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Post by sheltie on May 2, 2012 18:28:59 GMT -5
Only a week after stating that my wife creates jewelry for friends and family and not for sale, something happens. What happened was a friend of one of my daughter saw her necklace and earrings and remarked she'd like a set. That was last week. So far there have been another half dozen requests of my daughter and we are stuck about what to do. All insist that they have to pay, not receive anything as a gift. We don't have a clue what any of her creations are worth. We use jaspers and agates primarily (others as well) and buy inexpensive chains, beads and pins to put it all together. Naturally, we cab and wire wrap everything ourselves but we don't have a clue as to their worth. I don't want to insult my daughter's friends by charging them virtually nothing but don't know what the value is. Does anyone have some sort of rule of thumb you use when making/selling one of your creations?
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller 
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,105
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Post by Thunder69 on May 2, 2012 19:11:31 GMT -5
Post a picture of what ya'll are doing..That would help with an estimated guess ;D....John
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carlascrystals
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2012
Posts: 8
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Post by carlascrystals on May 2, 2012 19:13:14 GMT -5
Love to see some pictures maybe will want to buy some also:) Love my jewelry.
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Post by gr on May 2, 2012 20:01:36 GMT -5
sheltie, If you deciede to sell some pieces, then sell them as if you are doing this as a business. Figure out what you have invested as far as materials, (findings, chain, earwires, etc.). Do a little research on the stones you're using. (some are bought and sold by the gram). And of course what kind of time you have invested in producing the finished stone piece. that should kinda give you a starting point.
John and Carla have good points also!
gary
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Post by Pat on May 2, 2012 21:03:09 GMT -5
I take my cost of goods, then consider perceived value and add that. Many buyers think that it is too inexpensive, there must be something wrong with it. If you look in my etsy shop (just click on the banner), that is how I arrived at the prices stated.
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Post by helens on May 2, 2012 22:12:27 GMT -5
Pictures!! I want to see what you're making:).
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Post by johnjsgems on May 2, 2012 22:30:30 GMT -5
My wife uses a formula of three times material cost. Some things look too nice at that cost so she marks up to "looks like it's worth etc.". Sometimes she down prices if she doesn't think it is worth it. She only uses silver or gold filled findings and high quality beads. When she started she compared prices to department store beaded jewelry and priced lower if she used plated findings, etc. Not easy to price unless you can compare with something on the market.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on May 3, 2012 11:09:44 GMT -5
Also, don't do any work until you get a deposit. Yes, EVERYONE you know would "like" a set. That's because they were secretly hoping to be given a freebie. When you show up with an item and a fair price, a certain number of people will not ever pay. At least that's what happened to me. It's easy for people to "insist" that they want to pay, when there is no actual item for sale and there is no actual price. Annoying how often it turns out that those people were just big talkers because they assume you, too, are a big talker who will never actually produce the item. At this stage, when there is no price set and no set made up for them to buy, for them to "insist" on paying "something" is just talk. My hard experience. I hope yours is different. But I would NOT invest a lot of time and effort in this until I had set a price and gotten a deposit. When "everybody" is saying something, you must know in your soul that "everybody" is not of equal quality as a customer. Some of those "everybodys" just think it it is a nice way to say that they love your wife's style. They don't realize that they are costing her time and money when they say they want to buy something that they would have no intention of buying if it was put in their hands right now. Also this is somewhat a FOAF situation, since people are asking your daughter about something your wife makes, which gives an extra layer of potential misunderstanding somewhere.
Whatever price you decide, cheap, expensive, doesn't matter...pick a price and GET A DEPOSIT. The people who put down deposits are serious. The rest are time-wasters. They are trying to be nice, but they just don't stop and think that their way of being nice wastes your time.
