Pricing for a toy

[rsetina]

I made a push toy for my granddaughter, the kind that has the round wooden balls in a dowel cage between the wheels. I put her name on it and showed it to one of my UPS customers. She wants one for her granddaughter for Christmas. I have all the vectors set up for the job but I just don't know how to price projects for sale.

I've been told to triple the material cost if you're not charging by the hour. I'd be looking around $100 if I did that, but I think that's a little high. There's not much machining to do. It's mostly assembly and painting the engraving. How do you guys determine price?

[sk8nmike]

That's one of the problems with crafts. Most of the time you'll not get what the item is really worth. I've found it works to tell the customer just what it took to make an item before I tell them the price, and even then a lot of times you'll only get enough to cover your cost.

[tonydude]

Every area of the country is different in prices on the same item. Where you might get $100.00 there someplace else $50-75 hard to tell. Never will get the money for the time involved. It's the same with my acrylics. Down south they get $35 here $55


Tony

[rsetina]

Good advise. I'll give her a price I think is fair and go from there. Thanks for your input.

[milo30]

I calculate the material costs and then add machining time. Since the shark doesn't machine as fast as some of the larger units, it is hard to really set in stone an appropriate $$/time charge. I get an idea of that and then sit back and look at the item that I am making and decided if it is worth my time...or the possibility for mistakes costing more in material. I then quote a price that I feel is appropriate and am willing to let them walk if they think that it is too much. Some things are just worth more than others regardless of how much time or material it costs me.

Some things cost me $5 in material and 30 minutes to carve and finish and sell for $100 and some may cost $30 material and take several hours for the same money or less.

[rsetina]

Good advise milo. I decided on $65 and maybe I'll get a few more orders.

[dmyers]

Not about pricing, but what I have done for a long time. I have a branding iron with my name on it and burn it onto the project (in a hidden place), then I use a 3/4" bit and drill a shallow hole and epoxy a penny with the current year I built it. It's fun to see some of the things I have built for friends and family so many years ago, kind of like a little time capsule.

David

[rsetina]

David,

I have a branding iron I purchased from Rockler. It's a great way to mark your work and it gives it an old time look if you know what I mean. I've seen the penny before too. I just worry the penny will fall out one day and get lost. How do you secure it? Epoxy?

[dmyers]

rsetina,

I use a liberal amount of 2 part epoxy to the bare wood and clean penny.
Every year I by a few rolls of new penny's when they come out.
I had a neighbor who I made a sign for that I did not add a 2014 penny because they were not out yet, so she brought the sign back with a 2014 penny and I added to her sign.
Some times I also and a rare earth magnet to the back of signs. I buy the ones that are 3/4" the same size as a penny and epoxy them the same way.

David

[rsetina]

David,

Thanks. All good information. I'll have to go to the bank and get some for 2015.