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How To Price Your Handmade Item
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ส.ค. 2024
- Making your handmade item is the easy part. Knowing how much to charge for it is hard. The whole idea of figuring out a price for your own work can be daunting. If you charge too much then you come off as greedy. If you charge too little then people don't value your work and it really doesn't make sense to continue selling to meet demand when you aren't being fairly compensated. In this video I share with you the formula I use to price my handmade items. Having a formula really empowers the crafter by giving a fair price that can be backed up by logical reason. This formula has helped me and I can't wait to share it with you.
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Math teacher here... I know it's not everyone's favorite, but if you want to figure out the amount of yarn used without having to measure the leftover from a skein (potentially making a mess that you have to reroll), you can use a simple proportion. For example, if I have a 200g skein that is 488m, and I weigh my finished product and it weighs 250g, then I set up my proportion as follows:
488m/200g = x/250g (fractions on each side)
This turns into:
488*250 = 200*x
or:
x = 488*250/200
So:
x = 610m of yarn used
If the 200g skein cost $10 to purchase, then the price per meter is $10/488m or approximately $0.02 per meter. Multiply by the meters used and that is your yarn cost.
I commend you for encouraging makers to know their worth and charge fair prices for their merchandise. Most of the price questioning I get is when FAMILY requests commission work -- I don't do discounts. The time I spend making something for someone I may not even be close with, takes away from me being able to make a paid commission at the true value of the item.
It took me a long time to learn to say no, but once you stand up for yourself, people looking for discounts will usually stop asking. I hope other makers find your video empowering and encourages them to know their worth as well!
Thanks so much for making this comment!! I too am a mathlete and this is how I figure it out as well. I weigh a skein before starting a project then weigh it once I'm finished the difference in weight is how much yarn is used. It's so very easy to do this way but unfortunately so many weren't taught this in school or perhaps they've just forgot. I've heard so many say "why do I need to know all this? That's what a calculator/device of choice is for". Way to many ppl rely on a device for an answer. What will they do IF we ever lose the ability to use a device? Personally I feel we as a society depend on electronics far to much. Hope you're having a nice day! 🕊️🕯️❤️🙏
Hi Rachel! I appreciate your second method to finding the amount of yarn used. That is very helpful! I'm sure there is probably a couple different ways of finding this number. That would be a whole other video 😄. Thank you for bringing it up here though so if someone reads through the comments they can see how you break down the math. This is great! Thank you so much!
I know exactly what you are talking about with friends/family and other people asking for discounts on your handmade items. It can be so hard to say no. Having a formula to help you back up your price can really help give a person confidence in knowing how to approach these people and defend a price that is fair. I'm really hoping this empowers people. 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment! I appreciate it so much!
I think it is so cool that you both actually weigh your skeins. I personally have never used the grams portion of the yarn label. Just the approximate length dimension. I feel like a whole new section of information has opened up for me. I absolutely agree, weighing your skein before and after would be a much easier way and quicker way of finding out the amount of yarn used. And then solving for the length variable. I laugh when I hear my kids say they won't need to know algebra, when will I ever use algebra? I tell them, I use algebra all the time. People don't think things like crochet use math.... Hahahahahah how wrong they are.
Hi Rachel, just posted that I weigh my yarn to determine the amount used. I weigh pre and post to determine the number of yards left in a skein. Sheila
This is what I use! Works very well for me. :)
HI Tiffany, I weigh my yarn pre and post the project to calculate my usage.I have a scale that I use for weighing packages....so a mail scale. It weighs in gram..and the accuracy is true to the postal scales. Sheila
Hi Sheila! You are the third person to mention weighing your skein. I have never done this before! Brilliant idea! I need to get my hands on a mail scale now! 😄. Thank you so much for sharing this! 😊🧡🧶
same :)
Are you weighing left over skein that you have used for your project?
Very good breakdown of pricing, my daughter says i sell to cheap now i can see where her thinking goes.
Thank you for this tutorial. Now I know how to price hand crochet baby blankets, baby outfits, hats, and scarves. I give you eight and two thumbs up. 👍
This is so very helpful!!! I've been crocheting since I was a teenager but have only recently started selling my products this year on Etsy and FB. My husband keeps telling me I'm under selling my items and after watching this I guess I have been 😅. Some may also be over priced also 😬. But moving forward I'll use this awesome formula and see how things go 😀.
This is so helpful. I just started selling my items even though I have been creating for years. I have always been worried about over charging or short changing myself.
Thank you so much for breaking this out in such an easy way to calculate the price of an item.
Hi Tiffany, your video is very informative. Thank you for doing this. I'm in the UK and sell my items on a craft stall. Take care.
I haven't been adding the 10%. It makes sense. Thanks Tiffany.
You're welcome!
