Opal Jane

I have an opportunity to make small (tabletop and mini) quilts and sell them. Is there a rule of thumb when pricing them? The problem is the price has to be enough for me to make some money but not too high that the person I am selling them to cannot resell them (she wants to sell them at her store).

Thanks,

ManiacQuilter2

There are a variety of prices you can charge especially depending on your area. people are not breaking down the doors to by quilts when there are so many cheaper hand quilted quilts coming in from China. Granted we quilters can see the cheap fabrics and the crummy stitch but the non quilter's won't notice those features. I would talk with the store owner and see if she can give you any advice. Keep track of your time spent and the money on fabrics and threads. I am lucky if I can just get out what it cost in fabrics. Good Luck.

ghostrider

Wholesale prices are generally 50% of retail prices so if they'll be sold at, say, $40 in the store, you'd get $20. Will that cover your time and costs? Probably not, but you'll walk away with immediate cash whether she sells them or not.

Commission would (usually) give you a higher percentage on each quilt sold, but you'd only get paid for the ones she sells. You do, however, retain full ownership of those that don't sell.

dunster

I would make one, only one, and keep careful track of the cost of materials and the amount of time it takes you. Figure out how much you expect to make for your time, and that plus the cost of materials gives you the minimum you would accept from the shop owner. Take the item and the price to her and see if she is interested in buying from you at that price. Don't forget that if you make a profit selling items you will probably have to pay 15% of it for social security and medicare taxes, and you may have additional business expenses, such as a business license. Good luck.

Dolphyngyrl

I would do it buy commission that protects you as well as the shop and decided a percentage of profit that she will earn from the sale, and set a base price that is the cheapest you would be willing to sell

Nammie to 7

If I were the one making the quilts I would price them according to the cost I have in them plus labor. I wouldn't worry about the profit the other person would be making.

Shelbie

I don't think that there is any way that you can make money on this one. Your fabric cost and time would far exceed any revenue that a store owner hoping to re-sell would be able to pay. Unless you are satisfied to just use up some fabric and have spare time to stitch these quilts, this deal would be a no for me.

ptquilts

good advice so far, I would show one to the shop owner and ask what they would want to sell it for, and what they would pay me for it. Then decide if I want to do it for that price.

After years of selling quilts on consignment, we finally got out of that and would never do it again. Final straw was when a shop owner "lost" a full sized bed quilt and felt it was OUR responsibility somehow. She did wind up paying for it, after a lot of debating.

SewingGB

You never recover your labor or time, usually take your basic costs (fabric, batting) and double that. Unless you sew very fast....and I don't...hard to look at a per hour wage recovery. I sell a few purses and home accessories, but do it mostly for fun.

quiltmom04

I agree. If you are making what you want to make, then it's ok. There's an interesting article in the newest Quilters' Newsletter Magazine I got in the mail yesterday about how the underpricing of quilts (they particularly referenced Etsy) makes it harder for all quilters to make a decent price on handmade items.