PRICING

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iampapabear
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:12 am

PRICING

Post by iampapabear »

This is a new venture for me, have never crafted for dollars before and would appreciate some assist in developing a pricing plan.

This will be my first "commissioned" piece and I would appreciate some input from those who have walked this path before me.

Description: a 24 inch wooden disc, oak, 3/4 inch thick. A combination of raised text in 1/4 deep pockets (3 concentric circles, each about 2 inches across and separated by 1/4 inch border). In center is a 3d component (wreath and star). Total machine time, according to Aspire, is about 14 hours. ( hope that is an over-estimate)

Cost of the wood is less than $25.00
Cost of finish materials is about $5.00 (natural wood, sealed with poly)

Time to design and set up toolpaths, about 2 hours.

Running a pro plus HD, bosch 1617, bits from Precise Bits and Whiteside.

Cost of 3d model from VectorArt3d, $25.00

jeb2cav
Site Admin
Posts: 1524
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:04 pm
Location: Kentucky
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Re: PRICING

Post by jeb2cav »

Hi - there are a few posts on this topic in the forum. A recent one is http://cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1717.

You can also get a sense of pricing philosophies on different sign forums. In the end, it is how you value your product. If you undervalue it, you may initially sell more, but you aren't going to make anything - and that may be fine for you. You are $55 in with materials - not counting the 2 hours of design. You didn't mention a CNC time, and then there's the time to finish this. I've seen some shops base their carving cost at rates from $20 - 75 a machine hour, with most of them in the higher side of that. Up to you to determine a min hourly rate for you - and then what the over all value of the creation is.

Probably not much help here - beauty and level of happiness is in the eye of the beholder. I have met a number of folks since I started out who are not happy - and are going to craft shows selling stuff in essence at or below cost - let alone value.

sk8nmike
Posts: 389
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:35 am
Location: Carrollton, Tx

Re: PRICING

Post by sk8nmike »

If you are planning to make money off your work you need to figure in the cost of materials (to include bits and wear and tear on the router and CNC) and your time.

I have a set rate of $25 per hour for everything I carve, that's design time plus the time to carve. If I spend 2 hours designing a sign and 2 hours carving and then another hour finishing it, then the sign is worth $125.00. If I have to buy a pattern to create the sign I add the cost of the pattern to the price. I mill my own lumber from recovered wood (trees blown down from storms and people clearing land), if I have to buy a special material I add that to the cost also. I have found most of my customers are happy with the price, the few that aren't would complain if you gave it to them for free anyways.

PeteD
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:36 pm

Re: PRICING

Post by PeteD »

I charge $35 for signs 12 x 16 and under. My material costs are $2 for the ash, $1 for the clear coat, $1 for the craft paint and $6 for end mills, sandpaper, a hanger, hydro and other supplies. This leaves me $25 per sign profit. While the machine is cutting I do my design work for other jobs, mill my lumber, glue up the blanks and prepare for the next job on the machine and clean the shop. As the sizes get larger so does the price. When I do clocks for instance, I do as many as I can at one thime to save on set up time. I can easily finish 6 signs a day so $150 a day clear money is not too bad. Note this is all 2d cutting. I avoid 3d signs unless I have to do them as I have found most people will not pay for thar much machining time. Pete

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