In my search for other jewelry artists, I came across this post by casual gal about Free Shipping Versus A Dollar Discount.
I found more info here, from Havi, on the difference between value and price.
You can check them out, they are super neat folks and I love their writing.
I find that I have priced things a bit differently over the course of the time I have been making jewelry. Originally, I specifically based all of my pricing on the items I was using, what type of metal and stones, then I multiplied by 3. This went okay, I felt like I was getting ahead, but sales were slow and meager. I met up with a friend and she said I should charge based on my time, or my skill level, since not everyone is able to make what I make. {huh, imagine that} So, I sat on that thought for quite a while, and mulled it over.
Now, my pricing is a bit of both. I charge for time, at a rate of $20 an hour, and I charge for 2 times the cost of my materials. This has been working out much better, even though my prices are about 15-20% higher. I think it may be along the lines of what Havi says in her little story, the more money one spends, the more "value" they place on the item.
What do you guys charge, and How Come?
1 comment:
Thanks for your Twitter msg, by the way! At any rate, I probably should assign specifics to how much time I spend on a piece, but I love ding new things all the time and pushing the envelope (which always takes more time). Therefore, I generally take the actual cost of the materials, and then add an amount based on the complexity of the piece.
I tend to follow a similar concept in the web/graphic design portion of m business -- there's a standard rate (hourly, generally), but then if it's a new technique or application, I won't charge for the time spent playing around with the new thing, unless training has specifically been written into the agreement (such as writing the help file for someone's application).
Hope that helps someone. Like many other things with a small business, there is always room for adjustment and improvement -- or should be!
Cheers!
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