My last item to be hallmarked was a 9ct gold wedding ring, made to the lady's design, very chunky and big with a very short inscription inside. Plenty of money in the item to cover the cost of the hallmarking, but my bill from the Assay Office was:-
Laser mark 1.00
Sponsors mark 0.20
Post and Packing using my packing !!!! 10.20
Minimum charge 9.00
Lettering M to E 4.50
VAT 4.98
Total 29.88
I realise that people have to be paid and that it takes skill and training to do the marking etc,and my issue isnt with that, but it only takes a couple of minutes to undo a parcel and repack. I have just posted a ring and it cost me £4.00 ish, five minutes to parcel up and take down to the Post Office after finding somewhere to park and sent Recorded delivery. Most of the items that I make are under £30, to add another £30 on the top would make it out of most normal peoples price range in this part of the world. We only make jewellery as a hobby, and sell at local craft shows, normally once a month, and people quibble about the price. We dont normally add in the charge of fuel to get there, or the cost of the table, and keep the cost of labour to a minimum, the most we ever sell is about 3 items each, so 6 in total (that is the average) total sales around £200. On the commissions, we add the charges for it all and make a reasonable profit, but that isnt very often. Our stuff isnt "tat", have a look at our website
www.iscasilver.co.uk and you will see what we make and how much it is.
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