How to Price Wood Crafts
Whether you're into crafts as a hobby and enjoy the do-it-yourself feeling of being artistic or you're hoping to make a living as a woodworker by selling your designs, it can be difficult to put a price on your creations. Wood crafts may be a subjective field, hard to determine exactly what to charge for something, but there are ways to ensure you calculate enough to cover your expenses and possibly make a little profit as well.
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Instructions
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Examine the new craft item you've created and note down the pieces used to make it (for example: two 2-inch wood slats, four toy wheels, red paint, mini race car driver figure).
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Calculate how much time it took you to make the item.
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Visit the United States Department of Labor Minimum Wage website to determine the minimum hourly wage for your state (note that most of the states are the same, $7.25 as of 2010, but some states have laws providing for employers that give health benefits or those who fall under a certain number of employees).
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Multiply the hourly rate by the amount of time you spent creating your wood craft (for example, a 20-minute craft would be approximately $2.42 on the $7.25 per hour scale).
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Add the amount of money you spent on the craft; this new total becomes the minimum base price to charge--otherwise you would lose money on the craft.
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Search woodworking crafter websites to get an idea of how much items like yours are being priced. For example, if you make wood pendants, search a crafter site for "wood necklaces" or "wood jewelry."
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Add a small dot sticker (choose stickers that do not leave a residue) or tag to your item which states the price clearly and visibly. If your items are small (such as wood post earrings or pins), create a sign on the computer with a photo of the item and its price displayed next to it.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep your receipts each time you visit the craft supply or wood shop. When you get home, write down why you purchased the items (if you know what craft they'll be used for, add that to the back of the receipt). You'll be able to look back at the receipts to know how much you spent to make the craft, which will help you when pricing them.
Consider your market. If you're setting up shop at a weekly flea market or swap meet, buyers may be looking for rock bottom prices and bargains. If you're exhibiting at a trade show or specialty artists' market, consider pricing your items within a higher range.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit wood image by Alexandru Buzatu from Fotolia.com
