Pricing help needed ...

I don't know where it is right now. One of us lost it in the move. As soon
as I find it I'll post a photo.
"Dr. Sooz" wrote in message
...
Picture?

I did one of my daughter's 16th birthday presents in jasper and
some stunning dicro lampwork. It was before I could do lampwork and it
cost
more than anything else on the necklace. It turned out so beautiful that
I
borrow it every once in a while.


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry."
John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

How complex are these?

I am hoping to be able to do some attractive things in larger beads,
like the size 8 hexes, that I can sell for a rate more people could
afford, although I think anyone who understands what goes into the
more complex stuff and is willing to pay a fair rate for it ... should
be cultivated.

Long may such customers prosper... and their jewelry-makers will
prosper in turn.

Deirdre

On 28 Aug 2003 19:51:49 GMT, uppies (Dr. Sooz)
wrote:

I sell my off-loom work now, to people I care about -- and I charge several
hundred dollars, minimum, for each bracelet.

That's why I don't sell any of my loom work. It takes hours and hours on
the loom, not including coming up with the initial designs. They are for my
pleasure only.


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

This sounds like a very reasonable formula. Now all I need is a market
in which it -works- grin.

Deirdre

On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 19:51:44 GMT, "Tante Lina"
wrote:

Deirdre S. wrote in message ...
I keep saying that for me, copper is the 'real thing' instead of
cheap, practice materials. I adore its sheen and color, and actually
prefer the look to gold or silver in lots of settings.


Me too! I also thought that copper necklace was wonderful.

As far as pricing goes, my *ideal* method is to add up the cost of my
materials and the hourly rate for assembly (what you would pay someone else
to do it, which is probably your $10 an hour figure), and double it. The
rationale for this is the same as in retail, if you can't make 100% profit
on an item, you probably shouldn't bother selling it. If you can sell items
with the above formula, you could theoretically hire someone to assemble for
you. Then if there was design time, I try to add a 15% profit over that.
Sometimes this needs to be adjusted downward for the situation (when you
compare your price / merchandise to the other stuff on the site, for
instance. Or if the materials cost for an item is especially high, I'll sell
them at cost to make the item more affordable.)

Thought you might be interested in a tip from the Reactive Metals catalog.
They suggest shoe polish as an anti-tarnish coating for copper and brass!
I've not tried it yet.

* TL *

Deirdre S. wrote in message ...
OK, I'll bite ... what kind of shoe polish? I've heard of polishing
with a 'hard' wax, like carnauba, and I did in fact use that on the
necklace in question. But it was sold as car polish, not shoe
polish...

Well ya know, it was just a little sidebar thing, not explained any more
than that. If I find out any more, I'll let you know. They're just down
the road from my mom's house, and I pick up an order there once in a while.

* TL *

Deirdre S. wrote in message ...
This sounds like a very reasonable formula. Now all I need is a market
in which it -works- grin.

I hear ya. :^)

* TL *

Any chance I could see one of these bracelets? I am having a hard time
comparing an unknown object with the stuff I make myself.

And even more interesting, where and how is she marketing her $600
retail version?? Lots of us would be thrilled to know...

Deirdre

On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 15:34:08 -0500, "starlia"
wrote:

I met a lady in one of my seed bead classes. She was selling some of her
works for $300 to friends and wholesalers. She doubling her profits to $600
by selling in the market. They are gorgeous and fairly easy to make. She
uses Austrian crystals and that has a pretty good cost all by itself.
However, they are stunning. I would wear one of the bracelets for a formal
gathering if I didn't have a beautiful Victorian slide bracelet my hubby
gave me last year.

Starlia

"Deirdre S." wrote in message
news
How complex are these?

I am hoping to be able to do some attractive things in larger beads,
like the size 8 hexes, that I can sell for a rate more people could
afford, although I think anyone who understands what goes into the
more complex stuff and is willing to pay a fair rate for it ... should
be cultivated.

Long may such customers prosper... and their jewelry-makers will
prosper in turn.

Deirdre

On 28 Aug 2003 19:51:49 GMT, uppies (Dr. Sooz)
wrote:

I sell my off-loom work now, to people I care about -- and I charge
several
hundred dollars, minimum, for each bracelet.

That's why I don't sell any of my loom work. It takes hours and hours
on
the loom, not including coming up with the initial designs. They are
for my
pleasure only.


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry."
John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

"Deirdre S." wrote in message
...
How do I find a workable cocktail that combines 'what went into
materials', 'how long it took', 'how much skill is involved' plus the
ineffable 'design factor', which relates to how dramatic or unusual or
fashionable it is, or whatever the heck else goes into its market
appeal?

There are many things to consider when pricing an item for sale:

1) You must keep accurate records of how much you paid for your materials
( including tax and shipping) and how much of each material was used to
create the piece. Whatever that amount is double it, because that extra
money helps pay for your time in shopping for the materials, and for tools
and such.

2) You must keep track of how long the item took to make. If it was your
first attempt and it took a long time because you are a beginner, you may
want to average the time out a bit after you have made a number of the same
item. Obviously a slow beginner is not going to have as much profit as a
faster experienced person.

3) You have to decide how much per hour you need to make. If you are a
beginner that should at least be minimum wage, as you get better then the
sky is the limit. If you are really good and really creative people will
pay more per hour for your labors. I think $8-$10 an hour is a fair starting
wage for a new inexperienced jeweler, but as you get to be more productive
or your quality improves you can charge way more.

