Here at Crafty Wholesale, one of our most frequently asked questions is around charging, so it is about time we addressed this topic with our customers.
What should you be charging?
The answer isn't one size fits all and that can be really frustrating. However, we would love to provide some information for your small business on the factors we consider to be really important when setting your price point; to keep you both competitive and charging adequately for your time - after all, you can't be expected to work for free!
Here are some factors we think are critical for you to consider when setting your pricing:
1. Your location and audience.
What is your reach and who is your target audience?
Ask yourself whether you want to ship locally, regionally or nationally. If your audience is predominantly in your immediate area, then you are best placed to understand the market. Gauge your customer by putting yourself in their shoes. This should give you a small guide towards a base price.
For example, if you are also a Mum and are aiming your products towards other Mums, then what price point would sit well with you?
2. Design.
What is your design? Is it unique to your business? What is the cost of your materials, including HTV, vinyl, embroidery or other decorations? Factor this in, it is so important! Things can quickly add up and you'll need to know this before you can think about the cost of your time.
As an example, here at Crafty, for a simple initial design we have a starting price, however, this elevates with any further detail. If the customer would also like the design on the bottoms (using a loungeset as an example) then we start to move up our pricing structure, to factor in any additional HTV.
3. Competition.
Do your research. If you are planning to sell to, as an example, your local Mum demographic, then research local parenting pages across your social media platforms. Search Marketplace for similar items and check any results you find for their location and delivery options. To be clear, this doesn't mean you undercut any other local businesses but it means you can be sure your work is unique and stands out in its own right.
Being unique is really important. You only need to trawl through Pinterest to see very similar designs. You enjoy what you do because you are creative, so have confidence in your ideas.
4. Your time.
This is the hardest one to calculate and it took us a long time to strike the right balance. Firstly, there are some really handy online calculators you can use. We personally like this one:
http://www.craftfairsuk.com/craft-calculator.aspxcal
Do not undervalue yourself. If this is your business and you want to be as successful as possible then value your time, creative flare and effort. Sure, if you're just starting out then you may want to have an introductory offer but do not set your bar low.
We are always happy to chat with our customers about any of the above, so please reach out to us over Facebook Messenger for any further guidance!
We would love to hear your comments, so please feel free to post below.
6 comments
I always worry people won’t pay what I ask wheb launching new items. But they always do! I think you just need to be bold and work on images and marketing to own your local area.