, I have to upload the photos, write the listing description, and decide on a price. If I also list the item in my Etsy shop, I can copy most of that information, but it still takes time. It probably takes about 10-15 minutes to complete the original listing and 5-10 more minutes each time I relist in one of my other venues. But for simplicity’s sake, let’s just say 15 minutes.
Listing an item: 15 minutes
Step 9: The marketing phase
Listing isn’t enough. The second most important component of selling an item online (photos being most important, as I mentioned before) is promotion. If you don’t get the word out, no one will know your stuff is there! For the time it takes me to promote one item on the various social networking sites, 20 minutes is a conservative estimate. (This doesn’t even take into account if I actually purchase advertising.)
Marketing an item: 20 minutes
Step 10: The shipping phase
Once an item sells, I have to get it packed up and ready to ship. I spend about 5 minutes tagging and folding and another 5 minutes packaging and labeling. Then I email a shipping notification to the customer.
Note: Most sellers actually drive your package all the way to the post office and stand in line. They’re not only spending time doing that, but they’re spending money on gas. I didn’t figure that into my calculations because I print my labels at home and have the post office pick my packages up, but for some sellers, this is a big Time Hog.
Packing and shipping: 10 minutes
Grand total
Sketching: 5 minutes
Drafting: 15 minutes
Cutting: 30 minutes
Sewing: 75 minutes
Photographing: 13 minutes
Measuring: 5 minutes
Photo-editing: 30 minutes
Listing: 15 minutes
Marketing: 20 minutes
Shipping: 10 minutes
218 minutes or 3 hours and 38 minutes.
I’m going to stop right here and point out again that this is. not. how. I. determine. my. pricing. I do not time each and every part of making an item. That would be tedious and also I would freak out even more than I normally do about there not being enough hours in the day.
However, to put the amount of time it takes to create one of my items in the context of price, let’s do the math.
I would say my “goal” wage right now is $20 an hour. I used to use $10 as my goal, and then I realized that I could go get quite a few entry level jobs at that rate, and I’m not doing an entry level job. I have 8 years of experience and skill. $20 is a much more appropriate wage for skilled labor.
(And for those that think $20 is a huge wage, a full time job at that wage is equivalent to a salary of a little over $40,000 a year before taxes. Middle class in the US by every standard. On top of that, there’s no sick pay, vacation time, retirement or health insurance. If you still think it’s too high, then I can only shrug and continue on.)
At $20 an hour, this top cost $73 to make. That’s only time/labor, of course. Materials for this top cost $18, bringing our total to $91.
Even with being overly anal about calculating labor and materials, we’re still not anywhere near the true cost, because of “overhead”.
You can make the case that taking photos, editing photos and listing the items all should count as overhead. But so should the TON of time I spend doing extraneous things not counted on this list. Responding to customer emails is a huge one. Every time someone asks a question about an item, it’s another 5 minutes, at least. For the average custom order, I spend at least an hour emailing back and forth with the customer, sketching, shopping for materials, etc. Probably more like two or three hours.
A lot of people also have to drive to the post office (gas money) and stand in line (more time) to ship. I ship from home, because I got REALLY sick of that game. But I still often drive to the post office to get my orders in the mail TODAY, if I missed my mail carrier already. I had to buy a postal scale, and I pay a subscription fee for my print-at-home service.
I offer free shipping from my website, so there’s another cost that comes right out of the price of the item.
I have to order fabric and supplies. I try to clean and oil my machines and vacuum my studio at least once a week. Not to mention the actual cost of sewing machines, computers, utility bills, Etsy and Paypal fees, rent and utilities.
In most standard pricing models, you double the “at-cost” price for wholesale to cover the overhead and then you double the wholesale price for retail! That would put me at over $350.
I would be surprised if there were many handmade sellers using that kind of pricing model, though more power to them if they’re able to.
Let’s say I added on $10 to account for overhead to make it $101. That’s still my wholesale price, which I would then double that for retail – $202.
Yowzers. Obviously, I don’t use this method to price my items. Did I already mention that before? Oh, twice? Okay then.
In reality, I charge about $90 for this top, which coincidentally is the “at cost” price using the above formula.
I don’t point that out for pity’s sake. The responsibility to price things to meet my own goals and needs is on me. Like many artists, I choose to price where I’m comfortable knowing it will sell.
(And now I’m busted. Those of you who know me will have no doubt heard me preaching about the evils of undercharging, yet here I am committing the cardinal sin myself. For shame!)
When you buy a top at Walmart, someone was paid a decent wage to design the top ONCE, and then a person halfway across the world was paid a few cents an hour to make 1000 of them. Total time and materials for a single top at Walmart is maybe $3. If they sell it for $15, they’re marking it up FIVE TIMES the cost.
