# Pricing poll, because I need some advice from people with experience calculating price.



## TheuneM (Dec 22, 2015)

I am thinking of making some more similar ones to sell, and am trying to decide what to price them at. I have read the article about pricing by Huff, but wanted to ask the advice of people that have been doing this longer than I have. The wood was leftover from another project but the cost would have been under $5 and the hardware was another $5, it took me around 16 hours to build, but that's because it was my first one and I had to figure out how I wanted it to look and how to do it. Also if anyone has any suggestions for improvements I would welcome them as well, I am already planning another one.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Wow…looks like aromatic cedar. Nice little box.
Using the handle as a sizing guide, (you need to put up some measurements), it looks about 12" wide by 6-7" high by maybe 5-6" deep with a drawer?

And it took 16 hours on the first one? So if you cut that in half, and can make the next one in 8 hours, plus $10 in materials, in my shop that would come up to $175-180. And personally, no offense but I cannot figure where I would ever get half that for it. I make golf club hat racks in 90 to 120 minutes plus $4 for the clubs, and maybe $6-8 for the wood and spray lacquer, and I sell them for $38. Sold about 25 this year over the holidays.

Even if you knock your shop time down to $10 an hour, it still is rather pricey.

If you can get the build time down to about three hours a unit doing multiples, maybe you will do OK.


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## TheuneM (Dec 22, 2015)

The finished dimensions are 4×4×8 inches, But that can easily be adjusted. Also i neglected to add a picture of the inside, and that is what added a fair amount of time. I believe that I could make the next one in half the time now that I know what I am doing, and can make some jigs to speed things up even more.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

The days of the craftsman making a living building accessories that people want are gone.You will have better luck making somthing thats needed.
It's a great looking piece I like it and can appreciate your time and Thought that went into it.
You could get maybe 40$ at a craftshow.Probably gonna need to make at least 4 a day.
Unless you are a well known artist with a following.Then it's a whole differant game.


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## SamuraiSaw (Jan 8, 2013)

All depends on your overhead. My shop rate is $65 per hour, that puts that box at $530.

Small items like that are not big money makers, but don't let that deter you from making a few and start working out the intricacies of pricing. Keep in mind there is more to your cost than material and hardware. You have wear and tear on your equipment and blades, sandpaper, glue, nails/brads, electricity, etc. You have to factor those things in with your time.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I make and sell about 300 boxes a year. Price depends on what folks are willing to pay, not how long it takes to make. They do not care. So the question is. Where do you plan to sell these boxes? Flea market or boutiques? Big difference! The places I sell my boxes are street fairs and festivals and at a farmers market. Because of this I need to keep the price below $25 and I do. I keep my boxes simple and sell a lot… for me. If I lived in a more affluent area I could sell my $20 box for $30 I think. Lots of variables to consider. The way I do it is: I figure out what folks will spend and then come up with an item I can make at a price in that price range. I have tried consignment sales with poor success. I have tried many different items and find simple boxes to sell well.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Jim knows…
A box like that in the two galleries I sell in, in aromatic ceder, would go for something like $65-80. Even with the dividers. I think hoping for over $100 on that piece, 4X4X8", is a bit much. Maybe in a large metro situation in the right gallery it would do better. It is sort of a supply and demand issue. A lady can get a box similar to that one in a store like Kohls, Belk, or even Walmart for well under $100. Puts a lot of pressure on why a hand made one is better, and unique.

I'm not knocking your work, the box is really nice. The trouble is, from my viewpoint, is it is also rather mainstream and available in that style in a lot of places. I find that things that are unique, not necessarily hard to build, are key in sales of wood items that are handmade.

Here's some examples:
Cannot begin to tell you how many of these I've sold. I'm drowning in cutouts. Even after three years, they still sell.








Sold two of these this season - over $225 apiece.








Could not sell this to save my soul…beautiful handmade checker board and storage set with handmade checkers. Too mainstream…Ended up sending it to my grandson for a Christmas present.

















My motto is be unique, not necessarily long hours.


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