Setting a Price

On Wednesday I'll be taking some items in to add to my shelf at a local vintage shop. Some of what I'm taking is actually vintage stuff. It's hard enough to come up with good prices for those items (although the owners are very helpful and those kinds of things can at least be found on the internet, often with prices). The rest of what I'm taking in will be handcrafted items, several things I've crocheted. Those are much harder to price. Some pieces take longer than others, not just because of size but also because of complexity of design. The cost/quality of yarn I use is also a factor, and one that may not be as obvious to a buyer. I have discovered that some yarns that feel soft can end up, after multiple washings, coarse or fuzzy. Now I use only good quality yarn, but still there is a range. Pure organic cotton, for example, will cost quite a bit more than even the best synthetic. (And if you're wondering why I would use synthetic yarn at all, I'll just say that babies make a mess, and acrylic is much more wash-and-dry friendly than cotton or wool.)

In the past I've made many gifts, and I've made items people have bought to give as gifts. In those cases, I didn't pay much attention to cost. Now that I'm going to start doing this (selling my crafts) in a shop and (hopefully soon) on my Etsy page, I really need to think a lot about setting a price that is fair to a buyer but doesn't leave me short, taking into account my time and the materials. I've poked around online a bit and found that the most popular price point for baby blankets (of which I have three to take into the shop) is between $28.00-32.00. In most cases, shipping is additional. Another way I've heard is good for price-setting is to multiply the cost of materials by three. I suppose as I start I'll just play with the prices a bit, seeing what sells maybe too fast and what doesn't sell at all. I should also start keeping track of the time I spend on each item, which is difficult because I usually have several in progress at any given time. Selling at the shop first will also give me a good idea of how to price items on my Etsy page; the shop caters to a smaller market than the internet does!

One part of my problem, I'm finding, is that if I get it right, I end up with an item so nice I don't want to sell it. I'm working now on a baby blanket, which I'll finish this evening, in mint and jade. This color combination is my favorite of all those I've worked with, and I'm tempted to just keep making it bigger to be an adult-size blanket. But really I have enough blankets, throws, wraps, etc. Even so, and even with my ridiculous yarn stock, I went to Michaels one day last week and bought up all of the jade color in this yarn I could find. (I bought all the mint too, but there were only two of those.) I'll think of something to make in those colors that I can justify keeping.