Herb Stoops wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 10:43 pm
"I look at what others are charging, compare the craftsmanship to mine, and think about who will be looking at them. Different venues, different amount I can get for my stuff. My welcome signs start at $10."
So do you think that covers what it took to make it? When you make something do you make more than one, or just make one and see if it sells before making more of the same? I am just curious to how that works, I just give everything away that I make. To me it is just a hobby and I am flattered that someone might want and like something I have made.
Herb
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Well, I don't charge for the time I spend creating the generic signs since most of the time, I guess I look at it as making money off playing around. (I like creating the designs, and watching them come to life on the wood.) Most (if not all) of my generic Welcome Signs are done on cedar dog ear fencing, and I was getting those at $3.48 for a six foot board. I can usually get six signs out of one board if I watch my spacing. $60 for a $3.50 investment in a board. Cutting them, I think it's somewhere between five and ten minutes each, depending on the graphic. I don't worry about charging for my time since to me, I'm making money off of my hobby-something I like to do; otherwise these items I make would sit around with no one to enjoy them, other than myself at my accomplishment of doing something without cutting off a finger or something. I'm more worried about what I have in expendable materials (paint, wood, poly, etc). On the Welcome Signs, the cost of material is 58 cents a sign, about 20 cents in the letter coloring, and pennies for the wintergreen oil. Same with paper for printing them. My bigger, custom signs start at $75 and go up depending on the font, graphics, size, and time involved. If it's smaller than a 1x10 I usually start those around $45 and price accordingly. My knick knacks, I look at the simplicity of the item, and what I have in materials for it, since again, I'm playing in the shop doing what I like to do, so as long as I make a decent profit above and beyond what I have in materials to be able to pay for my little addiction...
I make one item, put it out there to places like here to get an idea on what people think of it, and if it gets a really good rating (depending on what I made) I'll make up to five in different colors/styles. (That's Ken's idea. Make a few in different colors to appeal to a bigger audience.) That little face I cut for eye glasses? I can't keep the stupid thing in stock! I sell 'em for $10/pc and in different shades. With the increase in wood prices, I may have to raise the price to $12-$15/pc we'll have to see. I use a 1x4 I think for the face, and I use round and rectangle bases for them. I decided to integrate it into another plan I found on line, instead of a little hexagon glass holder, I'm going to use the little face I cut. We'll have to see how it goes. Only thing is, the wood for this other one is red oak (I think.) Not sure on pricing these, but I know it will be at least $20-$25 since the base is over 10" long, and I'm not using my light weight cedar.
it's backwards, so I can't burn the guitar details on the top, because the top on this one is the bottom. (another "whoops") Ah well. It fits together nicely, and the pics fit beautifully. I think I'll use this one as the practice for flocking, and just put a nice graphic on the front. Also looking for the correct style of guitar to make a new template.