I use a program called Crochet Land it has a timer, allows you to put in your notes, pictures and supplies used! It does have a method of calculating per item however I don't use it as I don't think it's that accurate but for the other items that timer all your notes your pictures and stuff is great! I do love the fact you have explained this so well I now know that I am underselling all my projects! Time to pull out the calculator and refigure items prices!!! Thank you!
Hi Sarah! I'm glad I could help. I have never heard of Crochet Land. Definitely want to check it out. Thanks for mentioning that! 😊🧶🧡
Great advice, Tiffany! Thanks for this video. :)
I'm selling at my very first craft fair this fall and your video is very helpful. I'm all over the place with my pricing (not too confident about the worth of my items, etc) so I just wanted to say thank you for your formula & guidance. Hopefully I'll get it figured out. Thank you!! 😊
so thankful for you breaking this down for us...this is a wonderful lesson and is immensely helpful to hear it this way!
You are very welcome! Sometimes this kind of thing can be a lot. Glad I can help. 😊🧶🧡
This is awesome! It gets you excited to get those projects done!
Very, very useful information. Thank you so much ❤
Hello, I just found your post tonight and I have learned so much about selling items I make. I usually just make gifts and things for the grand children. With money getting tricky I've been thinking about making items to sell. This information was great! Thank you!
Hi Jai! I'm so glad my video was helpful. Selling your hand made items is probably the hardest part of the whole process because we often are so shy and unsure what we should price the item at. Good luck with your sell adventure! I'm so glad you found my channel. I think you'll find a couple of my videos helpful in this area. 😊🧡🧶
This Is very helpful. I’ve always done a set wage per hour plus cost of materials but never added to it. Sometimes I would sell for less because a blanket that takes 17 hours to make I would have to sell for close to or over $200 and I didn’t think anyone would pay that much. I tend to reserve making stuff like that just for family.
Thanks sweety you explained so we'll .God bless you
This was very informative. Thanks! Ive tried to use a timer to time my projects before, but i always forget to stop or restart the timer....fail on my part. Lol
Haha been there! Total bummer
Thank You Tiffany very much for always sharing so much of Your Amazing Talent & Your Amazing Amount of Knowledge about Crocheting with all of us 😊💝!!! I always love & enjoy watching & learning from You 😊💝!
Beautiful necklace. Thanks for this video. Have always wondered about this. 😍
Thank you for this my wife is always telling me that I under charge, but truth is I didn't understand how to break it down like you did.
Thanks Tiffany ❤️
To figure out cost of yarn as accurately as possible, you can simply weigh the finished item. You find how many yards per gram (example: one skein of Caron baby cakes = 560 yds / 240 grams. Just divide the yards by grams (that are on the label of the skein) and you have the yards per gram. Approximately 2.33 yards per gram. To find cost per yard, simply find how many yards per skein, and total cost per skein (price + tax + shipping if applicable) and divide price by yards. So in this example the total cost of yarn is $13.79 then divide by 560 yards = $0.025 per yard. Then to find how many yards per finished item, simply weigh the finished yarn pieces before adding any poly fill, embellishments, etc, and then taking the yards per gram number, multiply it by the weight of your protect. So if your project weighs 726 grams, you take 2.33 yards per gram x 726 grams = 1691.58 yards per finished item. Then you can round up if necessary, and to add a tiny bit of wiggle room. So to find cost of yarn per item, take the total cost per yard, and multiply by total yards of the finished item, in this example, $0.025 per yard x 1,691.58 yards in finished item = $42.29 total cost of yarn in this project. If you so choose, if you get a number such as .3726 at the end of your yardage or your cost, round up or down (I’d round up) to the nearest tenth or hundredth so it would be .38 instead of .3726. But to be exact, only round your total cost of yarn for the whole project. Even a hundredth of a cent can make a difference in the end price, so keeping it as close as possible to the exact price may be beneficial, you can always add a buffer, but knowing the exact cost is helpful. As is knowing the exact yardage. And for yardage, it’s better to round up, in case you have a slight variance of tension, how you choose to join the yarn, starting tail, and finishing tail, etc. several factors. However, you get the exact number and can add a slight buffer if you so choose. Now, to find the exact cost of poly fill is actually almost as simple as finding the yarn cost. Once you have finished crocheting all the fabric pieces, before stuffing them (if you stuff individually, then weigh as you go eg: you stuff the head before you do the last round or two of stitches, and then continue on to the body, weigh the head before you add stuffing, then weigh it after the stuffing, then finish the piece, weigh it again, and subtract the second number from the third, eg; before stuffing, weighs 4 grams, with stuffing weighs 8 grams (subtract yarn weight eg 4 grams from this weight eg 8 grams = 4 grams of poly fill), after finishing weighs 9 grams. Subtract 8 grams from 9 grams and the extra yarn you used to finish the item weighs 1 gram or subtract the weight of the poly fill from the end product eg 9grams total - 4 grams poly fill = 5 grams yarn. Then add that to the weight before adding stuffing = 5 grams of yarn. Repeat for each piece, or if it’s a project that can be stuffed and joined at the end you can weigh all the yarn pieces together, then stuff, weigh again and you subtract Then find your yardage and cost of yarn as before. Once you know how much polyfill it takes for your item, you can find out cost. Most packages of polyfill are weighed in oz, so you can convert to grams, or if it’s listed on your package use that. Then find cost per gram (you could also do this all in oz for the polyfill but grams are easier imo as it tends to be a bit more accurate). To do that, take your total price of polyfill divide by total weight of polyfill in grams (or other unit of choice) and find cost per gram. Example: 907.18 grams (32 oz bag) of polyfill = $18.25 total. So we take $18.25 divide by 907.18 = $0.02 per gram of polyfill.
