# Pricing Hardwood Ornaments



## Paul_D (Feb 20, 2008)

Hello, everyone

I've been away from LJ for a while and this past year after a bit of a hiatus I got back into my shop. I've been scrolling since the late 1990's and have made a sold a number of things over the years. I really enjoy making Christmas ornaments (our tree is full of them) but have never really had a good idea as to pricing them. I tend to only stack cut 2 or 3 at a time (more if the pattern is simple). This would just be to make a little "fun" money rather than a real business per se.

Any thoughts on how to best price them? I typically only use 1/8" hardwood and not baltic birch unless the ornament will be painted which is rare for me.

Thanks!
-Paul


----------



## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

You're not going to get that much for an ornament but if you can do them fast with stacking then they don't have to be expensive. I'd say 10-30.00 each with a sliding scale based on difficulty. Basically 10.00 for up to each hour it takes you to make a stack of 3, which would average a minimum of 30.00 an hour, which isn't bad for a side hobby. I doubt too many are willing to pay more then 30 for a scroll saw ornament so any above that can be conversation pieces that show off talent and get people looking more with the occasional splurge spender buying them. I also wouldn't sell any below 10.00 unless you can actually make a stack of 3 in under 25 minutes including getting the materials prepped and finished with close to free material otherwise it isn't worth your time. 
This is all of course, IMHO


----------



## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

price is always dictated by what the market will bare


----------



## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

most often that leaves you standing in a crowd with your pants down

down right fugly : ))

tight church groups tend to support the least fugly ornament, same for pie….either way, easy to beat the competition that surrounds you no matter what you pick, be it an ornament or a piece of apple pie, canned pie, fresh pie

win the "Pie" contest or "Best Scroll Saw Ornament" contest

its the key to the bank vaults

personally, I would use a lathe and skip the scroll saw


----------



## Leldon (Jul 14, 2010)

Hi Paul, I usually use Baltic birch for my ornaments, unless they are for special people or special orders. People here tend not too pay the extra for the hardwoods. I sell mine for $2-10 each. I stack 3-4 high. If I was using hardwood I would double the prices.


----------



## Paul_D (Feb 20, 2008)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone I appreciate the input. I will probably try some prices based on the complexity of the ornament and go from there.


----------

