“$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””
A-MEN sister!!
Thanks for putting up this post. I’m a glass artist, and sometimes I see listings where I know they’re not even covering the cost of materials. It takes me a very long time to do the cleanup between the multiple firings and to prepare the firings, and each item is fired one at a time, so not an assembly line at all-next person who says,”so you put a bit of blue on clear…..” will refer them to this LOL
great article ! Things are exaclty the way you write about it! and becouse people are buying things so cheap in shops they do not even realize why they are so cheap ? and they schould not be!
have you heard about http://www.storyofstuff.com/ ?
xoxo Mada
and good luck with your business 🙂
I don’t think I could have put it better myself. I make sleep masks and I know mine are a little more expensive than other products I have seen on the market, including handmade stuff. But I know how much work and detail I put into it. I have a clear idea of my target market though, adn the consumer who is looking for a cheaper product with less of the frills will go elsewhere. Whereas a customer who is looking for a bit more frill will come to my store. Thanks for your article!
THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! Thank you for writing this and making it so clear how much work it takes! I will be sharing this on my personal and my business page!
So glad you posted this! How many of us have experienced this problem….I sell at craft markets in London and the Home Counties, and I get really upset at people’s attitude and – sometimes – behaviour. I make Shetland Lace scarves and shawls, Fair-Isle berets, and crochet flower brooches. Sometimes people come and pull the stuff around with their sticky fingers when they’ve been eating, say how nice it is, and then demand to have one for half-price…..
No-one would ask a jeweller, furniture-maker, glass-blower, whatever, if they can have something on the cheap, so why do they make the same demand of textile artists? The MATERIALS aren’t cheap, for a start…I always use either Shetland or Manos del Uruguay yarn. Then there is the time I devote to making the stuff!
No, my stuff isn’t cheap, this is because i’s GOOD, actually!
You forgot about PayPal and Etsy provision, they take a lot from the income.
I once heard “I’d like you to take 10 EUR (which was about 1/3 of the price then) off the price for me because it’s supposed to be a gift and I’m not sure if she will like it”. Seriously.
Minnie, explain please why you think that photo editing is not necessary? I find this statement baffling.
Jane Ennis: Actually they do (as a jeweller for cheaper price ;)).
Thank you for this post…:D Love it.
I have just “discovered” you through finding this post shared on Facebook, but I wanted to stop by and thank you.
My husband builds custom furniture as a “side job”, and would love to do it full-time, but of course we hear the same comments a lot – they can, after all, buy a chair at Wal-Mart for $20, so why is he charging $150? *sigh*
I even find this theory applies to many service providers. Most people don’t care to think about what it costs their hairdresser, masseuse, therapist, chiropractor, or whomever to keep the doors to the office open every day (utilities, rent, marketing, and on and on), not to mention amortizing the cost of their education, and paying for their skill and experience.
Bah!
Thank you for saying it so well!
Thanks for the wonderful article! I was in the camp of unbelievers before who scoff at clothing that tops $50 a pop, but this breakdown of time and expenses makes SO MUCH SENSE.
It’s still too rich for my blood at this point in my life, but someday when I’m making $20/hour I’ll make sure to purchase something from your shop. 🙂 (That top is ADORBZ.)
L-O-V-E this post! As someone who used to have an Etsy shop and was constantly asked if I could offer discounts on incredibly customized and detailed cake pops, this is sooo refreshing! Thanks for helping educate the masses!
Thank you! Great article. We all need to hear this often. Most importantly I feel it’s important to remind myself of the yuckiness of buying from big companies that underpay and mark way up. I find myself often making that choice due to less funds than I would like but do we need 4 shirts for our children or ourselves or would 1 or 2 quality shirts do the job.
I love this article! It is truly inspiring. I had been worrying that my items were being priced too high, but here I realize that I’m actually undercharging! Thank you for writing this, you are rad as hell!!
~Pagan
don’t know about you, but, where I live, generations have gotten used to “women who take in sewing” and expect it to be priced accordingly: as in, CHEAP! THe strangest attitude I ran across was when I was living in New Orleans and making costumes to keep things together between real jobs: they’d pay through the NOSE for costumes, but, when I quoted the going price for sewing up a garment, I’d get a SHOCKED look! (I didn’t really want to do it, so that was fine with me LOL) I based my prices on what sample-makers in the NY industry charge. It IS baffling to me that they’d pay whatever I asked for a costume, which is a totally lower standard of sewing to, say, a nice blouse, then balk at paying a fair price for a higher standard. It really goes back to that whole “women who take in sewing” and were grateful for whatever they could get for it.
best come-back to “I can make that for $5” is “Go ahead!!!”
