At Craft Fairs, Deciding how much to charge for your crafts is an important decision. While ultimately you must decide what your products are worth, there are a few things you can consider that will help.
First, determine how much you or your employee will be paid per hour to produce products. Multiply this hourly rate by the number of hours a week that will be spent producing crafts. Write down this figure. This is your weekly cost of labor. For example, if you need to make $10 per hour, working 40 hours per week the weekly cost of labor would be $400.
Then, determine how many products one person can produce in one week. Calculate the total cost-of-supplies needed to make one finished product.
Multiply the cost of supplies-per-piece by the number of products produced in a week. If your cost of materials per piece is $1 and you can produce 100 products a week, the figure would be $100.Add this figure to your weekly labor costs. (In our example here that would be $400 + $100 = $500)
Divide this figure by the number of products produced in a week. So $500 labor/materials divided by 100 finished products a week would be $5.00 per piece. If you will be wholesaling your products, multiply this number by two which would give you a retail price of $10 per product.
Compare this cost to similar products on the market. If your price is more than similar products, you may need to reduce it by cutting hourly price, finding less expensive supplies or by increasing your production time. If your price is significantly less than similar products, you may want to consider raising your price.
Now, this might sound awfully complicated to the novice crafter, but it is a great way to figure out what price range your product will sell in so that you will be able to make a profit. Of course, supply and demand will also come into play, but it’s a good place to start!
This equation does not take into account any expenses other than labor and materials. You can figure in weekly costs of any other business expenses that you may have and then add it to the weekly labor and material costs.
When considering supply costs, remember that one piece will not use an entire supply unit. For instance, an 8-ounce bottle of glue might make a hundred pieces of inventory. In this case, calculate how many pieces can be produced from a supply and divide by the cost of the supply.
We can’t stress enough the fact that you should do your homework before mass-producing any items at all. That means attending craft fairs and seeing what similar products are selling for from different vendors.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, but expect to be met with a less than an enthusiastic answer. After all, crafters are in the business of making money and might not want to share their secrets. If they do, however, soak in every word and use it to your advantage.
When you’re selling your crafts, check with the promoter to see if you’re allowed to offer discounts. Some fairs prohibit the allowance for clearance sales or percentage-off sales. If they let you do these types of promotions, by all means, give it a shot!
This is a great way to get rid of unwanted or unsold inventory from past shows. Plus, people love a bargain. It’s a proven marketing ploy – even from the big stores. Advertise an item as marked down or on sale, and people will buy it.
However, remember that you are selling your handmade items. It’s one thing for a big department store to mark down a name brand item. It’s an entirely different thing for you to say something along the lines of “It cost me $.50 to make this item, it was priced at $5.00, but YOU can have it for just $3.00”.
There will be some people who will buy into this philosophy. It’s simple psychology. But don’t expect it every single time.
There are some things you shouldn’t be caught without when selling at a craft fair.
We hope you enjoy this full craft fair guide to sell your crafts at craft fairs, this is the Part Ten, find the full parts here:
