What would you charge?

[yarnlover66]

Someone in my office wants me to make a cardigan sweater for her daughter's American Girl doll to go with her Easter dress? What should I charge? I don't want to get underpaid and I don't want to over charge.

[faedragon]

Charge what you would be happy to recieve for the little sweater. Only you can decide what the "correct " price would be. Are you supplying the yarn, is yarn you already have or are you buying new? are you crocheting while watching tv, or while otherwise using time that would not be productive. Then think about what you would pay for the same thing...not what it's worth, but what you would actually be willing to pay. Once you have come to a price that you are happy with, then stick to it. Only the person buying can decide if it's too much to pay or not.

[yarnlover66]

Thanks. That is some things to think about. I told her $15. I have to go buy the yarn. It has a deadline. I'll have to put other projects on hold. I think $15 is a fair assessment.

[bettycrackpot]

i think 15 is fair. i would pay that for something for my wee one.

[yarnlover66]

UPDATE: She turned me down. She thought $15 was too much money. Oh well. That's ok. I didn't think $12 was too much to pay for my time plus $3 for yarn.

[luvmnms]

aw, I'm sorry to hear that she wouldn't accept your price.

[Tiga]

Why do people think that handmade means cheap or free?

 

Sheesh, if it's so darn easy and worthless to do, why not just do it yourself?

 

Oh, yeah, because it's NOT easy and it IS worth something.

 

You (the cheap person) are just a cheapskate.

 

$15 is sooo not too much for a one of a kind handmade sweater.

[badrhinogillett]

This is why I don't sell my work. For some reason people think our time isn't important in the equation.

 

I just went to the American Girl Doll site, and just to buy a hat for one of them costs $20! Why would a handmade sweater be less than $15? To be honest, when I saw what you were charging, I thought that was pretty cheap.

[CDBear]

Oh my gosh!! I agree, $15 was more than fair......

It's her loss, not yours......

[yarnlover66]

And of course, this is coming from a lady who has a lot of money. I'm ok with it. It just frees up my time to make something I want to make. She will go home tonight and tell her little girl that she decided not to order the crocheted sweater (after telling her last night that I could make one for her) and her daughter will probably throw a fit...she may come back to me and have me make it anyway....I'll let you know.

 

Her daughter is very spoiled and usually gets what she wants. This all started because she bought her daughter's American Girl doll an Easter dress to wear to church, but the cardigan sweater she had from another outfit does not match the dolls dress. She NEEDS one in white.

[ZuZu's Petals]

There is a difference between what you think people will pay, and what your time is worth. So often , it seems that people think your work counts for nothing!

I agree that people think that just because you know how to do something, they expect you to do it! Even if you are crocheting while watching tv, you are still using your time that could otherwise be used to make something for yourself, or just to enjoy the tv!

I actually had someone ask me to make something for her if she "bought the thread". I was so shocked, I did not respond. This was someone who otherwise makes no effort to stay in touch!

I have learned not to take my work so lightly.

[ldyer1]

When I first saw $15 I was about to write that that isn't enough. American Girl Doll clothes are ridiculously expensive, and thats generic factory made pricing. I am glad that you didn't come down on the price when she refused, good for you.

 

Sorry that person is ignorant.

[laureni526]

I find this a little funny, because if you are willing to drop $25 for the dress (nevermind the $10 for the matching shoes), do you really think $15 on a handmade sweater is that outrageous?

 

People are strange.

[eyrthmother1]

I do not know much about the american girl dolls, but I am glad to see that you didn't "de-value" yourself by cutting your price. Earlier, I was reading a Suze Orman book and she was discussing how wmn in particularly, have a tendency to do that..... by not causing waves, accepting what others think we are worth, etc.

 

You were willing to put other projects aside to do that for her, you would have had to buy the yarn (even if it was some you already had at home, you had to buy it at some point and will have to buy replacement for it in the future), using your time, your skill, your mind, and, most importantly, YOUR TALENT to make it. You deserve to make money off of YOUR talents. She makes money off of hers (at work).

 

So, heres your cheering :cheer :clap :cheer

 

Sandy

[Shelleden]

$15 is way too cheap - I would charge at least $25, but that's just MO. That lady turned down a real bargain!