I once had somebody call me about a drawing, pen-and-ink, I had in a gallery. She really just LOVED it but just thought that the $150 price-tag was just too high. She’d be “glad” to offer me FIVE DOLLARS!!! I hung up on her….there were just no words available to me at the time, since my jaw was on the floor. Another one was somebody whose daughter wanted to attend my classes and insisted that I supply her with my resume, five references and be INTERVIEWED by her, and I forget what else…I told THAT one off-politely, which made it even more humiliating for her. It has a lot to do with the “bourgoisie” mind-set. Guess what…the gal showed up and took my class anyway! LOL
I think you’re right. What’s funny is that while people don’t seem to value sewing work, we now live in a time where VERY FEW people actually know how to do it. I had 60 year old instructors in college that asked, “Where did you learn to do that?!” when they found out I sewed.
Your costume example made me laugh, because I always say the same about bridal wear. Sure, I’ll pay thousands of dollars for a dress I’ll wear once! But $50 for a custom made shirt I’ll wear for years? Ridiculous!
I’ve seen the other side of costume requests, as well. When Etsy still had their custom Alchemy section, I couldn’t count the number of requests around Halloween for custom costumes that went like this: They’d link to a five piece $250 costume made by someone else on Etsy and want the same costume made for $50. Their reasoning was always, “Well, I’m only going to wear it for one night.” As if that changes how much work goes into it, not to mention that $50 wouldn’t even have covered materials for the elaborate costumes they were asking for. To top it off, they would complain about the custom made costume they bought last year being of poor quality (I WONDER WHY), so they expect this one to be made with high quality fabrics and not crappy costume fabrics. It got to the point that I had to stop looking at the Alchemy section for my sanity’s sake.
I stopped calling my items “handmade” and started calling them “custom made” years ago.
In reality, when they contract you, they ARE getting a custom made piece. Whether you draft the pattern yourself, or are using a commercial one (I’ve sewn dancers dresses where they bring me a commercial pattern and want it made so that they can dance in it).
I would get a shocked look when I would tell them how much it was going to be “But you’re not a professional”.
Umm, excuse me?
So I agree with you, “handmade” pieces do need to be priced accordingly. If you want cheap, go shop at Walmart or find a home ec student (one with no training).
Well done for putting this so eloquently… I get soooo frustrated when I hear any of those comments about pricing etc. (I’ve had some people really challenged me on this subject and be really rude) I just feel like screaming at them!
Thank you for making me feel my worth again, I will remember your wise words next time I’m confronted by one of those “clients”!!
Very well written article. While I am not a crafty person or even able to comprehend how you make such cool stuff, I am a purchaser of all things local and/or handmade. It’s so hard for me to understand how people fail to understand the externalities of the low cost or cheaply made items junk they buy every day. I wish more folks would understand what it means to actually make something with their own two hands. “I could make that for $5”. Yeah right, I’d love to see you try.
Good on you for such a fantastic, well written article.
A lot of the general public don’t appreciate the time and effort that goes into a handmade item as they are so used to buying cheap, mass produced articles from china and other such countries, not to mention, and don’t get me started on the exploitation of child labour sweat shops.
Again well done and may you have much success and happiness !!!
Cheers Yvette (MikiMoo designs)
Adding more comments, hope this is OK. Totally agree with
@Louise Parks that
“Sewing appears to be one of the most underated skill of all. It really annoys me that people seem to think they can sew when infact they make a horrible botch of it but think that its simple”.
It’s probably true that all little girls are (or were) taught to knit and sew, as a sort of hobby, but doing it PROFESSIONALLY is very different…years of practice, learning to do things like ‘dressing’ the knitwear; how many amateurs, saying ‘I could do that’ when they see a Shetland Lace scarf, know what do do when you’ve finished the actual knitting??!!! And that all takes time, if not a superior level of skill….
Actually, if people want cheap tat, why do they go to craft markets in the first place??!!!
My last point, a bit of a problem for me…I can’t buy stuff from other stall holders unless I sell mine!
Bravo!!!
This whole subject makes my blood boil! I am thoroughly sick of being told that I charge too much for my work – it feels like a punch in the guts every time! There’s been lots of times I’ve felt so trampled that I’ve almost given up and I’m sure many talented people do. It also makes me angry to see artisans pricing their work down to try and compete with highstreet prices – if you don’t value your own work then nobody else will!
Thanks so much for writing this article. I’m going to tweet the hell out of this! 🙂
My heartfelt appreciation to you for stating so clearly why items that are sewn by hand, finished, by hand, thought of and drawn first and so on are not cheap, they are invariably one offs and/or limited editions.