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on May 3, 2012 11:47:08 GMT -5
Three times material cost and then add on labor. Pay yourself a good hourly wage.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on May 3, 2012 12:01:00 GMT -5
Three times material cost and then add on labor. Pay yourself a good hourly wage. this is one of the most accepted formulas that I have found. if you price it too low people will think it's junk, it's a luxury items so they should expect to pay for it. generally the materials are cheap even with swarofvski crystals, but the time and skill is what they are paying for. Anyway google it and you will find tons of things that will confuse you more. |
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Post by johnjsgems on May 3, 2012 12:07:45 GMT -5
When my wife started beading a friend of hers made necklace/ear ring sets using plated findings and lower priced beads and sold them at work for $25 range. My wife did the same for some time but moved on to better quality. The necklaces that sell well fall in the $65 range and ear rings $25. Anything higher is a hard sell in this economy. Her original plated finding ear rings were $5-$ 7 if I remember. Like someone said too low and it is perceived as junk.
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Post by sheltie on May 3, 2012 12:39:48 GMT -5
Sorry, but I'm not much of a photog so this picture truly doesn't display the beauty but it is somewhat representative of what my wife does. Thanks for all the advice. I particularly like the rule of three times cost plus a reasonable labor charge. We'd still like to make pieces for friends and family but she's used to doing custome stained glass work so maybe that will help her. She hopes that someday she can become 1/2 as good as many of you are.  |
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Post by helens on May 3, 2012 13:49:36 GMT -5
Sheltie, that's stunning!!! She's got a great eye for putting things together!!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2012 14:35:44 GMT -5
Looks to me like she is way past the half way point. Very beautiful.
Jim
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blr2449
has rocks in the head
Can I retire now?
Member since January 2011
Posts: 554
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Post by blr2449 on May 3, 2012 19:27:46 GMT -5
I use johnjsgems' wife's method. Since I only make my items for a group of ladies in PA (for the last 4 yrs) I don't need a deposit, but it's a good idea.
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,105
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Post by Thunder69 on May 3, 2012 20:01:18 GMT -5
My guesstimate is that if it is plated wire
1.. Bracelet .....30-40 dollars
2.. Necklace and earrings 50-60 dollars
If it is done in silver add $20 to each one of them ...That is what I would start with..
Give yourself some wiggle room....
Hope it helps ..John
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on May 3, 2012 22:45:29 GMT -5
When I do a custom piece for a customer I usually ask for 1/2 down, and the other 1/2 when the piece is completed.
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
Posts: 929
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Post by jspencer on May 4, 2012 23:38:54 GMT -5
Just for cabs alone you spend time and money on supplies not seen on material list for the sets like findings are. The rock shop here has a rate of $45 per hr. on polishing to cover labor and materials. A similar figure could also be reached on wire for wraps etc. plus labor time worked into formula.
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rocpup
spending too much on rocks
Pink Limb Iris
Member since March 2011
Posts: 465
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Post by rocpup on May 8, 2012 12:05:53 GMT -5
My wife and I sold at shows for many years . We only sold what we had done ourselves whether it was rock slabs, neckless and ear rings, or silver jewelry. We purchased all of our rough materials wholesale. A rule of thumb we used was to price five times our input cost. A few items we did have for sale that we did not do ourselves like silver chains and bead supplies we simply doubled the cost. Giving yourself a wage is a tough one when you consider the cost of setting up and doing a show. Sometimes this was as much as $500 rent for a single weekend and a day just to get there. We had to make sales three times the rent just to break even. We did well at juryed craft shows but places designed to the younger crowds where others were selling dollar two bit things we did not compete. Oh it is nice to be retired.
Don and Yung
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on May 8, 2012 12:42:20 GMT -5
Pricing your work and craftsmanship is a difficult thing and really depends on the market your going to use.
Local craft fairs are a good venue. Most people that go to craft fairs do not have big budgets so hugely expensive stuff will just be pretty things on your table to look at.
Selling in an online store you can have a varied range of prices to appeal to all incomes
Selling via commission in galleries - BE VERY CAREFUL!
I have lost more items that way by the owner closing up and moving out of state with no notice, you have no recourse no matter what paper work you do or what signatures are on it. You can loose everything you place on commission!
You items will be inflated by 30 - 50% for the gallery so make sure its something that will sell and not be a decoration in that gallery.
For myself I sell online and its been the best venue. I play with the pricing all the time raising and lowering it to garner sales.
I would rather have something sell for the cost of material than have it just sitting around
So short answer is price according to where your going to sell it making sure you at least get your materials cost covered - time is another issue and not always applicable as it will make your creations mostly unaffordable.
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