# $500 for a tool chest?



## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

On the lostartpress blog, the Conn. School of Woodworking is selling a Tool chest built by Chris Schwartz at a recent class…for $500.

http://blog.lostartpress.com/2013/08/23/hey-buddy-wanna-buy-a-tool-chest/#comments

My question is, is this reasonable? It seems a bit high, considering that the materials probably cost around $100. (I could be wrong on that). Am I missing something, or is that just a reasonable mark-up for the time and effort involved, especially when it is being marketed to a sub-set of people who could very concievably build one themselves?

Any input is appreciated.


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

I wouldn't assume it's too high without seeing what's going on in its interior. It probably built pretty well but sure is ugly.
JB


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

A designer could probably sell it for more than $500 as a coffee table these days. Ugly is in.


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## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

He specifically states that the interior is blank…no tills or dividers…It's basically a large box with a lid, albeit a dovetailed box with skirts, and a sturdy, Mortise & tenon & raised-panel lid…

I have actually build one of these myself…and would feel guilty about selling it for $500, especially with the interior dividers unfinished and especially to another woodworker who could build one themselves.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

Maybe it's not marketed to "users". There is a class of collector who buys Bridge City or LN, or some of the nosebleed-high stuff just to polish and put on a shelf. Could he be marketing it to them?


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## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

Perhaps so, and perhaps the fact that he built it brings a higher price than the piece itself would go for on its own.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

on the bench is the tool chest that they make and sell…

but in the background, against the wall, is the tool chest they actually use…

:^)


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Matt, you mean the red and chrome one?
I had noticed that as well.
In fact, that red job is the chest I'm wanting, and $500 would just about get it.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Seems like a fairly reasonable price for something handmade. We get used to the Ikea prices and so do clients/friends/family so we forget that handmade should cost a lot more. This probably takes a couple days to make, especially since it's not done in a production run so $100 materials cost leaves $400 and 15-20 hours to build it means $20-25 per hour which is a reasonable and maybe low wage for skilled work. I think it would still be reasonable if he could make it in half that time.

Just because a hobbyist can afford to give away their labor for free doesn't mean it isn't worth that much.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Remember that an asking price is just that. You can put any price on your work. Whether you can sell it is another story. A products worth is whatever you can get someone to pay.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

I would probably agree with Tim. Is it a reasonable price? I think so. Is it worth it? Well that's an entirely different question, and the answer depends on the individual answering it


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Maybe it's not marketed to "users". There is a class of collector who buys Bridge City or LN, or some of the nosebleed-high stuff just to polish and put on a shelf.

All of my BC and LN tools are bought to be put to use. I buy them because they work exceptionally well with no fuss.

CS is not "famous" enough for me to buy what is basically a big box for that kind of dough. Besides I do not see the usefulness of a box that when filled with tools will weight a ton and require a forklift to move. Somehow it seems to me that this defeats the purpose of a traveling tool chest.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

12strings, if the quality of your chest is the same quality or better than Chris's, why wouldn't you want to sell it for the maximum profit you could? 
The only reason I can think of is that you are not sure of your abilities and feel that you are worth less than you are.
If you want to sell for IKEA prices, learn to do the work on an assembly line.

If you want to sell for hand crafted quality, make them one at a time using the best techniques you can.

The till's and dividers and drawers are let for he user to build because what you need is not what I need so we all have different requirements.


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## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

Thanks for the inputs.

I do not begrudge someone getting compensated for their time and skill. I realize that if I want a period replica chest of drawers built by Adam Cherubini, It's going to cost 8-10k, and that's fine.

It's just hard for me to think that way when my normal course of thought (necessitated by tight finances) goes something like this: "I could make that, so I'm not going to pay good money for it."


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

"I could make that, so I'm not going to pay good money for it."

