I have found that pricing my bead work is one of the hardest parts of running my own business. Beadwork is hard to put a price on because the work alone can be very time consuming, but at the same time you don't want to over price your work and not be able to sell it!
So with that said I have a few simple ways that may help you better price your beaded art.
1.
Do your research
check online and see if others do similar work and look at their prices. Get a few references from different sources and come up with an ideal price point! Make sure that your ideal price is not too high or too low compared to other sellers.
If your work is completely unique then I would suggest asking others how much they would be willing to pay for that certain piece!
2.
Add material costs
Everyone knows that adding material costs is a must but some people don't realize how difficult it can be to calculate how much of what they are using.
After you have decided on an ideal price point, add up your cost in materials that you use for that specific item. If you buy in bulk divide the total cost by the amount you are planning to use in you work to get a rough estimate on the price per material used in your work.
If you buy your supplies online always remember to include the cost of shipping as part of the item cost as well.
Example
(If i bought a pound of size 11 seed beads for $10.00 and shipping cost $5.00 then the total cost of that item would be $15.00 for the pound of beads. There are roughly about 12 hanks in a pound of seed beads but I only need 5 hanks.
In order to figure out how much money i have wrapped up in beads for my project i would divide $15.00 into 12 hanks to figure out how much each hank was worth. In this example the answer would be $1.25 a hank and since I only need 5 hanks I then multiply $1.25 by 5. So my total cost in beads for my project would cost me $6.25.)
Do this for all of the materials that you use in your project and then add all of it together for the total cost in materials.
3.
Decide on an hourly rate
what do you feel you should get paid an hour for making your creation? Keep in mind your ideal price point! Take into consideration how much free time you have to work. If you have a day job and have to put in crucial hours to create your piece then you may want to consider a higher hourly rate! The key is to make sure that you charge accordingly so as not to over charge or under charge for your precious time!
4.
Include Over head
What is over head? Over head is a percentage that you add to all of your work to help cover certain expenses (IE. rental space, paypal fees, etsy fees, etc.) Depending on how expensive or cheap your expenses are will determine your over head charge. I have found that 15% added to the total cost of each item is a middle ground for me but feel free to change this according to your individual needs
5. This is your wholesale price
!
This is a simple formula you can follow to better price your work it is the same as written above but it will help give you a better visual.
Remember in order to get your total hourly rate, you need to multiply price per hour for so many hours. in the example below I will charge $5.00hr and my project will take 5hrs to make. 5X5=$25 for 5hrs of work!
Example
material costs---- $5.00
total rate of pay +$25.00
___________________
subtotal --------- $30.00
over head%-------- + 15% (if your only overhead is paypal and etsy fees then put the total of the 2 here)
_____________________
Total cost--------$34.50
subtotal + over head cost= $34.50 which will be your total wholesale price of the item
6.
Getting the cost for retail
Take you wholesale cost and multiply it by 2
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SELL THE ITEM FOR $69.00
I hope that this little guide has been helpful if you have any questions or if something didn't make sense please feel free to leave a comment and I will try to better clarify!
As beaders we know how expensive it can be, especially with the way the economy is today and we are all looking for ways to save! Here are 4 ways I think will help you get the most out of your beading while saving money in the process.
Bead Artist:
This Week's feature goes to Meredith Dada. I chose her because her beadwork really inspired me! There is so much intricate and unique detail that goes into every one of her creations! She truely has an eye for detail and does not hesitate to bring out the artist within. She is an amazingly talented and we can expect to see more great things from her in the future!