To find our cost of polyfill for the stuffie we made, take cost per gram x grams of polyfill in item. For this example, $0.02 per gram x 4 grams total = $0.08 for all the stuffing in the finished item.
There is a learning curve, and it can be intimidating, but once you learn them, it’s really a much simpler, quicker, and easier way than measuring leftover yarn in a skein, and trying to guess. Once you have all your costs you can add them, same as any other time. So an example: $3.75 for stuffing + $12.76 for yarn + $0.89 for buttons and other embellishments = $17.40 total cost of project. Then you can add any packaging, your price per hour/ labor, and allow for any fees and or taxes you may have for your website, listing, shop, etc. so you know how much profit you will make, and all costs.
Some formulas that are helpful are also: cost of materials and labour + fees x 2 = wholesale and wholesale x 2 = retail (doesn’t work for a lot of items)
Or cost x 3 = retail or other formulas, or simply cost + hourly rate + any fees/taxes that will come out of profits. There’s other, better formulas but I can’t remember off the top of my head.
Love Love your breakdown of the cost and all the math that you did. I have no doubt that this took you a hot second to type out and that you took a second to consider all those numbers. Yes, this method works and will definitely do if you don't necessarily need your increments exact. If you are just looking for a rough estimate of how much yarn you used to help get an idea of cost then for sure. Weighing your yarn and figuring out the conversion is the way to go. Much faster.
However, if you need to know exactly how much yarn you used to know exactly how many, let just say Monkeys, how many monkeys you can get out of one skein, then you will want to keep track of every inch of yarn you use for cost sake.
I have used the weighting technique have have noticed that the scale doesn't move very much for one yard of yarn, two yards of yarn, either way on. 12 yards of yarn weights the say as 10, as 11, as 13 and as 14. That's a pretty big deviation.
So, like I said. The scale strategy with weighting your yarn to see how much you used will work for someone who doesn't need exact amounts and are just needing a rough number to get a price. But sometime that exact number will tell you if you can make 3 monkeys from that skein or 4. And that can be a big deal depending on the situation. 😉🧡🧶
I appreciate you comment so much! Thank you for taking the time to type all of that out. You clearly know exactly what you are talking about. 👍🏻👍🏻🤗🤗🧡🧶🧡🧶
At the beginning, id like to add that the beanie isnt made using 2 skeins because you had A LOT leftover on the second one, which youll use for another beanie or item. You should be breaking down your projects into price per yard of yarn. So the first beanie did not cost you $5.00. Each yard was .015. So your beanie actually costed you $2.84.
You also used the price of the second skein after a coupon, but didnt do the same for the first skein. This is skewing your results.
Another way to “measure” how much you used of a skein is to weigh your skein before/after. While this is not as accurate as measuring, it will be pretty darn close, maybe just off by a few cents.
Hi Tiffany Hansen and right now I am working on a mosaic blanket and I love your channel and your videos and if you keep making videos I will keep watching them ❤ and I love your channel very much and you make great content on your channel 💜
Excellent advice, thank you for taking the time to help others😀
Wonderful video lesson, thank you!! I found it extremely helpful!!
I am so glad! 😊🧶🧡
Would it not be easier to price out the yarn from a partial skein by weight? I’m thinking that calculating the price per yard based on the weight of a full skein (five ounce skein divided by 500 yards = 100 yd. per ounce) Then weigh what is left of the remaining skein and times that by your per ounce yardage. It would give you a more accurate/easier calculation than trying to measure what was left with a tape measure. Unless you have a very very small amount left that is.
Thanks for the info, take care and stay safe!
Hi Chris Cross Crafts! I absolutely agree with you! I actually have never weighted my yarn. This is a new skill that I plan on incorporating immediately. There have been a couple people mentioning the scale to me and it is genius. Thank you for bring it up again just to emphasis how much easier it is to use the scale. 😊🧡🧶
Thank you for sharing these tips its very helpful.😊👏👍
Hi Charlotte! You are most welcome! 😊🧶🧡
That's what I do except for the 10%. Will be adding that now
Awesome so excited!
