Have you ever thought about selling things you knit and crochet? With the popularity of etsy, many crafters are opening up shop and selling their handmade creations.
If you do decide to go for it, the first question that is bound to come up is pricing. How do you know what to charge? To help answer that question, we’re turning to the expert James Dillehay, author of the book How to Price Crafts & Things You Make to Sell. (And to sweeten the deal, we’re giving away a copy of his insightful book. Read on to find out more!)
Q: Pricing can feel a bit like a guessing game. How can people be more strategic about it?
A: When I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t making much of a profit, I began applying the following strategy. Whenever I go to price an item now, I look at: 1) how much a piece costs to make and 2) how much shoppers are willing to pay for similar items in similar marketplaces.
What it costs me isn’t necessarily my asking price, because the average market price of work like mine may be higher. If I only ask enough to get my costs back, I will leave money on the table. I have a gallery in crafts village near Santa Fe, NM where I display my work. I started off pricing my hand-woven scarves at $65 because it covered my production costs and paid me a decent hourly wage for my time.
However, when customers coming into the store mentioned they had seen scarves the same size of mine priced at $100 in nearby Santa Fe, I immediately went through and upped my prices to $74. My sales not only did not suffer; they increased.
Q: What kinds of things should crafters consider when assessing their production costs?
A: Production costs include the cost of all the materials that go into each item and the cost of your labor. For example, you make a Christmas ornament that has glass, wire, paint, and glitter. You may have to estimate little things like how much paint and glitter, but get as close as you can. Let’s say you find you have $2.75 in total material costs.
Next, figure how much time it took you to make the ornament. For example, you want to earn at least $10 per hour and it took 45 minutes to make the item; your cost of labor is $7.50. Add material costs to labor costs which brings your production cost to $10.25.
If you sell at shows, you need to account for rental fees, travel, and food. Over time, I learned my overhead tended to average around 25% of sales, so I started adding 25% of my production costs to cover overhead. This may be a little low since you could be selling at prices higher than your production costs but look at your own sales over a year’s time and determine a percentage that comes close.
So for our example ornament, I add $2.56 (25% of my production costs) to $10.25 which brings my total costs to $12.81 per piece. I cannot charge less than this amount without losing money.
Q: Why do so many craft makers undercharge for their products and why is that a mistake?
A: I think it’s natural to think a lower price means we’ll sell something faster. But with handmade items, this isn’t always true. In my gallery, I have several times had to raise prices on items before they start selling. Shoppers saw initially low prices and thought the items were cheaply made, so they passed them by. Once I upped the prices, the perceived value increased and so did sales.
About the author: James Dillehay is a professional craft artist, gallery owner, and author of nine books. He has been interviewed in The Wall Street Journal Online, Yahoo Finance, The Chicago Tribune, Bottom Line Personal, Family Circle, The Crafts Report, and many more including Entrepreneur Radio and HGTV. For more information on his book and tips on pricing crafts, see http://howtopricecrafts.com.
This Q&A barely skims the surface of all the great, practical advice this book has to offer. For a chance to win a copy, leave a comment below.
I am an avid knitting and crocheting hobbyist, and am considering selling my items, but have virtually no knowledge of same. This is a wonderful resource!
My sister-in-law owned a craft srore. When she first opened, she asked crafters how
This looks like a great book! My biggest challenge with selling my home made stuff is knowing whether or not I’m allowed too. I understand if a pattern says not to sell, you should respect that and not sell items made from that pattern, but if i purchase the pattern can I sell what I made? I’m really scared to offend anyone.
It’s always been a mystery to me, pricing and selling, thanks!
I am in the same situation. Trying to determine the value of the hats I make through others eyes as well as my own, has been a constant struggle. This article has been very helpful.
I’ve just recently decided that I would try to sell some of my items. This book would be sooooo helpful.
My sister-in-law owned a craft srore. When she first opened, she asked crafters how they determined prices. They all said the same thing: 3 times the cost of supplies. That has always worked for us. I’m a slow knitter. If I used the example above, charging $10 an hour, I would be charging hundreds of dollars for my shawls and svarves and never sell anything.
I am fearful of pricing and need the encouragement this book offers. I always underprice, or perhaps I am marketing wrong. I don’t know, but would be very interested in the lessons offered here.
I’ve been thinking of selling my knitted stuff. I just don’t know where to begin or how much to sell them for. What a great idea for a book!!
I’ve been thinking of opening an Etsy shop, but am baffled by how to price things. Would love to win this book.
I am just now starting to sell things I handknit. I am making scarves, hats and mittens and a few baby things. What an excellent book!
I think sometimes the opposite is true. I fairly priced a hand woven Sterling necklace I made. the silver wasn’t cheap (it was solid wire), I noted my time, clasp material and priced it close to what I’ve seen hand made necklaces for. I constantly had people offer me $15 for it, when the silver alone was more than that because it was 16g wire…
its sad. I’ve been hesitant to sell my hand knits for this reason
It’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment to sell something you’ve made. But I need to do it more professionally.
