Pricing your crafts to sell? And where?

[kate0305]

I have lately become consumed with making hairbow clips, and have given some to friends and co-workers. The word is getting out, and now some folks want to buy them. I have no idea what to charge. Supplies are pretty low cost, but I don't want to underprice my labor either. I thought about just pay what you want, but am afraid that co-workers might discuss what each one has paid. . . Anyone have any insight on pricing?

And if I wanted to sell them outside of my circle of people- do you all recommend Etsy? Or other suggestions?

TIA!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

when I worked at Michael's the floral dept charged 10 or 20% of the cost of the materials, I think it was 10% but I'm not sure and that was 12 years ago.
I would suggest going to Gymboree or Children's Place and price comparable hairbows there.
Most crafters I know sell through etsy or Ebay.

 

[julwh]

I am a basketweaver and I try to price based on the materials cost and then a set hourly rate for myself. So if a basket takes 4 hours to weave and the materials cost $5, I would set the price at $45. This works for me but may not work for all crafts. I have sold on etsy before but found my baskets sell best in craft co-ops and farmers markets.

Good luck!!

 

[Grim_Grinning_Girl]

I too suggest Etsy & eBay. The Etsy fees are less expensive and for the most part the listings last longer, think up to 3 months or something like that. Also very user friendly, I sell on both. As for pricing, just be fair to your time and self, and reasonable for the buyer.

 

[jaycat]

Etsy is the place to go, as for pricing you could look at what similar hair clips are selling for on Etsy and go from there, make sure you cover your cost.

Happy Crafting

 

[thatkid]

I sell on etsy, I also have my own site. You can also start a free site, with a webstore at freewebs.com
I price my items by multiplying the cost of materials by 3, and set an hourly rate for myself. it works out really well.

 

[DisneyFairytale]

I would look at eBay. It would make it accessible and you can make some money on shipping as well.

 

[LuvsEpcot]

I've been wondering about OPs questions too. I've checked out the Etsy site, but I will have to get more serious about it. I love to sew and I started making aprons once in a while and then I became obsessed with it. DH asked me what we were going to do with all of these aprons I have sold a few to friends. I have found this hobby to be very enjoyable since my mom taught me how to sew and I'm using my grandmother's sewing machine, it's just a warm and fuzzy for me! But I do need to do something with the one's that I've made and I keep getting more ideas and that leads to more creations!

 

[kate0305]

On the budget board there is a 'what is everyone selling on ebay' thread. I wonder if there are enough crafty folk, or interested in the stuff sold by crafty folk, to have a 'what do you have for sale on etsy' thread too.

I have some stuff posted on there, and have gotten some 'views' but so far, all the sales have been face to face with people I work with, or at the kids school.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

Do you have pics of your bows? I've made bows/clips just for my own DD2 but usually it's cheaper in the long run to buy from other talented mamas! That way I don't end up with an extra set of embellishments/yards of ribbon I don't need.
I willingly pay:
up to $2 for a simple set of 2 covered alligator clips
up to $4 for embellished set of 2 alligator clips
up to $4 each for "simple" bows (though not that simple since I can't figure them out!")
and that's about my limit! There are super-boutique bows that I guess $8-12 would be a fair price, but then my little one would be all bow and no hair
I have friends who sell giant flowers embellished w/a crystal & attached to hair clips for $8-$12 and they fly off the shelves.
HTH to have a customer perspective, but hard to say without seeing your stuff. Good luck!