Excellent info, thank you for sharing
Valuable information. Thank you. Blessings
You're welcome! 😊
Very helpful!! Thank you!
Very interesting even though I don't sell anything but if I ever do I know where to look for information.🍂🍁Christina
Thank you for this Tiffany 💜
So much good info. Thank you.
Thnx jazak ALLAH khair 🙏
I would love to have the pattern (and tutorial) for the monkey you are showing.
Also, you look very nice today. I really like the necklace.
Yes the necklace IS very pretty!
Hi Kami! Absolutely! I definitely plan on making a tutorial for this monkey. Thank you so much for your kind words! I thought I should dress more professional when talking business and money. 😄😊🧶🧡
Thank you so much.
You're welcome!
This was really helpful
Here is my problem… I have only been crocheting for over a year. I watch videos like you make to teach me. My grandmother taught me over 20 years ago to chain and double crochet. My daughter got pregnant so I decided to learn to crochet. I love to crochet and have made my son his comforter and my granddaughter all kinds of things. My husband abandoned us so I have started crocheting and selling it. It takes me several days to finish a blanket because I don’t crochet as fast as others … but also don’t crochet as slow as I use to when first learning. The time it takes me to make a blanket (I want my stitches right and no mistakes)… if I charged minimum wage plus materials they prolly couldn’t afford it and the additional 10%… I wish I crocheted faster but I don’t. What do we do for this problem? I don’t want to over charge or under charge but really stink at sells to begin with. I have a giving heart and end up basically spending all this time making it and it not making a difference. Please help. Not sure if I get notifications if you reply but … hope I don’t miss it. I have watched a lot of your videos while making a baby blanket and sent myself the ones I want to make. You are awesome! Btw …. I have a dandelion tattoo myself!
For Terri Chauncey: I was wondering the exact same thing. I have fibromyalgia and I am also a fairly new crocheter (about a year and a half now), and I feel like I am slower than the people on the videos. I am also meticulous about my work, and I think that slows me down. Maybe we can take a certain percentage off and see how that looks when we are done calculating. Like 5 or 10 prcnt of our total time before retail addition. Or.. we could watch some videos and see if we can figure out approximately how much slower we are. We may surprise ourselves and be faster than we think. Not pros, but not bad either. I really want and need to sell things. All I need now is more time and more confidence. Best of luck to you!!
Hi Terri! I feel for you. Selling crochet can be such a special experience. However, it can be tricky. Honestly, if you are trying to make money selling crochet stop making blankets. You won’t make money selling blankets. People don’t value the work that goes into it unless you are really good, use expensive materials, or it has a label/made by someone famous.
If you are trying to make money go for smaller projects you can make really fast and a lot of as cheap as possible.
Good research would be Google Trends. Seriously, Google Search: Google Trends Crochet or even Google Trends Crochet That Sells or Google Trends Popular Crochet.
HUGE info I just learned myself!!!
For example, right now it’s crochet book marks and bracelets, hats and scarf sets or even beanies/fingerless gloves sets. Just a quick example. Keychains are fun too.
I hope this helps and inspires you. Keep your chin up and a life lesson I have learned, if the path you are taking feels like you as walking through mud or the door just isn’t opening for you, it’s a sign to try something different. Maybe not completely pivot but change for sure. 😊🧶❤️
@@CrochetWithTiffany excellent advice. I was thinking blankets because that was what I started making, and basically, the shape is easy. I have recently made quite a few smaller items, and have enjoyed it because I accomplish something in a very small amount of time. So that makes more sense than trying to get 1 or 200 dollars for a blanket that nobody will buy. 🙂
Thank you 😊
You're welcome 😊
Tow do you work out how many yards or metres you've used or have left? I normally use a scale and weigh the remaining yarn.
Tiffany, when I use to strains of yarn to crochet my project, do I charge for both yarns or just the length of one?
BTW, I love your videos and tutorials. They have helped me a lot as a beginner.
Thank you so much.
That is a great question @jessicacarver9537. Account for ALL materials used. Think of it this way. If you ran out and had to buy more. Would you only have money for one yarn or for both? It is also a good idea to check to see how much yarn you will need for the project. Knowing this you can figure out if you could get away with only one skein divided into 2 OR if you would need to buy 2 skeins of yarn to complete the project.
Thank you so much for watching and crocheting with me! 😊❤️🧶
Thanks for sharing this information!!
You are most welcome!
Thanks for the info.
I am wondering how would you price out tool for making scrubbies or would you rcommend just using the entire ball and pricing from there??
What about s Afghan
How do I find the price of the yarn if I was gifted it with the label removed? Or would there be another way to add in that portion of the price to the total in a different way?
Hi Tiffany, Can you please share the book you got your information from. Would love to read it too! Thanks!!!