That would be the answer to the "worth" question 
(for the record, I would agree at this point in my life)


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## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

Dallas, My tool chest is not quite as well-built as this one, (though it is dove-tailed for strength)...I built it for my own shop use, not to sell. I have sold a few items, at low prices, I'm sure, generally about double material cost…but only to friends and family, and I warn them that given the time demands of my job, wife, and 2 young children, It will probably take 3-4 months to finish ANY project that is not dirt-simple


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

*It's just hard for me to think that way when my normal course of thought (necessitated by tight finances) goes something like this: "I could make that, so I'm not going to pay good money for it."

I have actually build one of these myself…and would feel guilty about selling it for $500, especially with the interior dividers unfinished and especially to another woodworker who could build one themselves.*

The thing is, *YOU* could build it yourself for cheaper and possibly of the same or better quality.
I couldn't… I suck at hand cut dovetails, hand cut mortise and Tenon joints, hand planing, etc.
But, would you sell it for what you built it for or want a profit from it? 
If you sell it for what you built it for you have just lost your labor cost. If you sell it for what you built it for, you lost profit because when you go to replace the lumber you used, it will most likely increased in price.
Did you give yourself credit for being a craftsman or did you consider labor at minimum wage?

You lost profit because your utilities went up in the time between building it and actually selling it. It is taking up space, space is valuable.

Lose the attitude that you can take less….
I got yelled at on this board by speaking my mind about selling the cutting boards I sell. I set my labor price at $35/hr. I add everything up, average materials and labor out, add my labor rate, then multiply the cost of materials…. usually by 5X to 7X. This pays for replacements, keeping the shop stocked with consumables, pays my insurance, pays my labor, pays for advertising and shelf space where the boards sell and also allows me to upgrade tools as I need to.

Do I sell many? I didn't at first, but in the last two years business has picked up so much that I may have to raise prices or shut down some of the supply. I still have a real job and cannot afford to quit.


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## leafherder (Jan 20, 2013)

You can charge whatever the customers are willing to pay. Three examples:

Is everyone familiar with Gerstner tool chests? Built by a factory in my hometown, these solid hardwood chests sell in the same price range - or higher. The only way I can afford one is at the annual 70% off warehouse scratch and dent sale, and even then the fancy ones are several hundred dollars. The company has been in business for 100 years making high quality products and they have a following of loyal customers and collectors.

I sold jewelry for 10 years - everyone wanted a Rolex - even though other brands offered better accuracy and/or less maintenance for lower prices - people wanted the status symbol and were willing to pay for it.

Artist James MacNeil Whistler (famous for the painting of his mother) was once asked how he could charge so much for a painting that only took a few hours to complete. His response "the price is not for the few hours it is for the lifetime of experience behind those few hours."

You might not be willing to pay the $500 for this piece but someone is, and that person has their own reasons for doing so. We might never understand their motivation.

Happy Labor Day everyone - I plan to spend mine with sandpaper in one hand and a nice piece of black walnut in the other.


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## OggieOglethorpe (Aug 15, 2012)

The tool chest that "they" use at CSVW is actually the example under the red vase with the veneered door. It's French fitted inside to hold a basic set of hand tools, and was a class project.

The metal rollaways are for misc. storage. Student-use tools are elsewhere.

"They" normally don't sell tool chests at all, this is simply an example built by a class instructor. Schools do this on occasion…


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

There WAS a tool chest on sale earlier today, sold for a little over $630+ S&H

Of course, it did have a full set of tools inside it…...


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## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

Anybody notice the comment "Did you get a chance to mark it…" on that link?. Although you or I or somebody else might think they hit the jackpot selling this for best offer over $500, some one might be looking to buy this as a collectable item or simply for the bragging rights.
It's a nice chess, no doubt, and I don't think what he's asking is unreasonable.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I believe he has priced his chest do to his notoriety,some of his fans my feel it's a steal . If I were a celebrity I would start my price there too . As for me I turn off the Woodwright TV show when ever Chris Schwartz is featured.


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