Pricing – how to price your handmade silver clay jewellery

Or any other jewellery for that matter! This blog isn’t applicable to just silver clay – the principles for pricing handmade anything is pretty much the same.

So how do you price your handmade silver clay jewellery? It can be perceived as hard and as discussed in my previous blog which you can find here Why is it so hard to price your jewellery? Therefore, you must take emotion out of it. Because, once you do, it becomes a whole lot easier to price your hand made pieces!

When you start out, you might think about having a look around at your competitors price your work similarly or within the ballpark. This is fine for a while, but it doesn’t consider your specific situation and skills. Going forward, it’s always best to think about your own situation and price accordingly.

This blog is hopefully going to be a useful resource to you when you start pricing your own pieces.

Pricing Framework – consider these when you are pricing your handmade silver clay jewellery

Calculating production costs:

This will include counting up all the materials you use when making the jewellery – consider the following;

• The silver clay – calculate per gram and weigh your pieces. I usually weigh after firing, but that’s because I generally forget to weigh before!
• Any findings you have used – jump rings, wire, earring backs, chains, brooch backs, glue, solder, pickle.
• Any beads or other stones
• Any other things that make up your piece – enamel, colour, polymer clay etc.

Top tip
When you receive your materials – enter them into a book (or even write on the packaging) how much it cost you per item. That way, when you come to use it , you’ll know what the price is straight away without having to refer to receipts or emails. Remember to add in a part of the postage costs too because that all counts.

Cost of YOUR time

This is possibly the most contentious part about pricing, because you must decide what your hourly rate is. What you charge will depend on your experience and skill and many of us underestimate that!
When deciding your hourly rate make sure you cover the minimum wage at the very least. Do not pay yourself less than that!

Top tip
Use a project log record for recording your work. This will help you see what the stages of your project are and how long they take you to complete.
For example, if you are making a pair of earrings and they are simple – note down the time it takes per item. But once you’ve finished them, remember that if you are making the earring wires to go with them, this may take you longer than it does to make the earrings themselves!

Indirect Costs

These are the costs of running your business – the background stuff not directly related to your jewellery pieces but important, nonetheless.

Consider the following;

• Rent / mortgage
• Utilities (electricity, phone, internet costs)
• Insurance
• Office supplies
• Advertising
• Any office or support systems you use

Top tip
These can be quite difficult to pinpoint sometimes and when you get larger, they may become more important to track. But a good round figure to calculate these at the beginning is to calculate 25% of the production costs to give you a figure to include in your pricing.

Cost of Sales

This is a very important part of the pricing considerations. Because some of them can be hidden and you don’t necessarily think about them straight away. If you’re selling through an outlet, then typically they will charge a percentage rate for your work for showing in their establishment. But if you are out and about at craft fairs, then there’s more to be considered.

Think about;

• Processing payments (every payment processor – card or PayPal) will charge you something for processing your payments.
• Table fees
• Travel costs
• Food and lodging
• Packaging
• Display
• Commissions – the fees paid to an establishment for showing your work

Top Tip
Keep receipts and log them so you have a good idea about what your cost of sales are.
Once you have all these costs, you will have a good idea how much things are costing you and you can price your pieces accordingly.

Calculating your breakeven costs

Working example
A pair of small stud silver clay earrings weighing 2g each with a sterling silver finding. Price is per stud.

Cost of Making earrings – your Breakeven Price

Once you have your breakeven price, then you can set your price for profit. And you should make a profit, because as we all know the costs are subject to change, prices can go up and you need to ensure you have enough money in the bank to cover them if they do. Your profit gives you a buffer for this. It’s also good to ensure that you have enough money in the bank for the taxman if applicable.

Retail and Wholesale Pricing

You also need to understand the difference between wholesale and retail costs.
A wholesale price is the price that a retail outlet pays for your jewellery which allows them to put a commission on top of it for them. Some shops will charge anything from 25% to 50% on top of the price you are paid.
The retail price is the price you set for your jewellery when you sell it directly to the customer. Whether that’s in a craft fair or from a website, it makes no difference. However, one thing to be aware of is that if you are selling your pieces in the same location (or online) they should be the same price as those of your selected outlets. If you are seen to be undercutting your outlets, that will probably result in a dispute and those outlets ceasing to trade with you.

In conclusion, I suggest that you keep a running total of all expenses that your business has so that you can accurately cost what your jewellery costs to make. As my husband says to me often, this is a business, and you should know these things in order to make it a successful one.

I hope you’ve found this blog about how to price your silver clay jewellery helpful! Please let me know if you have or if you think I’ve missed anything out!