Hi Karen! Oh gosh, that was such a long time ago, and it was from a library so I don't even have it. Hmm, after looking on amazon I think it was this one: amzn.to/3fiwdkC . Thank you so much for asking.
When pricing items to sell, do you use reg price or sale price of yarn?
That is a great question! I use regular price always. There have been a few times I went back for yarn and it wasn’t on sale and I lost money because if it. The trick is to charge for the full price of the yarn (for those times you have to pay full price) but then seek out discounts to increase your profit.
Yes Donna, I agree with Tiffany also on Your Question being a "Great Question" & I also agree with Tiffany on her "Great Answer" & I want to Thank Both of You for answering the same question that I was looking for also 😊😊💝💝!
Thank you!!!🧶🌻
You are so welcome!
if you buy a pattern how do you go about charging for that do you add that to the price
So I used your formula you show, to do a mock-up of how much my current project should be sold for with my husband’s outlandish charge for my time at $15.00 per hour. Here it goes: my yardage between the two colors came to a cost of .030 cents, I multiplied that by my actual used yardage 1780 yards = $53.40 for the cost of materials. It took me (hypothetically) 24 hours in total to complete. $15.00 x24= $360.00 +$53.40=$413.40 + 10%=$454.74
Hi Desaundrea! Yes, crochet blankets never get what they should be priced for. That is why it is so hard to make blankets for profit. Haha, when you said you were giving yourself $15/hour I knew that your wholesale number was going to be huge. You have to keep you cost for time low and make up for your money in the Retail price. Like for me, my creations, without trying to be big headed, are of a professional level. I've been doing this a long time, crocheting to sell. I only pay myself max $12/hour. But I learned a long time ago that trying to make profit off of a blanket just doesn't happen. They take too long. AND often times the amount of material you use is going to run that blanket $60-$100 of the yarn alone. So I have come to 2 different outcomes when it comes to blankets. Either make blankets and sell them because you love to make blankets but understand you are going to lose money from the sale, OR price your item according to my formula, Remember to start out by giving yourself Minimum wage or only a dollar or two over that, Have to keep that number low. And then charge for that actual number. If you did the math and came out with $484.11, then charge that! IF a customer asks you why it is priced at $484.11 tell them that you did your math and for your time at $_______ / hour and the cost of your materials at $_____ and accounting for all the unaccounted for you came up with a wholesale price of this much and still have to cover X,Y,Z fees then the customer will respect your price. If your blanket quality is there and your are able to make a personal connection by using the tools I mention in my video Crochet To Sell Fall/Winter 2020, then you will be fine. Might need to tweek things and make blankets differently to meet a certain market and you might need to sell in certain locations to help connect with the right buyer but this formula will help give you empowerment in knowing that you did the math and you deserve that price. But again, like I said in the video, be realistic with the cost of your time and feel out your customers. You are not going to be able to make bank off your wholesale number. It's the retail number that will make you all that money. And if making blankets won't get you there maybe make the blankets for fun but actually sell something that makes more sense.
I am in the same boat. I've made shawl pins, which I have painted. All in, they are 5.5 hours each. My basic charge would have to be £56. I've not seen anything similar anywhere, but doubt I could sell many myself at that price never mind to a retailer. Ah well. Off to design something more bland & less labour intensive. I hand spin wool as well on a drop spindle & can't imagine ever making money at that either.
Tinx McFee You need to dye and sell that yarn lady! Hand spun wool is awesome and prized at the moment. And I would buy your pins, just gotta get the cost of materials down 😉
Desaundrea Morton-Pusey same! I would totally buy your pin Tinx! Handmade items that are original and true art needs support! Show us what you make Lady! Do you have a link to where we could see pictures?
Random, question. I am new to crocheting (2months). I am so much slower than I'd say an average crocheter. With that said it takes me approximately 2 hours to do a washcloth. Minimum wage is $15.00 an hour. Obviously it takes me about 3x longer than someone else 🙄. Obviously I would not charge $30 for one washcloth, lol 😆. Question is.....would I divide my time by 3 or something?
This is a fantastic question Jenn! So, my first recommendation is that if you have only been crocheting for 2 months, I would wait to make thing to sell. Work on learning all the basic stitches like the back of your hand, getting your yarn tension to where the stitches look really clean, and build up your speed. Because, like you said, 2 hours to make a washcloth means you need more time to develop you craft. And if you want to sell what you make, people will have high expectations.
But if you REALLY want to dive right into selling, I won't stop you. You may want to take out your time to make the item and just charge for materials + 10%. As you get faster and better at you crochet THEN start charging for your time. And as you get even better and having experience with selling your items you will figure out what is worth making and what is not worth making for your time/materials/ and energy. Something will take more time to make than others and sometimes people are not willing to pay for your time they way YOU value it. Truth bomb, there are some things I've made and put on my table only making $3.00/hour because I had to drop my price that much for someone to actually buy it.
