How Much???

[Doc Reaper]

This is the shhtuff I hate reading about! If a skrawny, flat chested, ugly as hell hooker went by perceived value the poor girl would starve to death. In the same profession is a Barbara Eden lookalike call girl. She also uses the perceived value method. But not for her - she sets the price by going off the telltale signs of her clients wealth and looks which determine her bottom price (pun intended). 
 

China and Walmart have contributed to the “perceived cost” by pumping out cheap manmade materials that do not hold up past a certain time frame. Folks that shop at “Wally World” do not spend time in the better retail shops. Rarely do these folks step outside their own habits of comfort. 
I charge a minimum base price for what I make. It’s usually materials plus labor. I have been doing Leather for 52 years and that “it’s cheap cause it’s handmade” is ignorance trying to get something for nothing. Put a price on it that is worth your efforts. The fence jumping illegals will cut their own throats to get a sale. Keep a firm backbone when it comes to pricing your handmade items. The cut throats will force themselves into a new job and you will still be here with awesome merchandise that is well made and durable for hard work.

That MEAN WAGE is antiquated by todays standards. (Sorry Chuck123) that MEAN WAGE is what is equivalent to average of low end hobby compensation to high end quality craftsmanship. Only a cheapskate would resort to using skewed numbers to have you pry a penny from their fingers. There is a difference between hobbyist and professional!

Set this in stone -  material cost + labor = cost. True a flea market won’t bring top dollar but the people at the flea market are looking for USED items with life left in them, new is new and quality is sought after no matter if it’s at a flea market or a department store of a garage sale. I have a both at a flea market. I sell biker leather and custom leather. Folks know the difference when they want a special design that can’t be purchased anywhere else. I have seen 3 other leather shops close at the same flea  market that I’m at. They closed because of their cut throat practices which are fuled by selfishness and greed. Another vendor started selling belts and tried to undersell me, it took them 3 months to fold up shop and leave. They forgot to do the correct math. Materials + labor + lot rent + travel cost + and employee hourly wage

there is a song that states “it cost so much because it takes me effin hours!” And if you sell at an unsatisfactory price you only hurt yourself! Cost of 
materials plus an hourly fair wage for yourself.

[Samalan]

1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said:

 a wallet may take a fast tooler two hours but me it takes three how ethical is it to charge more for my time because I'm slower?

This is artwork yes it took me three times as long but my artwork is 100 times more desirable. You can't compare artwork to brake work. Being the artist you are I'm surprised at the comparison.

[Samalan]

At the tattoo shop bill gets three times more than John for the very same line drawing.

[Rubicon04]

I charge $150 for a typical bifold wallet with no carving done. I've never messed with carving. My thoughts are the average buyer is going to be blown away by the prices we charge for a wallet and in reality they are not your audience. The person who you are trying to sell to typical knows what they want already and knows what to expect for a handmade item when it comes to cost. 

[BigBore]

Such a tough topic to agree on and I think ultimately you'll have to find your balance between cost to produce and what your specific clientele will pay.

I always start my pricing strategy with this formula.  (Cost of materials + labor) x 1.25% (profit).  So if my materials cost me 50 and it took me two hours (pay myself $20/hour), then my base is $90.  Add in 25% profit and my minimum to charge is $112.50.  From there I can adjust as needed and I can also tell immediately if this specific item is something I want to dive into as a permanent listing.  Meaning, if $112.50 is what I need to charge for something to keep all metrics happy, but the market says it's a $25 item, then I scrap the idea and move on.

Good luck!

[fredk]

In my area miniumum wage for my age is about £11 per hour ($12.50?) but I usually work for about £1 a day,    

4 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

. . . 

 I've worked flat rate before as a mechanic, if a brake job for example job takes two hours you get two hours pay no matter how long it takes. in leather terms a wallet may take a fast tooler two hours but me it takes three how ethical is it to charge more for my time because I'm slower? Being slower and less trained my time is worth less not more i cant charge people wont pay 20 an hour if I'm not worth it.

Recently my #1 son took in a car for a certain type of service. Based on previous jobs he gave the customer a hard quote. Job should have taken 2 mechs 1.5 days but they and #1 worked on the job for 5 days. They ran into problems they don't usually get. But #1 stuck to his price

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, Samalan said:

This is artwork yes it took me three times as long but my artwork is 100 times more desirable. You can't compare artwork to brake work. Being the artist you are I'm surprised at the comparison.

i agree 100 %  with your statement but I wasn't exactly comparing brake work and art work i was asking why a slower tooler given the same artistic ability would charge more because he cant tool as fast as the next guy. 

[fredk]

3 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

i agree 100 %  with your statement but I wasn't exactly comparing brake work and art work i was asking why a slower tooler given the same artistic ability would charge more because he cant tool as fast as the next guy. 

Thats why in certain professions the fully qualified practioner charges more than the new guy or apprentice. But it all comes out in the wash; eg pro charges $50 per hour and takes 4 hours, apprentice takes 8 hours but can only charge $25 per hour. I used to see it in my accountants bills; the Fully Charted Accountant charged more but took less time than his assistant whose cost was less per hour, but at the end the cost was very nearly the same

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, Samalan said:

At the tattoo shop bill gets three times more than John for the very same line drawing.

i know my daughter is one lol and I'm very proud!! https://twisteddelusionsink.com/ it took a few years.

[Klara]

11 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

i agree 100 %  with your statement but I wasn't exactly comparing brake work and art work i was asking why a slower tooler given the same artistic ability would charge more because he cant tool as fast as the next guy. 

That's the reason why translators charged by line where I trained. The newbies would take longer, the experienced ones would work faster and make a better living, but the customer would pay the same.