My stuff isn’t marked up at all, and neither are most handmade artisan goods. Even so, our time is more expensive than a sweatshop worker. But when you buy handmade instead of buying from a corporate giant, you’re getting a lot of things from us that they can’t offer. Handmade means we care about quality and attention to detail. Sweatshop workers care about one thing: make it as fast as possible. Handmade means we care about customer service. All corporations care about is that green stuff in your wallet. Handmade means you’re helping the local economy. Corporations mean you’re helping some rich greedy jerk get even richer.
A few people have responded to this article that just because I WANT to get paid $X an hour doesn’t mean I SHOULD or WILL. And they are absolutely correct. But that’s not the point of the article.
Others have commented that my process is too slow. Time yourself the next time you make a project, start to finish. I can promise you I thought I was a lot faster before I wrote this article. If you can do what I do, and do it faster, kudos to you. But that’s still not the point.
The point is: Don’t be a jerk. I put a lot of time and effort into my pieces, which is what I’ve tried to illustrate here. If you don’t appreciate that, that’s okay.
All I ask is that the next time you’re going to open your yapper about the price of someone’s handmade goods, think before you speak. (And if you’re still tempted to be a jackass, then at least remember the Golden Rule and keep it to yourself.)
And lastly, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of my kickass customers, who are NOT the people that make the comments at the beginning of this post. With their support and appreciation, I am able to do something I love.
For more on this topic, check out these great articles:
- The Project Workbench: Materials, Time, Creativity
- TwinkieChan: Trader Joe’s Yogurt and $9 Wine
- SomerSherwood: The True Cost of Handmade
387 thoughts on “Why handmade is “so expensive””
Your work is fantastic! I am glad you no longer care what others think. You clearly make a phenomenal product, well-made, unique, creative, and beautiful. I think sometimes people who don’t craft and sell their crafts understand exactly how much time, energy, and money goes into the entire process. Great post! Keep up the incredibly amazing work 🙂
I do give this post of yours a standing ovation! So true!!
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This is a very well thought out and insightful post. I must confess I am one of the “$80.00 ~ that’s way to expensive!” people, but after reading your post I have a better understanding of why the price seems so high in comparison to shop bought items.
I think the modern consumers are spoiled by sweatshop = low prices and because we often over~consume instead of saving to buy quality pieces you get this everything needs to be cheap mentality. And I know that I struggle with this allll the time!!
Thank you for writing this Lex, it is a needed wake up call. 😀
xox,
bonita of Depict This!
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This is absolutely one of the best articles I’ve read on this subject – and a great way to break it all down! Saving this as a link if I ever get that question! Thank you.
great break-down on the process, … you would have to have experience with running a small business to even have a clue how much of a time commitment and all of the steps that are involved in making it happen… people who have made unkind comments are likely just uninformed.. maybe less so now 🙂
Oh my gosh, YES!!! You are so super fab for taking the time to write this. Every point is true true true.
I LOVE YOU! I will be linking this every-time I hear $15 for a pillowcase dress is too much <3
Thank you for the comments, everyone!
Thank you for writing this and getting it out there for all to see! You’ve no idea how many times a week I have to explain this exact same thing to my clients when they complain about my prices. It’s hard to remain civil and not just boot them out the door.
Anyway, I hope that your bit of education will clarify this issue for as many as possible.
Thumbs up for the handmade revolution!
Great post, Lex! All that time, plus the gas we use driving to get supplies, shipping costs we pay for supplies, machine maintenance, hosting fees for websites…but we do it because we love it!
Thank you for writing this. I’m a big advocate of people buying handmade and custom clothing, and I’m a HUGE advocate of paying the artisans for their time and labor. I get into a lot of discussions with people about “No, that price isn’t a rip-off. Think about what goes into making that item.”
i love this! let’s add in the time it took you to break it all down and write about it here….there are countless moments that don’t get added into a sale! dreams & wake alike, this is the life of working for yourself. 🙂
Thanks SOOOOO much for writing this, Lex! It’s hard not to want to buy handmade goods for the price you find at Wal Mart, but it’s just not realistic. Heck, I even have to tell myself that every time I price my items. Handmade goods aren’t mass produced and that’s what makes them worth the extra money.
Good for you hun! Handmade anything is an art form as far as I am concerned.
You missed income taxes. They takes a nice chunk of profits too 🙁
Thank you for writing this!! I agree 100%.
Also Etsy fees, Paypal fees…
Thank you for writing this. I think its going to be the most shared link on the interwebz eventually…
Absolutely spot on!