But when you can figure out what to make that does well in your area and time of year! It can be quite rewarding. Cough cough BEANIES cough cough. Especially Beanies in colors that represent local sports teams and/or popular tv shows/movies/trending popular things.
😉🧶🧡
@@CrochetWithTiffany Thank you so much for all your advice. My daughter and I are considering starting to sell items I the new year. It's kind of a bummer that we will miss out on all the Christmas sales but I felt like working on our skill level was much more important at the time.
Guess what ....I told you it takes me about 2 hours to do a washcloth......I've since done 15 of them and after changing my stitch from bpsc to now 1 row SC and 2nd row DC repeat (which I personally love the look, of) I can now completely a washcloth, with border and sewing in my ends in just less than 1 hour. You have no idea how exciting I am to have improved that quickly. I've even drastically improved my waffle stitch washcloth times as well
ALSO, for me, this is how I measure my time making a product:
I make granny square items, so I measure my time by 3DC clusters. It takes me 7 seconds to make one 3DC cluster + ch 1.
If I make a granny square that's 3 rows, that's 24 clusters in all. 24 clusters x 7 seconds is 168 seconds, so roughly 3 minutes. If I make 24 squares for a blanket, that's 72 minutes. Joining them all together is another 16 clusters per square, SO 16 x 24 x 7 = 2,688, ÷ 60 = 45 minutes 🤯🥴 45 + 72 = 117, ÷ 60 = roughly 2 hours.
And 2 hours still isn't an exact because that didn't factor in changing colors and cutting yarn and weaving in ends, etcetc. BUT, it's a rough start to go off of, any this way you don't have to start a stop a timer every time you start working again. You just have to know how long it takes you to make a row or cluster or whatever, and multiply that by how many there are.
Because sometimes I'll sit here for 5 hours working on something and think "Oh God that's already $55 for time alone, will anyone pay that?" And then I realize that I've watched about 10 TH-cam videos in that time and gotten a snack and talked to whoever, so it wasn't REALLY 5 hours I worked on it. 🤣
I think this is all really good info but it doesn't work for every thing. I made an entrelac knitted blanket that took me over 40 hrs. Now my state minimum wage is 10$ hr. So Just with time alone that is a $400 blanket then there is the stuff i used and your 10%. No one is going to pay that price for a blanket. For smaller things i think your math works well but for something like the blanket i mentioned it would be a loss. At the most one may get $100.
Hi Ladyoflosttimes! I completely understand what you mean about making a blanket and then if following the formula it would make that blanket more than $400. That is why I struggle with the idea of selling a handmade blanket. You do not get nearly what you put into the blanket. I don't understand why people will make a blanket that they should charge for $400 to be worth their time and materials but then only charge $100. It's not worth it unless you are crocheting and selling because it's your hobby. But if you are selling the blankets for profit? What profit? Really, you are losing on the item not gaining. But if the technique is there, the work is really well done and professional then I would say charge that $400 +. IF you have done the math and can back up why you are charging for the blanket what you are charging, even if you are only comfortable selling at that wholesale number the buyer will actually respect that A LOT. You might be surprised what people will spend for quality AND for a personal connection. Something I talk about in my video Crochet to Sell Fall and Winter 2020.
What about taxes? Do you add that in?
Hi Karen! That is a great question. Taxes will come at the end of the purchase. So, price your item according to the formula, let your customers buy what they want to buy, and then at the very end of the transaction they are charged the tax. If you use Etsy they actually have a location where you can say how much of a percentage you want to charge for Tax. If you are concerned about tax at all you can absolutely add tax into the price. You will want to do that at the very end after you have done your retail price because THAT is what YOU will be taxed on or what you will have to report. And then you can tell the customer that is the final total no additional tax. I hope this helps. 😊🧡🧶
How would you price dishclothes?
Hi Lisa! That is a great question! Definitely one you will want to feel out with your customers. After doing the math dishclothes can be one of those projects you only make wholesale off of. Some places you will be able to sell well and some places you may not. So definitely look at where you are selling. I sell my smaller washclothes for $3.00 a piece but my wholesale number is $4.50. In some locations I was able to sell them for $4.50 a piece. And my larger washclothes I sell for $6.00 but my wholesale number would be $7.50. Again, in certain locations I could sell for more and get it. I have played with my washclothes and noticed that when I put a lable on them they sold a lot better. And I could probably sell them for the wholesale price if I were more confident and just priced them as such. People will pay more for a product that they see value in. I hope this helps! 😊🧶🧡
@@CrochetWithTiffany so you would not be doing the cost of materials plus minimum wage. Do you sew and crochet. How much would you sell rice bags for
@@CrochetWithTiffany thanks. With your own business can you also sell hooks and yarn and if so how do you do it
Good mornng ,do you have a list for pricing your crochet itemsilive in Wasaga Beach,ontario, Canada,.
