The guitar I completed for Guitars For Vets will be auctioned June 11, and it has me a little nervous. I spent a lot of time and thought customizing the instrument to make it special. Will bidders see that? Will they appreciate that? Will the bidding reflect what I think the value of the guitar is?
Have you run into this with your woodworking items? Ever been pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised by how much something you made sold for?
I recently started selling my pens off of my website. I did a Wall Street II Pen and Pencil set in Black Titanium with lace wood. I put it up for $100.00 wondering if it would sell, it did, first day out.
Thomas
Congrats on what sounds like a good sale for you.
G
I just recently started selling my woodworking items, and have found it difficult to price said items. I know how much time i spent on a particular project, the care and craftsmanship i put into it, but how do you put a price on it...Some have told me to take the cost of the materials and multiply that cost by 4 and it will give you a basic selling price.. Problem is, I mill my own lumber, dry it, build with it... other then some glue, maybe a few hinges, i really dont have a lot of material in it.. So where does that leave me? and again, i also worry about setting a price to high.. Thomas, great sale on your pen... Pen turning is something im fascinated with, but have not been able to afford a lathe to begin turning... and back to the topic of this.. I am trying to make a living on my woodworking alone..I recently closed my home remodeling company after Construction most of my working life...My body is broken down and im only 37 years old..its a life changing decision, but one i feel i can make work for me...i have always been able to start off at the bottom and build up to good things... yet i need to get a handle on this pricing my items correctly or soon i will find myself in a hardship that i may not beable to recover from...any advise from you George, or from your readers...Id be happy to hear it..
Wood_jedi
I commonly use the formula of materials x 3 to price items. If the piece is more complex, it's materials x 4. If it includes a lot of hardware I add that in afterward. Hardware can be very expensive so having it included in the muliplier can make the project price very high.
Although you mill your own wood, you should be able to find what its fair market value is. Use that as a price for your multiplier.
The next step is figuring out how much you have to make per hour. Not you personally, but your business. So, I take the cost of materials x 3 and get a total price. Then I subtract from that price the cost of material. That leaves me a number that should cover labor. The question I then ask myself is "Can I build it for that price?" "How long do I think it will take?"
This formula doesn't work well on small items. You may only have a few dollars worth of material in a project, but it takes a few hours to build. You have to use your instint on these items.
When you're starting out I think it's good to keep your prices down to get your name out there, but you can't work for free. If you're doing nice work, you need to hold on to the idea that people will be willing to pay for it.
Pricing can be difficult. Be sure you're being fair to yourself.
G
George, I made a mantle clock which was auctioned off for charity. When I gave it, they asked me for an estimated value. Being modest, I told them $125, although I felt then and feel now it was truly worth a good bit more than that. Well, they posted the estimated value on all the items and $125 is exactly what was bid for it, to my disappointment .. additionally because that's all the value I could claim on my taxes. The lesson I learned is to come up with a true value estimate if asked, even over-estimate ; brag a little.
Look at eBay, Etsy, and Craig's list for like items to see what they're selling for. I was going to price my end grain cutting boards too low until I saw what they sell for.
Laney, Sounds like you are a carbon copy of me. Iam 65 yrs old and I framed custom homes all my life and believe me I am burnt out. Swinging a 22 oz. hammer all that time has done me in. I am trying to build and sell crafts and small furniture projects and have the same problem on decieding on what to price it at. I go to craft shows and flea markets and get an idea of what they are selling for however; that does not say they are selling their work. The best way like everyone is saying is to use the method of time and material and add profit. When I bid on custom homes we always went by the square foot to get a figure. A friend of mine makes small crafts and puts military and sports figures on them and sells them for $5.00 each. He said to start small and work up from there. He made $450.00 last weekend at an Orlando Fl. craft show. I cut out oval bases for him (1/4'' plywood) and he orders 100 at a time. Anyway good luck and God Bless. zarpman Melbourne, Fl.
I wouldn't use Craigslist as a measure for comparison. I buy and sell many items on C/L....none of it my woodworking projects. People sell and buy on C/L because we're to cheap to have to pay the fees of E-Bay and the C/L shopper is keenly aware of that and it is assumed anything on C/L will be way cheaper than other sites.
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