How to price your Handmade Embroidery Products

Do you have the same problem as me? Love creating part? Making new things. And that time comes.. ta, ta tam.. Price must be set before I can put my product into my online shop. I was running a shop on Etsy, but I was forced to shut it down because I didn’t calculate my cost right. Now, I have a second try at my shop. This time I am more ready and I want to start FRESH. Here are my tips on how to price your handmade embroidery products.

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myembroiderypassions how to price your handmade products

You need to know your costs

Costs are divided in several categories. If your business has it own specifics, please, write in the comments and we can discuss how it effects the final price.

Name of costDescription
Fixed costsHere you have costs that you have to pay – it does not change with the number of finished products. For example, here goes your rent, electricity, water…
Variable costsThese are the costs of your materials. Prices for materials change, especially because you also may try new materials to see which one fit your business better. More products you make per month, higher are your costs.
Shipping and Handling costsYou need to package your products and ship them. Shipping costs get higher when you have bigger and heavier packages. If your business mostly ships out packages, then you should contact post provider in your countries. Some offer special prices if you sign a contract with them and use exclusively their service.
Labor costs Here I will present example if you are part-time employed and part-time working on your handmade bussinesYou take the income you want, for example, 20.000 euros, for divided with 50 weeks (you probably want to have at least 2 weeks of vacation, right?). You get 400 euros per week. then decide how many hours you want to work. If you work part-time, then you have 20 hours. You divide 400 euros with 20 hours and you get your hourly rate – 20 euros.

– Sum everything up = final price of your product

After you sum up all your costs, you get final price of your product. When you sell product for that price, you get money to cover all of the costs we have mentioned above.

Add 10 % & pay yourself first – take action & read book Profit First!

If you haven’t read the book Profit First from Mike Michalowicz – I highly recommend it. It really changed my view and approach on how to transform my business.

Book Profit First

I have applied his main principle to pay myself first into my monthly budget. I was a very weird principle when I have first heard of it. I am used to paying bills for electricity, water, trash, to buy food and clothes. After reading the book, I decided that I was ready to pay myself first and my PROFIT bucket is growing.

You need to know your value 

If you do not have trust in your skills and product – the customer will see that. You need to have TRUST in yourself and your skills. This is one of the hardest things to develop. But with practice, you can do it. 

Your customer must become your friend

If you are in a handmade business, each piece is unique. Most of the time you cannot make repetition, only something similar. Your piece is your expression of the imagination and skills that you have acquired up to this point in your life. Next piece will be different because you gained new knowledge and new skills. To sell this piece, you need to put your work up into the open – show it on social media or on your website. More people that will see your work, easier will be that your potential customer will see your unique piece. You know, when you see that sweater or that bag and you HAVE tO have it? Well, the same thing happens when a potential customer sees your brooch/pendant – they connect and they HAVE to have it. It is the same process.

myembroiderypassions handmade pricing bussiness

Upgrade your knowledge – Take an Online Course

I have recently discovered Domestika. They have very good online classes. If you have the same problem as me, I can recommend this course to you: 

Title of Domestika CourseDescription
Managing your Finances as a Creative ProfessionalCheck for price HERE
LevelBeginner
* Domestika did not pay me to advertise their course – I recommend it because IT IS VERY good course.

The course has 18 lessons (3 h and 46 minutes and 13 additional resources. Subtitles are available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, German). Monica takes you step-by-step and explains very well several aspects that need to be considered.

This course is for anyone that is already in handmade business or is thinking about starting it. Here you will learn the financial foundations for your handmade business. No previous knowledge is required, just will take notes and study. But I must point out that additional materials are NOT translated to English. I translated them using Google Translate.

TIP: you can buy it at discount several times a year – apply to their mailing list and they will send you an email when is time.

Monica is a very good teacher and she helped me build better, stronger foundations for my second try. I have gained a lot of precious knowledge and received a certificate after I have finished the course.

Knowledge is key to successfully price your handmade products

We  – creative souls – love to create and do not like the topic of money and everything that comes with it. But I learned the hard way –  if I don’t take care of finances, I will run out of money to even buy my next supply. So I am expanding my knowledge on this area. You are very welcome to join me on this path. More knowledge means less fear and you can make better decisions. You will also gain more confidence. A new confidence will help you make more sales and reach better profits.

myembroiderypassions online course review

Please, let me know in the comments if you like this topic and if you find it useful. Should I post more on about finances in handmade business? What is the main struggle in your online handmade business?

* Domestika did not pay me to advertise their course, I want to share my authentic experience with you.

You may also find it good read:

PS: For more ideas Check out Craftsy’s Free Classes!

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6 thoughts on “How to price your Handmade Embroidery Products”

  1. I can only wholeheartedly agree with everything you wrote. Money and charging fairly is a huge struggle for me as well and I too am determined to get better at it. Starting now!

    Keep these posts coming, the more we learn the easier it gets, right?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Yes, you are right 🙂 If we persist and learn further, we can thrive together 🙂 I will definitely write more on this topic because I want to improve here too 🙂 We can make 2021 our success year, dear Nina.

      Reply
  2. Totally a useful article. Pricing handmade items in general can be tricky. This becomes even tougher when you realize an artist is their own worst critic. It’s not unheard of for artists to underprice their work only to regret it later. However, I absolutely hate the bozos that want work done for free.

    Reply
    • yes, I agree, setting the right price is tricky – but practise makes it perfect. Skill of setting right price is also one of them 🙂

      Reply
  3. Thank you for this. My girlfriend has been  stressing about how she is pricing her creations and this has helped both of us as she asked me to help her out and deal with the financial part. Now I know exactly what aspects to consider and price it for her time and skill and my time as well.Thanks 

    Reply
    • this is great news! I am also writing a series of articles on how to improve an online craft/jewellery shop, so I hope she will read those too. If you have any more questions, please, leave them in the comments.

      Reply

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