I have long maintained that almost everything is way too cheap and, as a result, not valued or cared for by anyone.
Long ago ordinary people owned very few things, and what they had they saved up for years to pay for or they made it themselves, and they probably took a lot more care of their things and repaired them. Things had value.
Great post, and great photos. Also you are very cute!
🙂
WOW! This is a wonderful article! All the things i have thought of, and you have written down. I run a small clothing company in Australia and even though there are some differences in our production and patternmaking etc, at the end of the day SPOT ON! And hats off to you to letting people know how you feel and how hard you work.
Thanks, Paula-Jane 🙂
WOW…thanks so much…I do custom work ONLY at the moment…meaning I too adjust, and measure and size…and it frustrates people when I have to get back with them on how much an item will be…..because I have a LOT of factors to put into place…this was an AWESOME article…thanks so much!
WELL SAID! Excellent response. I don’t sell things I make but have a friend who does and this is a source of much frustration to her too. Great points, well made.
Great article indeed.
I believe each one of us as makers has a duty to educate buyers as to the value of handmade. It breaks my heart to see other handmakers who do not sell at the reasonable (and justifiable) price of a handmade item – its disingenous and does no one any favours.
Keep preaching it.
We’re all handmakers and as such, all on the same side.
I think this should be required reading for anyone who is about to buy on etsy. The only thing that bothers me more than people who expect industrial prices for handmade goods are people who under price themselves. They don’t realize that they are the ones losing out (and losing money) and they make people think that other crafters are overpriced.
On another note, I would like to mention that the cost of goods relative to average income is very low. If everyone were to buy only handmade, they would still be able to survive, but the economy would be more like it was in medieval times. Back then, a carpenter would pay the equivalent of 2 weeks salary for a pair of shoes. He probably only had one pair of shoes, but he was still able to survive with a low income and only handmade belongings.
This is definitely something to think about when buying crafts. You are getting something that you cannot find at the mall, doesn’t that alone make my crafts more valuable?
Your post is very interesting. I go about similar steps too when creating something.
Here is another example about pricing that many people can also relate to:
Let’s pick up a secretary that earns about $38K/year. She (or he, cause I was a secretary some time ago) can buy a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, maybe tempted for a pair of shoes, all that for let’s say $150.
To be able to afford that, she’s been working on some letters. Let’s pick one letter. her boss had made a draft, she made a first review. Letter has been commented by other people, client sees draft, comments back, boss makes changes… simple 1-page letter can easy cost $1,000 if you add all the hourly wages and other overheads.
For sure our proficient secretary can’t afford to buy that letter, but she worked on it for sure, and she did a good job!
Everything is way more expensive than it first appear! As consumers, we have been lured into thinking that things are in some low-end price range because they are mostly made by people that are paid way less than we are, and that industries constantly adapt and automate manufacturing processes.
Thank you for presenting this information! You’ve broken it all down! While I know I am always going to spend hours and hours pattern making, grading, cutting and sewing, I am always stunned at how long it takes to write listings, ship packages and to take the photos. Photos are so labor intensive!
Thank you for speaking the truth, I do not turn much of a profit, I try to stay competitive. But am really rethinking my pricing after this. Your clothing is beautiful. I shared this on my page.
Yep! I totally agree! And if they want Gucci, well, they can go get it, but realize they will be like everyone else that has one (real or fake)! At least with “handmade,” it’s unique which means one of a kind! Besides, how do you think Gucci got started and Louis and Chanel and every other designer??? A big “Hmph” to all you haters!!!
Well said! Go handcrafted! btw: That outfit is totally cute!
Fabulous article! Thank you so much for sharing it – very well said. And I just checked out your Etsy shop, you’re in Kalamazoo, too! 🙂
Excellent read! I think every time I want to under price an item, I’ll have to re-read this article to stop myself!
Fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone – very well said. And I just checked out your Etsy shop and was excited to see you’re in Kalamazoo, too! 🙂
Amen to that, sister!
My daughter forwarded your post. I have had many customs and other orders done for my grandsons and my daughters. They are the most cherished gifts I can give. They take my time and thought and the incredible talents and time of the creators of the projects. I value everything they do – and you laid out the steps perfectly. Except for the custom – there are hours of email communication to make it all work. They take my ideas and turn them into I product that I can’t do. I can never thank them enough or ever regret the fee that they charge.
THank you sooo much! I appreciate the time you took out of your day to write this up, and to point out that our time is valuable as well.
