So, back in the day I bough a pricing list from Wildwood Designs. This was a guide to pricing the finished project from various scrollsaw patterns they offered for sale. The date on this list is 1999.

So, how would YOU go about updating the pricing for your own use? Just use the inflation rate or ??

Edited July 7, 20187 yr by Wichman3
clarity

Wichman, I am a little confused, do you want to sell the actual end product, a scrolled project, or do you want to sell the patterns? It's not you, it's me, my brain is on half steam right now.

John, I edited the original post for clarity. The pricing list is for finished projects, not patterns (that would be copyright infringement and... nope).

9 minutes ago, Wichman3 said:

John, I edited the original post for clarity. The pricing list is for finished projects, not patterns (that would be copyright infringement and... nope).

Excellent!

If it were me, I'd throw out the pricing list completely, and base your end product pricing on your time and materials. And stick to the pricing you come up with! If you want to bill out at 25.00 per hour, plus materials, then that is what that piece should cost, if it takes you 3 hours to make, then 75 bucks plus materials for the final price, then there is always the artistic aspect of your work, if you are creating original works, or even duplicated extra fine work, you can add in additional profit just for that. After all, if we are working only for time and materials, we are doing ourselves an injustice, since profit is anything above time and materials in most cases.

In some cases, you can add a zero to the end of your pricing, just because, and you don't even need to make an excuse as to why, it's, just because you can.

 

If your local market can't support those prices, then I'd search out another market. Just because your market will not support your price, does not mean it's not worth your price. Many of us fall into that trap. So, with that philosophy, I am going to downgrade my price, just because my locals cannot afford it? I don't think so, I would search another market then.

 

 

I raised my rate this year to $39 an hour (was $25).  I also mark up the wood 20% to offset the time to acquire it.  No complaints yet. 

Just now, Ron Dudelston said:

I raised my rate this year to $39 an hour (was $25).  I also mark up the wood 20% to offset the time to acquire it.  No complaints yet. 

That's right Ron!!!!! You go man! And while your at it, throw in a few extra for the "Just because I can" factor!

If it's your living, make sure you are making a decent salary. Otherwise, you might as well be working for someone else.

1 hour ago, John Morris said:

That's right Ron!!!!! You go man! And while your at it, throw in a few extra for the "Just because I can" factor!

You know, I’m really fair with the hourly charge because I’m not out to rip people off.  However, if someone wants to tell me how to do it, they get to pay more.  I cut a cabinet down last week for the “smartest man in the world” that had never operated a table saw but wanted to give me expert advice.   Oh yea, he paid dearly.  

Ron, ripping people off is not giving them the quality of work agreed upon at a price agreed upon. And being overall shady. 

Charging a customer what the market will bear is good business. And we both walk away happy.

Must be nice to live in a area where you can do that.

I have to work with what I've got, not much for new venues (or customers for that matter) and the customer base has been trained (by others) that they can get good work for cheap.

Thanks for the advice, I know you mean well.

See ya'll around sometime, I'll just let the board die now.

@Wichman3, since the advent of the internet, and more on to the advent of easy website building, you can target a market beyond your local market. I would venture to say, that much of the "properly priced" woodworking sold by us crafters today, is sold through the internet, because the local market cannot afford the real cost of great craftsmanship.

 

Actually, my local market does not support the chairs I have made, and other crafts items I have sold in the past, I have sold most of my work out of area. I only have one family in my valley that still orders pieces from me at my prices. Other then them, I have sold everything out of local market, either by word of mouth, or internet. I don't have my dedicated woodworking site anymore, I have not had time to maintain it since I am neck deep here all the time. But when I did, I booked up quite a few projects through my old site, and all were out of town.

 

My point being, if you are willing, you can fire up a website for free, to showcase your products, and target markets out of your area. Creating a website anymore, is completely simple, all it takes is one to kick the tires a little and start plugging in text and photos, and you are off!

If you want to go out of your local market, check this out at https://www.weebly.com/

They have a free plan, perfect to get your online store up and running. And there are others too.

My main concern is, working for nothing, and if you aren't careful, often we can end up doing just that.

 

And hey! What's this "Let the board die now" stuff! We set out some great advice for ya, we need your feedback now!

On 7/7/2018 at 2:01 PM, Ron Dudelston said:

I cut a cabinet down last week for the “smartest man in the world” that had never operated a table saw but wanted to give me expert advice.   Oh yea, he paid dearly.  

I guess I'm living and working in the wrong geographical area.  My usual scrolling hourly rate is "minimum wage".  Now if someone comes into the shop and want something done, it's $20 / hour for non-scrolling work.

