| Pricing handmade jewelry seems to one topic that | | | | work, you are also cheapening the work of |
| jewelry artists never agree on. There are lots of | | | | others because the public learns to think that |
| different viewpoints and philosophies. This article | | | | some artisans who charge what they are worth, |
| will discuss some of the things to think about as | | | | are charging too much. |
| you consider how to price your jewelry, and | | | | Those artisans that charge what they are worth |
| some of the common pricing models that jewelry | | | | then have to work so much harder to convince |
| designers use. | | | | customers that their work is worth the cost. |
| Keep in mind that you do much more than make | | | | That said, as a jewelry designer, you need to |
| jewelry as a business owner. In order to cover | | | | consider 2 types of pricing: wholesale and retail. |
| costs and overhead it is essential to charge more | | | | Wholesale and Retail Pricing Models |
| than your hourly rate + material costs, or keep | | | | Common wholesale pricing models used by |
| your hourly rate on the high side (i.e. $18/ hour is | | | | jewelry designers: |
| much more realistic than $10/ hour) if you want | | | | -3 x the material cost |
| your business to be profitable. | | | | -3.5 x the material cost |
| One mistake that new jewelry designers often | | | | -$18/hour-labor plus 1x materials plus 50% (or |
| make is to price their work too low. | | | | whatever you want your hourly wage to be) |
| Here are a few pricing tips: | | | | -Eyeballing i.e. guessing at what it should be worth |
| -Don't compete with imports on pricing! Your | | | | (not recommended, but common) |
| quality is better, and you can never compete with | | | | -$35/hour-labor plus 1x materials |
| those that make $2 a day. Instead, position | | | | -$26/hour-labor plus 1x materials plus 50% |
| yourself as the high quality artisan that you are, | | | | -$20/hr.labor + mat. + 5%overhead + 20%profit |
| and command reasonable prices. | | | | Common retail pricing models used by jewelry |
| -As a newcomer, you can start lower if you | | | | designers: |
| would like, and move your pricing up as you | | | | -1.4 x wholesale |
| become more well-known. | | | | -1.5 x wholesale |
| -Lower pricing also can work against you because | | | | -1.6 x wholesale |
| it cheapens the perceived value of your work. | | | | -1.7 x wholesale |
| People tend to think that you get what you pay | | | | -1.8 x wholesale |
| for, so if you charge too low, people tend to think | | | | -1.9 x wholesale |
| you make garbage. | | | | -2.0 x wholesale |
| I have another reason for not charging too low. | | | | -The ever common but not recommended |
| This is kind of my personal soapbox: | | | | "eyeballing" method |
| If you charge too low, you are not only | | | | Feel free to use any of the wholesale or retail |
| cheapening the perceived value of your own | | | | pricing formulas to price your own work. |