Best,
Amanda
Thank you! I always feel so bad for listing my items for what I do. I always think, “No one will buy this, it’s so expensive!” but I know that I pay a lot of attention to detail and quality–I wear my “prototypes” in extreme situations just to make sure they’ll never break. After reading this, I can safely say now that I won’t think my prices are too high anymore!
I found this post (and blog) through a friend. As an artist and sculpture, I appreciate every step of the process because I go through the same steps. I was actually taught this process method in art school and can tell you that it is used universally, regardless of what type of art or handmade product you produce. The sad part is that this same kind of devaluation happened to me in the Corporate world too as I was once a web designer. Bravo to you for sticking to your guns!
This excellent article is being linked to like crazy on fb today, so I decided to check it out. I appreciate reading about the real cost of handmade items. I would love to purchase everything this way, but the cost is prohibitive. If I review something and mention the high cost of a WAHM item, I am always torn. I don’t want to indicate that I don’t value their work, but I also want to be honest about how something realistically fits into a budget. I don’t purchase clothes at Walmart, but I also cannot afford $75 shirts. So I save handmade for special occasions or specific items I can save up for. I don’t think artisans should undersell their work, but they should also be realistic about the market. You clearly make unique boutique items that people pay premium prices for. That rocks! Some people make items that are time consuming, but cost too much when their real costs are calculated. I might spend $100 on an annual amazing one of a kind dress, but $30 for a wipes case? Not so much, no matter how well crafted.
You bring up a good point, Mindy. The reality of what people will pay absolutely does matter. I can put a $1000 price tag on an item, but if no one buys it, I get $0, and I’m in trouble.
If you’re trying to support yourself with a small business, and you aren’t making enough to do so, it’s time for change. It might be the fault of pricing. It could be not enough marketing. Or maybe people just aren’t interested in buying what you’re selling. The bottom line is, zero sales is zero sales, no matter the reason.
Spot on!
I, like many other commenters, will have to look at this frequently to remind myself it is ok to charge a decent amount for something I have worked hard on! I always feel guilty and think things like “it only took a few hours” or “I got the fabric really cheap” and want to charge far less than I should.
I recently decided upon making slippers for christmas gifts (ha ha I like to start early!) and thought it might come accross as cheap or thoughtless. Then I worked out that a pair of crochet slippers takes 3 hours to make and if I charged for labour what I get paid at work it would cost £20.01 without materials or anything else added – far more than I would spend on some people anyway!
Well said! I think there’s 2 kinds of people, 1. The ones who can look at something and say ” wow that’s a lot of work”, and 2. the people who say ” You charge that much for that”?
Thank you ever so much for this article. I have experience that very same thing! As a matter of fact I had one lady tell how much she was going to pay me for one of my hair pieces I make. And trust me the price she quoted me didn’t even cover the cost of the supplies! I never even thought about all the time that gets consumed with other things like prep work or even clean up and answering emails. So I really appreciate it.
I, certainly, understand and respect the point you’re trying to make. As a consumer, I expect to pay more for custom items (and I do), but I still expect them to be a reasonable amount. While I understand the point you are trying to make, there should be a way for you to streamline your business and cut down on costs. If you do that, your pieces are more affordable to everyone and you won’t have to spend so much time on one item. I guess it’s all about finding a balance. I’m not sure who you are marketing yourself to or how you do it. That all plays into how people respond too. For instance, if you are claiming to be affordable while charging $225 for a simple infant’s A-line dress, you are not accurately representing your business.
On the other hand, it is rude for potential customers to email you that. I’d be offended. If you are out of their price range, it is very simple to scroll right past your listing. I hope you don’t take my post the wrong way. I just thought I’d put a different perspective on things. Best of luck to you.
Not at all, Susan.
I know my prices don’t fit everyone’s budget, and I don’t blame anyone for being unable to afford my pieces. I’d love to be able to support all of the amazing artists and crafters I see, but my budget simple doesn’t allow it. As the Rolling Stones say, “We can’t always get what we want.”
And it’s like you said, it takes no effort to not be rude, but some people choose to do so anyway. (And some of them probably don’t intend it that way, but it is nonetheless.)
Wow,it is so true,see everybody agreed,because not made in China but in USA,damn it!!!!
I think you should raise your prices, honestly. Sure, you have materials and a minimal labor cost covered, but there nothing built in for overhead or profit margin. If a sewing machine breaks, or you want to advertise, or pay for decent packaging materials, you’ve got to factor in those expenses.
And sure, sometimes handmade can seem expensive. But the customer is often getting a one of kind product that they’re not going to see on someone else…
I know… I badger my friends to raise their prices all the time, but it’s hard to take my own advice!
I like to think my custom pricing is better than my ready to wear, but in reality, with the extra time it takes to make custom items, it’s probably about the same.