So many people ask me “what would you charge me to make one of those for me?” And I never know what to say. Sounds like this book could me alot.
I do sell some of my crochet, knitting and other hand crafted items. First, I ‘hire’ me at 18$ an hour and then the cost of materials. Once I sold two crocheted dolls…my best friend (a fellow crafter) and daughter had set the price on these dolls @ 35$ each. When the dolls were delivered my customer he was very satisfied. He sent me 90$ stating I had under priced my work. Further, stating due to the quality and usual nature of the dolls, I should consider raising the price of each doll. I have found other customers of different items stating similar sentiments. Therefore, I take into consideration ‘what the market can/will allow’…..I have never heard ‘this is to pricey’.
Pricing is truly a key to success – and skills should never be undervalued. I’m very interested in learning more about his book and would love the chance to win it! Thanks!
I would say look on sites like Esty and Ebay to see what others are selling items for. I just like knitting gifts for friends and family. I also knit caps for chemo patients. I wouldn’t feel right charging people. I do it for stress relief, not to add stress. If others want to make things for profit. More power to them!! I say go for it. I just do it for enjoyment!
I’ve also been wanting to sell items, and pricing has been my #1 obstacle. Thank you for these tips; my fingers are crossed for winning this book – imagine starting to sell because of gifted tips! On the business side, no out-of-pocket!
I want to read his book, definitely. This is a question that comes up very often about my knitting. Thanks!
I started selling my knit items about a year ago and have struggled with pricing. I agree with the author, if you price items too low then people think they are cheap. However, knitting can be very time-intensive so I can’t always justify including an hourly wage for myself into the price of the item. For example, I made a scarf with relatively inexpensive yarn but an intricate pattern. Let’s say it took me 20 hours to complete the scarf, with $5 in materials. I can’t charge $200 for it! But I also can’t charge $10 for it either. This is the struggle!
I did sell at my first craft sale this fall and believe that my prices were appropriate for the audience. I sold more than I expected to, and did not have anyone balk at the prices. Several people commented that my items were reasonably priced. At the same time though, I don’t think I left money on the table.
I would love to read the author’s entire work and see if I can get more tips!
I’ve been selling my knits, plants, and baked goods at our local Farmer’s Market the last 2 seasons (’11, &’12). It’s been a struggle on pricing and selling. We have a very small market, bigger this year than last, but not a whole lot of traffic.
My baked goods sold far better than my dishcloths, but pricing baked goods is a a real dilemma! SO many ingredients and different times involved. My tomato and herb plants were my best sellers last spring. I’ve been making the self-curling knitted scarves in recent weeks & selling them very well, at aprox 3x cost of the yarn. A Christmas Craft show is rapidly approaching, I’m trying to get more scarves made, & will have to start my cookie dough soon. Up-to-date pricing info from the book would be very helpful.
I DO know that even though we think we can’t charge “SO much” for our time, that’s a disservice to ourselves, and our friendly co-vendors. (Those crafters JUST charging $2 or $3 for a knitted or crocheted dishcloth drive me crazy! Not too many crafters can make one in less than an hour -I can’t, for sure-, and they say “It’s JUST a dishcloth”, or “something I do while I watch tv”—it’s STILL your Time AND Effort AND cost of your yarns/needles and effort to get it online or in a craft mall! DOH!) Most days, someone WILL buy something of ours, at whatever price we’ve set. One of my last customers at the market the other day had already bought baked goods from the vendor next to me (yummy cupcakes), (& she ignored me completely), then bought cheaper-than-mine cookies a few booths away, then, as she was returning to her car, walked right by my booth. I was able to get her attention, and she bought a package of my cookies—even AFTER she’d been to the other two vendors. Yay her, for being in a buying mood!
Thanks for the book review, and the contest! Much appreciated, both.
I need this book, lol!! After being bullied by friends (in a good way), I just started my own facebook business page, to test the waters & see what interest is there. I already have orders from some school mom friends, and friends in my moms group..and I’m hoping I get the prices right or thereabouts. I would love to read this whole book!
Excelente idea, la de asesorar a quienes, como yo, vendemos nuestro trabajo artesanal de tejido.
He cometido hace muy poco, el pecado, de vender a bajo precio y el resultado es que no he vendido casi nada, porque según me han dicho, la gente piensa que mis trabajos no son de calidad.
Ciertamente la calidad de los mismos, no es para nada baja, ya que soy muy exigente con todos los detalles y llevo toda mi vida en el tema.
Me he sentido muy mal, por saber que la gente asocia calidad con precio alto, ya que mi intención era vender productos de calidad a un buen precio.
Ahora me veo en la obligación de subir mis precios, para ver si así la gente los ve de distinto modo y los adquiere.