Hi Nancy, I don’t currently have a price list created but lists are always helpful. 😊
How do you deal with justifying your minimum wage for your area when it is higher than areas you sell to?
For example, minimum wage in Washington state varies between $13.69 and $15/hr depending on the city. I now have to sell products online because there are no in person events happening because of covid restrictions. How do I market to people in states with only a $7.25/hr minimum wage? Based on other comments, my prices even for a hat would be unreasonable. I'm guessing I have to find some wage in between the two, but how should I determine what to have it at now?
Hi Jessica, I completely understand your concern for pricing your item. When I price my items on Etsy I do not focus on other people or other states information. I only think about my own information. My own cost for materials. My own state minimum wage. Now, because I have been crocheting for 20+ years and have compared my products to others I consider myself an advanced crocheter with high quality products. I only give myself $12/hour. Yep. Not killing it over here. So I don’t generally have to think of minimum wage because I am paying myself more. I don’t openly tell people this because there are people out there that think they deserve $15-$20/hour and their quality is mediocre. You Have To Base You’re Prices Off Of What People Are Willing To Pay. You will have to play around with what you can make that actually makes sense to sell and make a profit off of. Watch your materials. Are your materials really nice and worth more money? Organic, 100% alpaca/wool, recycled, from another part of the world? If you are using a special material you can charge more. If you are using a cheap material you can charge less but watch your materials. Nobody ever bought anything I ever made with Red Heart Super Saver. Just saying. What can you make quickly that you can lower your cost of time? Washclothes do not make any sense to sell unless you can make them really fast and sell them for a higher price. Also, Etsy is cut throat. The crochet market is flooded. You will want to watch videos to help you find a way to stand out from the crowd. I sell best in person when people can actually touch my things but I understand that the times we are in now makes that super difficult.
Ultimately what I am trying to say is follow my formula to make the price fair to you. Don’t worry about other states. All states really keep their Retail number the same they just adjust the wholesale number underneath meaning depending on where you are you will earn more or less but still make your wholesale amount.
Research! Work smarter not harder. Figure out what is worth making. Make sure to focus on things that make an emotional connection with people. Otherwise you are wasting your time and money. Please watch my videos on what to crochet to sell for help on this.
Best of luck to you.
Perfect video for me. I have been filling up tubs if knitted & crocheted baby things. I was suppost to sell it in an open market place with my bestie who makes toys and cushions and fills with poly fill. Oh boy she let me have it when I made a baby huggie and filled it with cotton balls. I have no clue how much to sell it for. I met a girl through facebook. She sells baby items and more. Shes been wanting to go in business with me. I never went for it. The first cardigan I asked her hiw much to sell it for. She said £10. Or maybe £8.Thats what she sells hers for. I spent £12 on the yarn. And £3 on buttons. I compared to the yarn she uses. She buys the cheap quality yarn that wont be anything after the first wash. Plus I make cables and shells and designs. I have a lot more neater work like hiding the ends. She makes plain knit and purl rows and it barely uses one skein for a newborn cardigan. I used more that one skein on the cardigan. Plus the time it took would be 3 or 4 days. Verses the plain knit and purl. That would take me few hours. I wouldn't even sell for that amount if I spent more for it. But if I post it on the Facebook marketplace. I'm sure people would have the same mindset. Why is hers £10 and mine £15 or more. I may have to describe in the description section. That I use good quality yarn and the fancy buttons. The baby booties I am planning to make? I want to put a satin lining in it. I made a set last week and added cotton sole lining in it.
Oh gosh! Totally get how pricing things can be so hard, especially when comparing your item with someone else’s work. Hopefully this video helps you to stand by a certain price that is fair to you and how much you are into it. Wow, sounds like you have a couple different opportunities to sell your crochet! How exciting. Good luck!
How do I buy cheap yarn?any advice. ?
Hi Tena! I would be careful buying "Cheap" yarn mainly because "Cheap" yarn is cheap for a reason. The quality is not always there which depending on what you are making will really hurt you in your sales. I recommend seeking out great quality yarn on killer sales. Watch for the sale and buy up a lot while it's so cheap. This might mean saving up. I have found my best buys at JoAnn's or Michaels Craft Store on a mega sale watching the sales AND coupons. There are often times the yarn is on sale and you can get discounts off of Total Purchase which is a double deal. I have also started buying yarn online watching the prices. Lovecrafts.com, Herrschners.com, and Hobbii.com have great prices and have sales which is awesome. Have a plan before you go to buy yarn. It is easy to get distracted and buy yarn that is beautiful but you don't need. Having a plan will also help you to seek out the best prices on a specific item. Sorry about all the information. I hope this helps.