As a one time spinner and weaver and maker I could never get enough money to live on and now am, again, a secretary. Keep going do not give up – you are right.
Thank you for the article. It’s gratifying to know I’m not the only one who struggles with this. It takes me 2 weeks to make a Book Bead and because of that, I simply cannot mass produce them! My customers recognize the difference in the quality & artistry of my products and are happy to shop & linger. In addition, while it takes awhile to make a book bead, it takes me even longer to design them (months), as I am constantly looking for innovative ways to string them along. I am about to introduce a new line in the shop soon, borne out of playing around with several ideas in the workshop. I thank people for buying and appreciating “hand made”.
wow, so many comments! loved the article – clear, concise, well written. I’m a photographer, not a maker of handmade goods per se, but so much of this rings true. Most people are not the slightest bit aware of all the work that goes into even the most straightforward shoot. You’d be amazed at how many people expect to get work for free, and shocked at how many photographers agree to. sigh 🙂 to make matters worse, anyone with a camera can technically take photos, making it even harder to justify charging for what we do. But, as a photog friend of mine says, we’re providing *service* as well as quality photography. now, stop pricing your work so low, lady! 🙂
I think it’s great that you have an ‘accessories’ section for your shop. So if someone absolutely loves your designs but can’t afford a dress, they can go out the front door in style wearing your fingerless gloves.
One thing I recently noticed-fabric is very expensive. I mean, I always knew it wasn’t cheap, especially the nicer stuff, but I was used to the local fabric chain having stuff on sale all the time. My local fabric store doesn’t have those kinds of sales and weekly coupons.
This is a great Article!
I am glad it’s not just me that get’s comments like that.
I put so much time and love into my work ,it’s very hard not to take it personal when someone complains at the price.
I have just had a 6 month shop in my town centre and the amount of people that came in and said…”oh I could make that” or “oh that’s nice but not at that price it isn’t”.
People should realise how difficult it is to try and make a living from Arts and Crafts.We don’t do it for the money,we do it because we love it.
Good luck with everything you do!
Michelle x
Thank You, Thank You for this!! As artisans, we are not in the same category as big business. More people need to read this and start shopping handmade!! Thanks Again!
Thank you for being so open and truthful. I also handmake items and struggle with pricing.
And I just want to say that that dress pictured here is amazing! So much detail!
A great article. Thanks for writing. I’ve been told the same. I do fume I feel like saying the same as you. Or say I don’t even get minimum wage for the work I do could you work my wages. Us handamde and crafters have about 50+ jobs.
As well as our craft, accountant, web designer, researcher, sales person, photographer, designer and much more and we have to keep ontop of it all just to survive. There is no guranteed cheque at the end of the month x
SO right on!!! Thank you for speaking for all of us who create and sell our work!
Great post! I don’t think your items are over priced. No, they aren’t cheap, but neither is their quality. I have ordered from you in the past, and am currently planning a couple of orders for the future! Keep up the awesome work!
Great article!! So so true. Thanks for writing it!!
Thank-you! I have been struggling with my pricing of handmade quilts, and am about to read your pricing article. I think I need to do the same thing you did and figure out time taken per quilt. Thanks!
I think what you’ve identified here is that there is a difference between art and clothing.
The Walmart clothing will keep you covered and warm, but most people desire more than that from what they put on their bodies.
Art, or a unique handmade, is a canvas you put on to look and feel a certain way. And in its highest form it is unique. (Handmade)
Just like live music, or live theater. Or like the difference between driving a Yugo and driving a Jaguar.
What you are is an artist, not just a person who sews.
Fantastic article, you should charge even more, you are a contemporary fashion designer, making bespoke one-off items, totally unique to the wearer. If you asked a more well known designer to create something similar, you would be charged hundreds- thousands. If your item was in a physical shop, they would pay it. Its crazy that branding means so much to people. What happened to setting trends and not following them? Good luck, dont change, your creativity is great!
I always get email messages asking me … why is your handmade jewelry so much more expensive than the jewelry from Italy or Thailand? You said it all here, and I couldn’t agree more. It really is funny – and sad at the same time – how people want everything at the lowest price, but complain when it comes to what THEY get paid for what they do. If they tried walking in our shoes they really WOULD cry … Thanks so much for writing this!
It did good to read this ! I am a designer myself and have this all the time. I do patiently explain each time that each piece is made one by one in London (uk) , explain also the process. People think sewing is easy !
It is a great idea to have a tutorial to just send this link :).
