Small glasses case

[Digit]

Yesterday I finished my first order: a client of my partner asked if I could make her a leather case for putting her reading glasses in. They're some special kind of foldable ones, so I took the pattern from the case we made at school and adjusted it to fit her glasses.
I gave her a choice of colours from what I have lying around: black, green or brown outside, combined with a black, blue, red or brown inside. I had no idea what to ask for it so a gave a price fork of between 10 and 20 euros.
This is how it turned out and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I hope she'll be too.

Afterwards I did some calculations for material costs: the surrounding rectangle of the pattern came down to 400cm² (rounded up), so that made for 3.55 euros of leather, salpa and suede. Added to that some guestimates of 20 ml of glue, a metre of thread, 5 ml edge paint and two small neodymium magnets I had lying around, I reached a material cost of around 5.5 euros, so I asked for 15.
What would you guys have charged for something like this?

[BlackDragon]

It came out really well.

As far as cost you need to consider cost of each material. In your case 400cm for outer materal + 400cm of inner material, + thread, glue, dyes/paint, hardware, etc. You should also consider your overhead costs. What does it cost for rent, power, shipping costs (items you ship and items shipped to you), etc. And you need to consider man hours. What do you need to get paid hourly.

So you need; Materials cost + Overhead cost + Time

The biggest issue people have is figuring out what their time is worth. What you charge per hour should depend on on your level of ability. A person just starting out can't charge what a person doing this for 20 years could charge. So, If it took you one hour to make this then, with what you charged, your time is worth 9.50 an hour. If it took you 2hrs then you valued your time at 4.75/hr. 

You also have to figure out what people would be willing to pay for the item. For that same item if you were to charge $40/hr USD and it took 2hr to make, most people wouldn't buy it. You would have to market it to select few that have the money to spend. It's a delicate balance you have to find.

[TomE]

That's a nice looking case!  I like the shape and the blue edges. As far as price, I'm happy charging materials cost plus $40/hr shop rate to cover time spent on the project, maintaining tools and machines, etc.  I figure some waste into my materials cost.  I aim to distinguish my work from what is commercially available in order to set a price point that I'm happy with.  Since I don't tool leather that means quality materials, unique construction, and/or or decorations that personalize the item.  Most of the horse tack that I make is made to measure and I'll do free adjustments/alterations to satisfy the client.  So they're paying for a high level of customer service, which gives me satsifaction and generates repeat business and recommendations.

  

[wizard of tragacanth]

I would include PROFIT in the formula for pricing. The price has to be at least double or triple your cost in any reasonable retail scheme. I think $20 would be a fair price for that particular custom made piece. $15 is okay if you are trying to do someone a favor or promote your business. Hey, I'm just a hobbyist so my opinion doesn't really count!

[Digit]

Thank you for your insights.

In my case leatherwork is a starting hobby, so I don't have much experience and most of what I do goes with a lot of thinking, trial & error and experimenting. I also don't have a drawer filled with patterns (yet), so I spend a lot of time designing them. This case was an easy one in that respect because I could base myself on an existing pattern that I could adjust. I'm currently working on a biker's leg bag where I have to design everything from scratch, which seems to have taken as long as actually putting the bag together.

At this point in time I'm happy to get material costs covered, plus some extra that I can invest in new stuff. Good point about overheads though; from what I charged for this customer I figure I have my material and overhead costs covered.

I don't have to make a living out of leatherwork, I have a full-time day job as well that I won't let go of. I'd have to charge over 45 euros per hour on top of materials and overheads to match my current job's hourly rate and with my current abilities that's out of the question.

[RockyAussie]

That is a nice looking glasses case. The edging could have been a little better but I have seen plenty a lot worse. I would not think of making it for under $60.00au which would be about 35 euro. Patterning time will often take longer than the actual job and I do use Autocad and a laser and 3D printing regularly as well. For me I would still be losing at $60.00au but the next time I would be in front.

[Samalan]

I made a case very similar to that for a guy who wanted it for his truck key, which was about four years ago. I saw him a couple of weeks ago, and there was the case on his belt. I said, 'You wear that every day?' He said, 'Every day.' I gave him a good price @ $50; he's a friend of my brother, so I took $10 off. The way I see it is that you can't make money making one thing at a time. You know, when the glue is drying, you're stitching or cutting something. If you are standing and watching glue dry, you have to consider the money you are losing on something you could be working on; people often overlook this, and it's an essential part of business. Never make your leather goods cheap, or that's what you will be known for, and you will quickly develop a bad reputation. Be fair, but always get paid. Anyone can make a nice piece of work, but in the end, making money is the hard part, that's just my opinion.

[Dwight]

I don't mean to take over this thread . . . but I thought I'd offer Digit another pattern . . . 

Simple . . . quick . . . and absolutely works like a charm . . . short piece of suede and one snap

I "invented" this as I hate carrying anything in a shirt pocket other than a ball point pen or a lead pencil.  This is lightweight . . .  hardly recognize they are even there.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited 8 hours ago by Dwight