How to Price Your Crafts

Treat your business as a business or it becomes just a hobby.

Begin before the need arises. Have a written contract detailing all the items you will be responsible for and what you expect in return. This can be general with the specific detail added for each new order.

You need to determine the price you will charge for each individual item you sell. You should have a cost sheet on each item. Use a spiral notebook or binder for these cost sheets and keep it just for this purpose. You will need a second book as your catalog. This will contain the information on each item including the totals from the cost sheet. We can cover this later if you need it.

Each item has a double page of it's own (left and right page facing each other) and on that page you list everything about that item

Left page:
list item by name, list of supplies for one item (if the item is made in batches also list the number per batch) and cost of each supply.

Example:
These prices are just to give you an example of how to figure the costs.

Plastic Canvas Fridgie
Supplies:
PC Sheet: $.75 makes 6 $.125 per fridgie
Yarn: $1.50 per skein of 30 yards
(2 yds red 1yd green 5yds white) cost per yd=$.05 X 8=$.40
Needles: $.10
Thread: Beading thread $2.00 spool will make 100 per each $.02
Beads: Package $1.25 (1 package makes 10) each= $.125
Magnet: Package of 10 = $2.50 each $.25
Total supply cost per item = $1.02 double to cover overhead = 2.04
How long to make each item:
6 in one hour = 10 minutes each
My salary+ $15.00 per hour = $2.50
Wholesale = total $4.54 Retail = 2 X wholesale or $9.08 each item
Instructions: How to make item with pattern (place in an envelope taped here)
Shipping cost charged to customer, use actual postage plus packing material and time to pack the item
When wholesale or mail order (from web site) or paid from overhead when placed in craft mall etc

Right Page:
A good picture of the finished item
Date you made and how many
Cost per each item wholesale and retail (catalog page retail only)
Where they were placed (wholesale & retail listed separately) for sale
Paid for how: COD, 50% deposit on order, 30 day account.

Only COD or 50% deposit on wholesale orders until credit has been established

Your contract can be very simple such as:
Fridgies By The Bunch agrees to provide 10 plastic canvas fridgies in the teapot design (colors of 3 each pink, blue and green) at a cost of $4.54 each plus the actual shipping of $3.20 priority mail for a total of $48.60 paid $24.30 non refundable deposit at time of order with the balance of $24.30 due on delivery (if hand delivering) or prior to shipping (if mailing) Include any reorder information such as "With a repeat order of 200 pieces you will allow 10% off price as a bonus.
You both sign and each gets a copy for files.

If you will extend credit (not recommended) ask them to fill out an application for credit (this form can be bought at most office supply stores and then make changes or additions specific to your business). They pay up front on the first order always and when you have had time to check their references you can extend credit for 30 days with 10% late fee after 45 days.

If you are using the customer's design this becomes a custom piece. There is no discount for his design but neither do you add in a design fee as you would for an individual retail sale (similar to the fee to personalize).