Me encantaría poder leer el libro en su totalidad y ojalá pueda obtener una copia del mismo.
Gracias por esta oportunidad!
Roslinda Madafferi (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
I have just started getting requests for items that I make and am considering opening an online store. I would love to have this book!
I am at the beginning stages of creating a business name and selling my items and, the sample seems more informative than answers I have found on the Internet.
I presume the book also compares wholesale vs. retail?
So, yeah. I wouldn’t mind having a copy.
I have absolutely no idea how to price my items. I’ve gone to craft shows to see what others charge and match, but I still feel like I under charge. I can hear my mother, who was very frugal, in my head saying “I don’t know anyone who would buy (insert item name) for that.”
Would love to win this book. I knit and make jewelry and people are always asking me to sell my work but I really don’t know how to price my work so I don’t cheat myself out of revenue & don’t over price my work so it will sell. Thanks. Hope I win!
I don’t need this for myself, but my dear friend and neighbor, who is a multi-fiber artist, really, really, really does! I will probably get it for her for Christmas!
What a great book to have! I want to start selling my yarn projects next year, and that was the first question I had for myself- how to price them! This is just what I need!
Pricing is always a question. I know people to say to charge a higher price rather than lower, but I always think I would never pay the price I’m asking… but that’s becasue I can make it
A book that goes into details would be great!
I would love this book! It seems to have all of the information in 1 place which would help a person price and sell their hand-made items.
I wish I had this book in time for the craft show I’m doing in a couple of weeks. I thought I should price low to determine if the product has appeal. I may be redoing my price tags now. Thanks for the advice.
I have three granddaughters that do crafts with me. We do some work for others but usally only for gifts(either we give as gifts ,or they take the item and use it for a gift). I only ask for cost of materials but would like to expand and make some profit from the work .
It is always difficult to know what price to charge when somebody like to buy my knitwear.
This book would help me
What a wonderful help. I always underprice my items. This would be a great help to me to know how to maximize any sales I may make.
With several craft shows coming up, I need a better system of “I think that will work.” I am afraid to ask too much for fear I won’t make any sales, but I also fear giving away my hard work.
For years I have been trying to sell home crafted items at craft shows, rarely selling much of anything…I have always wondered how to come up with pricing and then becoming really discouraged because I couldnt sell, not even when it was priced so low that costs were not even being covered….it’s starting to all come together now! I would like to read more….
I am sure that this book fills a void. A terrific resource for crafters.
This is a must have book for me. I’ve been told for years that if I sell something its always too cheap. Now I have the written back up to get the courage to raise my prices.
I have just listed a showcase of previous works that I’ve knitted or crochetted for gifts on Facebook and have said that I’m happy to make custom orders if anyone wants. I’m soooo out of my depth when it comes to pricing though – so this book would be amazing!
Great idea! Thanks for the guidance ( justification) for pricing!
I find that different markets will bear different pricing. One-of-a-kind craft shows support higher prices and sales. The local Saturday market where people sell their items seem to support slightly lower prices. A local shop in showcased my work for a month, where the buyers were all women, and I only sold one piece ( a knitted monkey). Most comments were ” beautiful work “, but no buyers. I felt I had priced reasonably, considering both materials and time ( 20 hours) per piece. The comments by the author, a d othe respondents, are helpful. Would love to read the entire book.
It is important to value ones time as well as all the overhead costs. This books sound slickest has great advice.
I have no idea on how much to charge for an item. I always thought that the amount of time i put into it. Some people tell me you charge 4 times the amount you spent on the materials to create it. Please enter me into the book giveaway. Would love to share his ideas with friends.
Thank you.
I can see this book would be a valuable resource, as I’m never quite sure how to price a handmade item.
I have often wondered what to charge for hand made items. What a wonderful aid.
I really need this book. It’s so easy to under value your work!
This looks like a great tool. I can use any information i can get to help me sell my items. Since i”ve been out of work, i am turning to my knitting and crochet to help with bills.
I understand the pricing of getting your materials back and something for your time. But–also, you have to think of the location you live and sell in. In some parts of the country, people have been hard hit by recession but still would like to give a gift worth using, so I price my items probably lower than usual, but it is better than donating them all to charity!
Hello,
I end up giving my knitting and sewing away–to charity, to hospitals–(You have to watch them or they will sell your “free” items in the gift shop).
I am 80 now and would very much like to make some money doing this.
I have noticed that church bazaars usually attract bargain hunters.
I need this book. Please? Carolyn
I am a Crochet Artist of 48+ years. I would love to be able to sell my items, but it is difficult to determine the right price. Would love to win this book.
I’d like to read the book, th Q&A looks pretty interesting.
We stumbled over here coming from a different web page and thought
I may as well check things out. I like what I see so now i am
following you. Look forward to going over
your web page again.