I have tried to do this like I made a blanket with a siloute of Elvis on it. It took 3 months to make it but that was off and on so I estimated that it in reality if I would have worked it 24/7 it would have taken about 3/4 weeks and 50 dollars yarn and I been trying to sell it for 150 and everyone I talk to says they won't pay that much. And want to only give me 50 dollars what do I do in that situation
Hi Julie, Oh gosh that's hard. Blankets are one area that crafters/artisans get the short end of the stick. We work so long on the blanket and the material cost is high but people don't want to pay what it's worth. That's why it is so important to know your exact numbers so that you can price something and know WHY it is fair to you. Is the quality there? Are people impressed when they see your blankets or does it look like an amateur blanket? Totally not intending to insult your work just asking a broad question to offer perspective. What does the customer see when they are looking at your blanket? Is the price something YOU would pay? And then to give you peace of mind lets compare your "HAND-MADE" blanket to a machine manufactured blanket. The machine manufactured knit blanket at Pottery Barn that is a Lapghan size (not even full throw) is ON SALE right now for $104 (www.potterybarn.com/products/chunky-hand-knit-throw/?pkey=cthrows-blankets&isx=0.0.2300&cm_sp=2824-inbs). People, Companies, are selling their blankets for a higher price and WE as CRAFTERS/ARTISANS who make blankets with our own hands putting in the time and money to make these creations should be able to make at least our Wholesale cost for that blanket.
I would say price that blanket at what you calculated your Wholesale price to be and then sit on it for awhile. Advertise it on Facebook Market Place, on Instagram if you have one, on Etsy if you have an account, Craigslist. Maybe even visit a local yarn or art supplies store, coffee shop and boutique and see if you can hang it on the wall for sale. (Take into account that you will want to get your wholesale price back in your pocket. These location will want a cut of the profit and that is where your Retail price comes in). (Also, if you post to social media ask people to repost your blanket for sale if they like it so that your post will reach more people)
My apologies for getting on my soap box and preaching. You have inspired me to make a video on this topic because you are not the first person to say that they make blankets but can't charge their wholesale price for them and I think we need to change that. Thank you so much for reaching out to me. Please, if you can, post a picture of your blanket in my Facebook Group "I'm Hooked For Hope" for all of us to spread the word and see your blanekt. 😊🧶🧡
@@CrochetWithTiffany thanks I will look you up and i will do that I would love to be able to make my own patterns as well but have no idea how. This video explains the process of the price a lot better than some I have seen thank you for doing this for us
You are most welcome! 😊❤️🧶
@@CrochetWithTiffany I posted it in the group
Too confusing
Hi Glen! Maybe I can help, what part was confusing?
@@CrochetWithTiffany Everything. Some people are visual and need detail. For beginners on how to sell their work, could you do another video showing precisely, step by step like actually doing a tutorial and explain along the way. Also, there're too many people with different versions on calculating the cost for selling can also become confusing. My main question is are weighing left over yarn from the project you made, or the actual project that you are weighing?
@@kaycee6036 Hi Kaycee. I’ll break down my answers for your questions but honestly this will make more sense with experience. Do it one way, see what happens, and then re-adjust if you need to. That’s the nature of selling your handmade items.
I’ve been selling my handmade items for 11 years. I have found that things sell better in person than online and that as a handmade item seller you will generally undercut yourself to the point of running yourself right out of business or you may find yourself making things that won’t sell well and you need to learn and pivot to make thing that will sell better.
Because selling your own handmade things means you set your own prices that is where everyone WILL differ. So make sure your prices make sense to YOU and make it worth it for YOU.
I have met many people selling their hand made crochet items because they are bored and just want to make a little money so they undersell their items at an amount that cuts everyone’s throats. That’s not fair to the young mother trying to make money to help her family.
My formula is easy. (Material $ + Time $) x 10%. That’s it. For a wholesale number you try not to go below.
If the item you made, when doing the math, doesn’t make sense then DON’T make that item to sell it. You’re wasting your time and money. If you do choose to sell the item for under that amount then understand that you are cutting into the worth of your time.
As a young mother I felt my time away from my kids and husband to make things to sell was worth at least minimum wage because that was the equivalent of me going to work somewhere else except I could be home.
The weighing your yarn debate.
What you will do is weight your yarn BEFORE you make the item and then weight the yarn AFTER you make the item. The difference of the weight in ounces is what you used to make the item and you can then convert the ounces to yards based on the yarn label information.
It is not 100% accurate but will work in a pinch to give you an approximate number.
I choose to know the exact number so that if I need to know how many washcloths I can make from one skein of yarn (for example). I know exactly how many I can get.
It can all be a lot of information. I realize that. But the more experience you have gathering this information the quicker and easier it will get. And believe me, knowing the information for the cost for everything involved in what you make will empower you and open your eyes to what you really should be charging for something. And if selling is a direction you really want to go.
Sorry you talk to much about nothing just go to the subject
😒😞