Thank you for this article! I’ll admit, I was one of the â??$70 for a t-shirt?!â?? type of people. But I’d honestly never given thought to all of the time and materials put into homemade things. Your article really helped explain everything better, and now I can see prices on things and have a much better mindset about it. 🙂
Fantastic article and very well said I posted this to my facebook page and I hope everyone reads it!
Great article. I am also a handcrafter with an online shop, and I totally agree with your assessment. When you buy handmade, you’re buying personally handcrafted good quality stuff that was lovingly made one piece at a time! I also love that shirt… Thanks for the wonderful words! <3
Love it! I am also a handcrafter with an online shop, and I totally agree with your assessment. When you buy handmade, you’re buying personally handcrafted good quality stuff that was lovingly made one piece at a time! I also love that shirt… Thanks for the wonderful words! <3
Are you selling your products regularly? If not, I’d agree with Susan above, who suggested trying to find ways to lower your supply costs or streamline some of your steps somehow. I love looking through things on Etsy for my little girl, but I will absolutely scroll past things that don’t fit into my budget unless it’s a super special occasion. If people bypass you because your prices are high, you aren’t earning anything. And if you are selling a lot, you still may benefit from doing so – you could keep your prices the same and earn a better profit.
Also, while I totally understand charging enough to cover your costs and make yourself some profit, I don’t really like the reasoning that it’s your job and this is how you pay your bills. You don’t have to do this for a living. You do it because you love it. And that’s wonderful! But you can’t say, “I’m charging this much because I need to earn X this month”. That’s like selling a house for $300,000 just because that’s how much you need to be able to afford your next house. The consumer will pay what they feel a product is worth. They’re not going to pay $300,000 for a $250,000 house just to help out the seller.
Custom items can be really cool, especially if you’re looking for something very specific, but on the other hand, I also agree with Mindy about not wanting to pay high prices for ordinary or extravagant things like wipes cases. The few things I have bought on Etsy I’ve been super excited about and happy to shell out the money for. And I made sure to let the people who made them know that I loved the items. But I bypassed sooo many other items that quite similar because they cost too much. I guess you just have to be careful not to price yourself out of your market. People may pay for quality, but most will shop around and compare prices.
“Also, while I totally understand charging enough to cover your costs and make yourself some profit, I don’t really like the reasoning that it’s your job and this is how you pay your bills.”
What reasoning for determining a wage would be more satisfactory than what is required to eat and pay the rent, at the very least?
You say I choose to do this for a living. (And yes, there are plenty of days when I love what I do, but there are also days when I would rather do anything else than look at a sewing machine, believe me.)
Doesn’t everyone choose their job? If I decided to quit sewing and become a nurse, aren’t I choosing that also? And don’t I have the right then to determine what wage I want to work for? (Obviously, no one has to pay me that wage, but then I also have the right to not take the job.)
With your house example, I think many people have probably priced the home they’re selling exactly like that. And why shouldn’t they? The market determines the price of the house. A home that sells for $250,000 one year might very well sell for $300,000 or even $500,000 another year. The way things are now, though, it’s probably more likely the opposite. 🙁 I should hope that a seller would at the very least price their home so they won’t be losing money if they sell it. And if they can’t sell it for that, then they’re probably better off not selling it at all.
Which brings me to my final point, which is that obviously if no one was willing to pay my prices, then I’d better find another line of work, or make some changes. But that isn’t the point of my article, nor is it the case with my business. I’ve been in business for 8 years, and it’s only occasionally that I’ve heard the comments that inspired this article. The point of writing it was not only to vent a little at the rudeness, but also to put some perspective into the work that goes into my pieces. I think some people are under the mistaken impression that I’m spending 5 minutes frankensteining a t-shirt and then slapping an $80 price tag on it.
I absolutely understand not being able to afford my stuff. Heck, I can’t afford my stuff! But I’m not my target market, in terms of income level. Everyone has different circumstances and thus different budgets. That’s why there are new cars for $15,000 and new cars for $150,000.
This is a WONDERFUL insight into some of what goes into being a one-woman [or man] handmade business. GREAT WRITING! I think people just don’t realize all the other things that go into running a business. They are so used to paying factory-line prices. When I rattle off all the jobs I do, it opens people’s eyes. It’s nice to see someone write it all out so well. 🙂
I do $10 an hour, plus expenses and 5% for over head…(probably still low, but more than I make at my day job. I ask any of the critical posters on this post to try there hand at bending stainless steel into anything. And don’t stop when your hands get sore.
Most of the other artist that make things in my style charge $20-$35 an hour plus double materials and 5% over head.