Commission Price Opinions?
January 2, 2012 - 12:00am — Kirness
Well, I figure this is the best place to ask for such things considering yall are the ones I'm generally marketing to.
But I'm wondering if I opened commissions, how much I should charge for them. See, I want people to want to buy them, obviously, but I also really need to be paid fairly considering this is most likely going to be my only source of income for a while.
Each plushie takes about 3-6 hours to make, depending on the complexity. Sometimes more even if they have a lot of extra parts such as wings or actual antlers and the like which can easily take an extra few hours or if I have to draft new patterns for certain things.
Supplies usually cost between $5 - $15.
Some examples:
I'm also considering taking fleece hat commissions. Those take significantly less time to make, about 2-3 hours depending. Maybe a bit more for extra parts, but these tend to be simpler to make. Usually.
Supplies are about $5 - $10.
Example:
^ I will applique details on instead of painting. While this one turned out looking okay, it's way more trouble than it's worth. XD;
Please be honest with your opinions. Thanks!
From what you've described,
One very important thing to keep in mind, that I have learned through my own craft sales on TEFc is that most of the younger members will not be able to buy from you. This is because their parents do not allow disclosure of addresses, or do not want them spending the money. While there will be exceptions to this rule, your main target audience will be the older members, with their own incomes who can freely disclose the required information.
Also, keep shipping in mind. Will you be paying the shipping costs, or will the cost be the responsibility of the buyer?
I will likely charge for
But I do have a general price range in mind, one I think is pretty fair, but I'm mostly curious to see what people would consider fair, as they are my potential customers after all.
Some people have suggested that I start off cheaper and gradually raise my prices depending on the bites I get, but I'd really hate to do that since I know if I was the one paying, I'd be put off the artist.
Art by Anjali. ♥
I would say the price Tera
It's fantastic that shipping
I really really advise against raising prices once you get interest. That could seriously discourage people in the future, a sort of "but that person only had to pay ___" situation. Trust your gut on that I think.
I asked my teacher about how to price commission work and he gave me this formula:
The price of materials used to make it + an hourly rate for the time you worked on it + 10% so I make a profit + shipping fees = Total price paid by the commissioner.
A similar formula might work for you, or at least give you an idea of how to go about pricing your stuff.