This is going to be a long winded breakdown of how I go about pricing, and since I just finished Falkorā¦Weāre going to use him as an extreme example. Iāll go through a few different ways Iāve heard/seen how many do their pricing, plus my own way. So strap inā¦Cause here comes lots of math and of course, more Falkor!
Next to, above, or below (however you view this post) youāll see the photo with the pricing for all my materials used. Only thing not listed is the small amount of tulle I used. I had the tulle on hand and honestly have no idea where or what brand it even is to get a price, so we will just ignore that š«£ I also never include stuffing in my pricing, as I buy this in bulk and just donāt care to weigh out what I use.
Beyond the tulle, I used 65.22g of TPU filament, 2.92g of White PLA filament, 5.12g of Black PLA filament, one full 3.53oz skein of Nako yarn, and a total of 13.5oz or 2 and 1/4 skeins of Big Twist yarn. Also not pictured are the specialty safety eyes from Darkside Eyes that cost $3.
Now here is where I see a LOT of people say to charge 3x the cost of materials going off their retail values. Basically as if I had to buy everything initially. So if I follow this rule, the āpriceā for Falkor based on what otherās believe would beā¦$227.55. Now while that does sound reasonable, itās really not. Remember I spent 56 hours making this guy. Not to mention, I donāt really find it fair at all to charge full retail cost of the materials when I didnāt use every last bit of them. I personally only include actual USED material cost when it comes to my pricing. So Iāll break that down for you on the chart below in how I figure that out.
| White PLA filament=$15.99 for 1000gā¦ I used only 2.92g | $15.99/1000=$0.02 per gramā¦ $0.02 x 2.92g Used=$0.06 actual material cost |
| Black PLA Filament=$13.99 for 1000gā¦ I used 5.15g | $13.99/1000=$0.01 per gramā¦ $0.01 x 5.15g Used=$0.05 actual material cost |
| TPU Filament=$24.90 for 1000gā¦ I used 65.22g | $24.90/1000=$0.02 per gramā¦ $0.02 x 65.22=$1.30 actual material cost |
| Big Twist Yarn=$4.49 per 6oz skein (x3 =$13.47)ā¦ I used 13.5oz or 2 and 1/4 skeins | $4.49/6=$0.75 per ounceā¦ 2 full skeins=$8.98 3rd skein=$0.75 x 1.5=$1.13 $8.98+$1.13=$10.11 actual material cost |
| Nako Yarn=$4.50 per 3.53oz skeinā¦I used a full one Safety Eyes=$3 | $4.50+$3=$7.50 actual material cost |
| Following āUsualā Ruleā¦Cost=$75.85 $75.85 x 3=$227.55 āmaterial costā | Following āMyā Ruleā¦Cost=$19.02 actual material costā¦and even if I x3 thatās still only $57.06 which 100% does not cover the work put in. |
Hopefully my breakdown chart makes sense, I know not everyone enjoys doing the math. Yet, I really feel it necessary to STOP people from doing the 3x material cost āruleā because itās just wrong.
In my opinion youāre OVERcharging your clients for materials you donāt use all the way. I still have plenty of filament for several other prints, and more than enough of the big twist yarn for quite a few other things depending on what I choose to make.
Itās not right! So stop doing it this wayā¦please! Just do the math. Itāll honestly keep your prices more affordable in the long run, and people more than likely to buy. ESPECIALLY for the quick makes that almost never use a full skein and you can make several of something from just one skein!
Anyways!! Moving onā¦Now that weāve figured out my true material cost ($19.02) itās time to figure out pricing my time to actually make him! This again Iāve seen several different ways of going about it. Charge by your local hourly minimum wage, minimum hourly tipped wage, or by number of stitches. So lets break each of those ārulesā down shall we?
Where I live the Hourly Minimum Wage =$12.48hr.
Hourly Minimum Tipped Wage =$4.74hr.
As for by number of stitches, most Iāve seen that use this rule charge $0.01 per stitch.
Letās first start with the $0.01 per stitch. By my mathā¦Which took forever to add up By the way š„“ā¦Falkor has a total of 17,930 crochet stitches.
$0.01 x 17,930 =$179.30 total JUST to crochet him. That doesnāt include my time to attach his nostrils, eyelids, the scales or the time to brush all of him out.
That is strictly just crocheting himā¦
This method could work for simple things or no-sew items, but simply does not really work for the more intricate makes that take more than just crocheting. Which takes us into the next two methods. One I see a lot, and the one I use personally.
I put 56 hours and 18 minutes of work into making this beasty (I did NOT include my 3D Printing time separately as it was running on itās own WHILE I was crocheting.) Based on the āwages rulesā and again where Iām personally located with Full Minimum Wage being $12.48hr and Tipped Minimum Wage being $4.74hr.
That would be $702.62 at full minimum wage or $266.86 at tipped minimum wage.
Now many people will tell you to ācharge your worthā or ādonāt work for freeā yadda yadda. While Yes I do agree with charging your worth, however I do NOT agree with charging for More than its worth.
And charging a Full Minimum wage just doesnāt work in my opinion. While yes, I do consider this my jobā¦It is not very demanding by any means.
Which is 100% why I personally go by following my local Tipping Minimum Wage. Iām not sitting in an office answering phones, or a mechanic working on cars, or any other job you would consider a ānormal 9-5ā job. I am in my opinion providing a service with the skills I have available to me. So I will price my things as such, and Iām sure there will be several that donāt agree with this way of thinking. Which is totally fine by me, Iām not here to please everyone, just here to spread help and awareness.
Anyway, everyone loves a good chart, so hereās another one to put all these different methods into perspective and hopefully help you decide on your own way of pricing things in the future.
| Method Used | ||
| āRetailā Material Cost $75.85×3 = | $227.55 Total | |
| āActualā Material Cost $19.02×3= | $57.06 Total | |
| +āRetailā Material Cost ($75.85) | +āAcutalā Material Cost ($19.02) | |
| 17,930stiches x $0.01 per Stitch | =$179.30+$75.85=$255.15 Total | =$179.30+$19.02=$198.32 Total |
| Local Minimum Wage $12.48hr x 56hr18min | =$702.62+$75.85=$778.47 Total | =$702.62+$19.02=$721.64 Total |
| Local Tipped Minimum Wage $4.74 x 56hr18min | =$266.86+$75.85=$342.71 Total | =$266.86+$19.02=$285.88 Total |
With all that, weāve reached the end! So what will it cost to order a custom made Falkor of your own? $285.88 (Plus shipping as that changes depending on your location.)
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask! Either in the comments, message me on Insta, or email me directly at C3Fiberarts@gmail.com
Iām always happy to help, or explain something further ā¤ļø
Now if youāre wanting your own Falkor you can reach out to me in the same way! As he does take quite a bit of time I wonāt be going through Etsy for this one. Only direct requests to me via email or Insta will be accepted.
C3Fiberarts 
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