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When it comes to how to price your items, it is probably one of the hardest parts of running your own handmade business. On top of trying to price your items to cover the cost of producing the items you need to ensure that you are making a profit to be able to earn from your crafting. Additional costs when selling online will also need to be taken into account.
Research
I undertook a bit of research using my own products as guinea pigs. Listing my items with the postage costs listed separately under postage and packaging. Many customers contacted me to try and discuss lowering the cost of postage.
Then I thought about what things I looked at when purchasing items and realised that postage and packaging had a large bearing on whether I would eventually purchase or not. Therefore I decided to price my own items accordingly.
Calculating Costs
I calculated the cost of making my item, added on the profit that I wanted to earn from said item. Postage and Packaging will need to be added to this along with how much extra you would need to cover any fees incurred from the selling platform.
For my items I use a variety of packaging materials, depending on the size or type of item that I am sending. Here are some of the boxes and mail bags that I use.
Due to the similarity in the items that I sell particularly in postage fees for the majority of my items an additional £5 was added to my items to cover these fees.
I found almost instantly that views and sales of my items increased, there were no more queries about the price.
Exceptions
There are a few exceptions to this ruling, obviously international postage and packaging will cost considerably more than domestic postage. International postage will therefore require added costs as a result.
I have found that this method works well for my items. I have also passed this method on to some of the resident crafters at the shop. It appears to work well for those who have used it. I would therefore encourage you to give it a try and let me know how it fares with your items.