Yeh, I have been told I have a "Walmart" attitude when it comes to pricing.  This is my hobby, folks,not a business.  The bucks we get covers expenses, buys more wood and equipment AND sends us on vacations each year (where we are right now).

That's my 2% of a dollar for this scrollsaw topic.

Have a great day, brothers.

5 minutes ago, Fred Wilson said:

This is my hobby, folks,not a business.

And that is very important to make that distinction Fred, thanks.

On 7/7/2018 at 10:05 AM, John Morris said:

Excellent!

If it were me, I'd throw out the pricing list completely, and base your end product pricing on your time and materials. And stick to the pricing you come up with! If you want to bill out at 25.00 per hour, plus materials, then that is what that piece should cost, if it takes you 3 hours to make, then 75 bucks plus materials for the final price, then there is always the artistic aspect of your work, if you are creating original works, or even duplicated extra fine work, you can add in additional profit just for that. After all, if we are working only for time and materials, we are doing ourselves an injustice, since profit is anything above time and materials in most cases.

In some cases, you can add a zero to the end of your pricing, just because, and you don't even need to make an excuse as to why, it's, just because you can.

 

If your local market can't support those prices, then I'd search out another market. Just because your market will not support your price, does not mean it's not worth your price. Many of us fall into that trap. So, with that philosophy, I am going to downgrade my price, just because my locals cannot afford it? I don't think so, I would search another market then.

 

 

Part of my using a pricing list to have a reality check on my speed. If a reasonable price on a piece is $10.00 and I have 5 hours into it in labor then I'm probably cutting a little slow. This is an extreme example but, hopefully, you get my drift. The city where I live, Pocatello Idaho, is horrible for poormouthing ( the people who come up to a booth and say " tsk, too much, tsk") I had one such person say that about the price of winter squash, and we were half the price of Walmart. I will not drop my price because someone poormouths, period.

On 7/7/2018 at 3:20 PM, John Morris said:

@Wichman3, since the advent of the internet, and more on to the advent of easy website building, you can target a market beyond your local market. I would venture to say, that much of the "properly priced" woodworking sold by us crafters today, is sold through the internet, because the local market cannot afford the real cost of great craftsmanship.

 

Actually, my local market does not support the chairs I have made, and other crafts items I have sold in the past, I have sold most of my work out of area. I only have one family in my valley that still orders pieces from me at my prices. Other then them, I have sold everything out of local market, either by word of mouth, or internet. I don't have my dedicated woodworking site anymore, I have not had time to maintain it since I am neck deep here all the time. But when I did, I booked up quite a few projects through my old site, and all were out of town.

 

My point being, if you are willing, you can fire up a website for free, to showcase your products, and target markets out of your area. Creating a website anymore, is completely simple, all it takes is one to kick the tires a little and start plugging in text and photos, and you are off!

If you want to go out of your local market, check this out at https://www.weebly.com/

They have a free plan, perfect to get your online store up and running. And there are others too.

My main concern is, working for nothing, and if you aren't careful, often we can end up doing just that.

 

And hey! What's this "Let the board die now" stuff! We set out some great advice for ya, we need your feedback now!

My biggest resistance to using the web to enhance sales comes from an article in Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts, spring 2015 issue 58. The article, entitled Scrolling Ideas for Spring Cleaning should have been entitled How to steal ideas from esty.com. I had such a negative reaction to the article I won't buy magazines anymore. Yes, I know that anyone can still go to various websites and get ideas and pricing goals, but for a magazine to promote the idea is repugent.

Sorry about the "let the board die now comment", I'll try to be nicer

47 minutes ago, Wichman3 said:

Sorry about the "let the board die now comment", I'll try to be nicer

You've been nothing but a gentleman! Thanks for the explanation Wich!

58 minutes ago, Wichman3 said:

I will not drop my price because someone poormouths, period.

Amen! I wish there were more crafts people like you, this is what I've been preaching for years, the cost to build this or that is what it is, regardless of demography. If we all stuck together and priced our crafts appropriately, and never settled just for "hobby money to support my hobby" our entire industry would be far better off.

1 hour ago, Wichman3 said:

Sorry about the "let the board die now comment", I'll try to be nicer

No harm no foul...We're family here and been missing your great work and experience...that and your Avatar

A guy I know charges $50 per sq. ft. for his router carved signs. He adds a percentage for each extra like painting or special characters.

He makes a decent living.

Another guy approaches pricing a bit differently. He produces multiples of several different smaller items. He has an hourly rate in mind and knows how many minutes he spends on each step of the process. Say he wants $60 an hour. In an hour he can put out 10 completed pieces. That makes each item have a minimum price of $6.