One problem you may encounter is with the Indian style bead work. I was
never able to make a profit on it because it takes so long to make, and
there is too much competition willing to sell it dirt cheap. I don't know
about you , but if something takes me half a day to make I'm not going to
sell it for $10! I can't pay my bills on that. Some of your seed bead items
are
really unique, so they should command a higher price based on uniqueness.


4) You need to add an extra $1 or more to each piece to cover your overhead,
such as phone bill, propane use, electricity, etc. For a simple piece add a
little, for a complex piece that took hours or days add more.

5) You need to add in a few $$ towards advertising and marketing expenses.
Perhaps whatever it costs you to maintain your own website, list items on
eBay, or rent a table at a craft fair.

6) If you sell your items directly, you should add a bit more to cover your
time and energy as a salesperson, because that is a separate job which
takes even more of your time. If someone else sells for you they will
discuss their commission with you. The item will be marked up further to
reflect how much they want to make off of it, and how much they think they
can get for it. With gold and watches the retail markup is usually double,
and the silver markup is often quintuple . Costume jewelry is trickier, but
it is usually at least double.

7) If you sell mail order or via eBay make sure you add in the cost of
packing materials and your time and energy to write the listing, photograph
the items, pack the items, and drop them off at the post office. If you use
a digital camera you will save money on photo processing fees.

8) Keep accurate records of how much you sell and to whom. If you want to do
this legally and professionally you will need to report your profits to the
IRS. A bonus though is that you can also deduct your expenses, and get a
resale certificate so that you can buy wholesale and not pay taxes.

I haven't sold jewelry in a long time, but these are some of the things I
took into
consideration with each item when pricing it.

Hope it helps,

Rebecca

Thanks. That was very comprehensive.

And I hear you when it comes to Native American style seed bead work.
Even the most gorgeous things are priced to strike terror in the heart
of anyone who loves to make it, but needs it to bring a price that
reflects what goes into it (like me).

I shuddered when I saw stuff that I knew from experience takes *hours*
to do selling for under ten-bucks at a local *grocery* store. It was a
classy grocery, with lovely things in their personal-care and
adornment area, but my lord! There is no way to compete with that. And
no way to make your livelihood that way.

Deirdre

On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 21:58:38 GMT, "NYC-FMS"
wrote:

I haven't sold jewelry in a long time, but these are some of the things I
took into
consideration with each item when pricing it.

Hope it helps,

Let me see if I can get a picture of one. They are pretty easy to make,
just a little time consuming. The local jewelry stores sell them for much
higher than $600. That's where she got her inspiration.

"Deirdre S." wrote in message
...
Any chance I could see one of these bracelets? I am having a hard time
comparing an unknown object with the stuff I make myself.

And even more interesting, where and how is she marketing her $600
retail version?? Lots of us would be thrilled to know...

Deirdre

On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 15:34:08 -0500, "starlia"
wrote:

I met a lady in one of my seed bead classes. She was selling some of her
works for $300 to friends and wholesalers. She doubling her profits to
$600
by selling in the market. They are gorgeous and fairly easy to make.
She
uses Austrian crystals and that has a pretty good cost all by itself.
However, they are stunning. I would wear one of the bracelets for a
formal
gathering if I didn't have a beautiful Victorian slide bracelet my hubby
gave me last year.

Starlia

"Deirdre S." wrote in message
news
How complex are these?

I am hoping to be able to do some attractive things in larger beads,
like the size 8 hexes, that I can sell for a rate more people could
afford, although I think anyone who understands what goes into the
more complex stuff and is willing to pay a fair rate for it ... should
be cultivated.

Long may such customers prosper... and their jewelry-makers will
prosper in turn.

Deirdre

On 28 Aug 2003 19:51:49 GMT, uppies (Dr. Sooz)
wrote:

I sell my off-loom work now, to people I care about -- and I charge
several
hundred dollars, minimum, for each bracelet.

That's why I don't sell any of my loom work. It takes hours and
hours
on
the loom, not including coming up with the initial designs. They are
for my
pleasure only.


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your
jewelry."
John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

I am an Native American artist and I can tell you that most of NA's sell
their stuff dirt cheap and then someone else makes a killing. That's why I
like to come up with my own designs, but keep them somewhat Native. At
least in looming. I didn't grow up on a reservation, but I have lots of NA
friends who help me with inspiration. I love the old tales and will
probably make jewelry to tell those tales.


"Deirdre S." wrote in message
...
Thanks. That was very comprehensive.

And I hear you when it comes to Native American style seed bead work.
Even the most gorgeous things are priced to strike terror in the heart
of anyone who loves to make it, but needs it to bring a price that
reflects what goes into it (like me).

I shuddered when I saw stuff that I knew from experience takes *hours*
to do selling for under ten-bucks at a local *grocery* store. It was a
classy grocery, with lovely things in their personal-care and
adornment area, but my lord! There is no way to compete with that. And
no way to make your livelihood that way.

Deirdre

On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 21:58:38 GMT, "NYC-FMS"
wrote:

I haven't sold jewelry in a long time, but these are some of the things
I
took into
consideration with each item when pricing it.

Hope it helps,