[JoBug]

Well I HAVE to be honest, IF she would come back to me and would NOW want one because her spoiled brat demands it, I would NOW turn the tables and tell her NO...period...but that is me....

[Tiga]

Or tell her, after further research on the price of American Girl clothes and the amount of work that will go into producing a quality HANDMADE, ONE OF A KIND, sweater for her precious bra-,uh, child, the price has gone up.

 

Tell her you will charge $15 per hour of your work, plus materials. Then figure approximately how long it will take to make the sweater (it took me about 2 1/2 hours to make a Dora dress from a pattern; you'll be designing from scratch as well, so be sure to figure that time).

 

Let her figure out the new price and if she wants to pay it.

[Elle]

UPDATE: She turned me down. She thought $15 was too much money. Oh well. That's ok. I didn't think $12 was too much to pay for my time plus $3 for yarn.

 

 

Many people have absolutely no idea of the effort that goes into something like this. Even though it's a small item, it still takes time to do and you are still putting out money for the yarn. I don't think that $12 was an unreasonable price AT ALL for your labor. I would like to see her be able to buy something of that quality at a store for $15. My guess is that it won't happen.

 

I think what irks me the most about situations like this is that people have no qualms about going to a store and forking over $15 or more for something that is made from flimsy materials, but when someone is actually making it FOR them, they think it should be practically given away. Very unfair, but that's the mindset.

 

Elle

[Elle]

Well I HAVE to be honest, IF she would come back to me and would NOW want one because her spoiled brat demands it, I would NOW turn the tables and tell her NO...period...but that is me....

 

 

I'm like you, I would do the same thing. I would tell her that I had checked out the prices of the other American Girl doll clothes and had seen that $15 was actually an excellent price. At that point I think I would go on to explain that it would probably take two hours to crochet the piece and, at $3.00 for the yarn, that leaves $12 in labor or $6.00 an hour, which is now below minimum wage in every state in the union. And that's IF it could be done in 2 hours. Just because something is small doesn't mean it goes up all that quickly. It depends on how much detail is involved, how quickly a person works, etc. It might turn out that you're actually working for $4 an hour if it takes you into a third hour, and it's silly to expect anyone to work for that little, especially when the store bought items for those dolls are so much more expensive.

Elle

[CrochetbyClarissa]

I think $15 is more than fair! In fact I think you really could have gone up to $25 or $30.

 

It'a amazing what people say when they ask how much you would charge for something and then when you tell them they are like oh that's too much!

 

Their loss!

 

A few years ago I made a Paradise barbie doll for my mom. I entered her in our local craft fair contest. The lady that took down my info just could not compliment me enough on the doll. Then she asked me how much I would charge for one, when I told her $350 she was like oh wow that's a lot, a little too much for a child's toy! My mom who was with me informed her that this doll is NOT a child's toy that it is an heirloom piece and worth every penny and more. Gotta love mom's!

[mythunderbird]

teresa, i would go ahead and make the darn thing, then parade it around in front of her(you know you want to hehe) and then if asked i would sweetly say, oh don;'t worry about the price hon cause YOU can't afford it, then turn around and sell it on etsy or ebay lol YOU KNOW I WOULD TOO don't cha

lol, your time and talent are worth minumim 15... per hour, plus materials lol :devil:devil:devil:devil:devil:devil

[frogsrock]

my grandmom used to make american girl doll dresses (from like 1998-2000?), they were very basic and had a bit of lace on the sleeves and bottom of the dress

she charged like $20-25 a dress, 1 dress took maybe an hour, if that, to make

 

ive bought a lot of american girl clothes for my dolls, from the company, crafters, and small stores

i typically paid $25-35 for an outfit... this was like 7 years ago

 

id expect to pay like $25 for the sweater, at least

probably more since you're makeing it specially

[OneStitchMillie]

Hi there,

 

I thought $15 was very reasonable for something handmade. I charged $15 for a baby afghan and was told they would rather go to the store and buy a fleece for $12. I was relieved because she wanted it made in a week. People think handmade means the yarn fell from heaven and you wave a magic wand to make what they want. That's why I'd rather crochet for charity than make something for a friend. Like someone said, it's her loss. Don't ever sell yourself short.

 

Millie