How to Price Your Wood Projects

Determine a fair price based on the materials and labor you put into your wood craft projects.

You have gotten pretty good at making wood crafts and your friends and neighbors keep asking you about buying them. If you have not previously sold a craft, you may be a bit shy about telling them a price. Having a systematic method of calculating prices, which takes into account expenses and labor, will assure that you are charging fairly, giving you the confidence to give interested buyers a price.

Instructions

1. Add up the material expenses involved in making the craft. Look back at your receipts to see how much you paid for wood, glue, nails, screws, stain, paint and other accessories. If you bought a bulk amount of something and only used a portion for the project, determine the unit price of the fraction of the whole that you used. For emerging craftspeople, it is fully acceptable to approximate.

2. Calculate the number of hours you spent working on the craft. If you do not have this documented, approximate the amount. Determine an hourly wage for yourself. When you are first starting to sell your work, start with a low hourly wage that is not more than $15. As your sales increase and your projects gain popularity, gradually increase your hourly wage. Keep an eye on what other craftspeople at your level are charging and do not over- or under-price your work. Multiply the number of hours by the hourly wage.

3. Add the total material expenses and the total wage based on hours. Round the calculated amount to the nearest even number to determine your selling price.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep files of all of your expenses as well as your sales so you can file taxes for your business at the end of the year.

References

• What The Craft: How to Price Your Craft
• Art Business: Art Prices - Price Your Art Realistically