Forged Silver Earrings

[Bigwol]

120mm of 3mm Sterling silver, which is the main raw mateial for these earrings costs about £5.50 at the moment.

The earrings took a couple of hours to get right, including buggering about with annealing, and pickling, plus a few quids worth of pink wheels, oxygen, propane and other miscellaneous polishing stuff.

So what should I price them at??



My rough calculations so far are

Materials
3 x £7.50 = £22.50

Time
2 x £20 = £40

Sub total

£62.50

Is there other stuff I need to add?
Profit / Markup,
Overheads / General Workshop Costs,
Taxes??

I'm new at this and I still usually under price my stuff and or give it away to relatives.

In the past, I've written it off as a learning expense, - set off against the supposedly inferior quality of the stuff I'm producing (ie - I've still got my L Plates on).

But as I get better , I feel I should charge 'the going rate', (especially when I see some of the crud out there masquerading as jewellery.)

Then I look at the current Argos/Samuels/'Your favourite High Street Jeweller Here' catalogue, and see the usual 9ct diamond earrings with a free pendant for £5 with a free puppy!, and get cold feet all over again.

I Know my quality is better, and their jewellery is made to sell at the lowest possible price not to last, but I still can't shake the - 'Got to keep the price low - there's a recession on' feeling.

Am I alone in this? or do we all get the heebie jeebies when trying to price things up?

Rant over!

Peace and Love

Dave

[minnie]

Why £89.99 ? entry price, no decent gallery etc uses the 1p below the pound trick? Does this mean auction site ?

[Carl Martin]

I wouldn't under price your work, it is hand crafted.

When I start selling my prices certainly won't be cheap, I would imagine they will raise many an eyebrow. If people want what you make they will pay.

Put it this way, I am thinking of an entry price of £89.99 on my pieces. *go on gasp everyone* LOL

Agree's on not selling your self short, but no idea how you can put a start price point on anything that you haven't made or been asked to make.

But from a previous post somewhere I gather you won't be making anything without a stone in it somewhere.

[Petal]

Here's a thread that contains Nic's thoughts on how to price up stuff - its not related to selling in shops exclusively, just a way of calculating how to sell jewellery. I'm sure you'll find it very useful. Your jewellery is absolutely beautiful and should have a price tag to match. Just scroll down to see Nic's guide.

http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/how...eces-shop.html

After I read her advice, I re-priced my beaded jewellery (in some cases doubled) and they sold. I read somewhere that a shop owner had some jewellery in her window that just wasn't selling. She was out for the day, so advised her staff to halve the price. When she got back at the end of the day, all the jewellery had sold. She thought it was because she'd reduced the price. Her staff had misunderstood her and had doubled the price. People have very little time in their lives to assess whether they like something, is it quality or not and then whether to buy or not. If its inexpensive they assume its 'cheap stuff', if its more expensive, they think 'quality'.

....

[AlexandraBuckle]

I'm a bit late but I just want to say that the new ear wires are a big improvement!

I'm happy to PM you my calculation for pricing work if you would like to see it.

[lorraineflee]

The new ear wires finish the ear-rings off beautifully.
Lorraine

[mizgeorge]

I find earrings are often the hardest things to price. They can take a disproportionate amount of time to make, and because they are smaller in size, it's hard to make the value equation work.

I think sometimes customers miss the fact that they're often their most visible piece of jewellery (especially if people are talking to their faces )

[Jayne]

Put it this way, I am thinking of an entry price of £89.99 on my pieces. *go on gasp everyone* LOL

Having seen your work, logo & packaging, J, I would say that £90 is a tad modest. You could comfortably 'pump it up', so to speak......
J x

[Di Sandland]

When you consider that there are standard silver rings on Not On The Highstreet, handmade and also with a few semi precious stones set priced up at £400 I think my entry price is beyond competitive especially as I will be using precious stones.

Jay, I know we're mates yada yada yada - but I am not speaking as a mate when I say I think you are UNDERPRICING yourself. I am speaking as somebody who appreciates quality components and faultless construction and who would be more than prepared to pay a premium for it.

[Di Sandland]

Just remember your mates, love