Your clothing are really cute :). x
I really appreciate you posting this article! I couldn’t agree with you more, especially on #9, marketing. I put over 40 hours of time into marketing over the past two weeks – redesigning and reformatting promotional graphics, writing and designing new promotional content (email, blog, social media) – had I put the same amount of time into a regular day job, I’d have had a pretty nice paycheck – but all I can do is hope that all of the unpaid time with self-marketing will pay off. When selling handmade products, especially with an online storefront, there are dozens upon dozens of back end hours put into the product beyond the “fun part” of actually creating it. I too struggle with underpricing my work, and it’s good to reminded of just how valuable, special and unique our products really are.
Great article! I was talking to someone this morning about this. I am a photographer and digital artist. I have never been able to get the pricing thing down, and I too undercut myself drastically, and even then I get comments. Never mind that cameras are outrageous,a good lens can cost thousands,I use professional print houses and am very picky about my finished product. Never mind that it took days to get the right light, or conditions in the area, post processing to give you the very best result possible and delivered it to you. Never mind that a good digital art program can cost $2000.00 and you have to upgrade when they roll out a new feature, learn to use it, create the design, customize and order. No I have never come out ahead. Thanks for helping get the word out.
I’m SO glad someone turned me on to this blog posting! Though I am in a different industry (skin care), the basic principles apply, and I couldn’t have said it better. Thank you!
Wow! Thank you for all your hard work for setting us all straight! I’m one of those that sometimes thinks folks charge to much, but with your wake up call, I guess I’m the one not charging enough for all the time and effort that goes into my work. This article really woke me up, but I do have one question, how do we compete with someone that does charge to little? I have been one of those folks for along time now and after reading this I really feel bad, because this really makes it tough on the folks that need to make the money that they deserve to make to support themselves and their Families.
I think people that undercharge generally wind up NOT being the competition in more than one way.
1. Assuming their work is high quality, their business will eventually fail. They are working way too hard for too little money, which they will quickly get tired of. They’ll quit or raise their prices. I’ve seen most of my “competition” over the years quit, probably out of necessity.
2. Assuming their prices are lower because their quality is not as high as your own, they aren’t truly your competition.
Well said!!!!
It’s not out of maaliciousness that some say or think “that’s way too expensive.” They just don’t know or think of the hours and hours it takes to create a handmade item.
If we got paid by the hour to create say a quilt, that takes a HUGE block of time, weeks even. There’s no way we’re making anything per hour.
Then consider the cost of supplies, are they aware that cotton fabric has had a jump in price to around $11.00 a yard? Or the ourageous cost of thread or batting? Probably they are unaware of these things, I’m lucky if I cover the cost of my materials.
Some are working for free, cause people won’t pay what it is actually worth.
Then many sellers are selling items at a huge loss, I have no idea why they would do this, but it hurts the rest of us trying to make a living.$130.00 for a king sized bed quilt is IMPOSSIBLE to make at that cost. Yet people see that and say ‘You’re over priced. I could buy a quilt for $130.00, why would I pay $800.00?’. It really is a slap in the face when people do that, harmful really to us all.
So it’s hard to blame buyers, lack of information and other hugely under prices goods set up the situation.
This article rocks! I came here via a link from LiveJournal. I’ve made my living by designing and sewing for over 30 years and must continuously educate people as to why it does not cost LESS to have something made than buying it in a store.
Excellent breaking down of the process. And your work is lovely!
I’m so glad you posted this little article – and I hope more people see it. I love handmade items. They’re always just amazing.
(I’d buy more often if I were currently employed!!)
Thank you so much for this article! I am a working music educator and performer with 10 years of playing experience and a university degree in music. So many folks don’t understand why private music lessons are so “expensive”. Folks often turn down the opportunity to have a live band at their event because they think the price is too high. My colleagues and I often are approached about playing events FOR FREE!
I hope people reading this article consider not only handmade products, but working musicians and performers as well.
Thanks for the fabulously illustrated article. I admit, I undercharge on a lot of my items. It’s easy to forget the time it takes to DESIGN the item before making it, to PHOTOGRAPH it (and edit that photograph in Photoshop), and then also the time it takes to list and promote. I so often forget all of these factors,and they really do add up to a lot of time. Time = money and I should be paying myself for it.
Great Post! I had once lowered my rates for this reason and a friend told me “WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY?”
Now I do like you do, time and mterials (plus demand) – Hey that’s what retail does right. Why should handmade be any different. If anything handmade SHOULD be higher becuase there is a tremendous amount of care put into hand crafted goods. Designer or not I guarantee there isn’t a GUCCI out there crafting their own stuff!
Thanks for this!
I SUPPORT HANDMADE
I will definitely be linking to this post from now on! I am for sure under pricing my stuff! But that doesn’t bother me right at this moment as I’m still working on designs.