How much to charge?

[Rascal Ralph]

A nice new member in our club asked me if I coould make him a badge/cartridge holder. He designed it from one he saw. I consider him a new friend, but do need to at least have him pay something on it. I cut it from good leather, not scrap, two good line 24 snaps on it.(pic enclosed) I have no idea how much it would cost from a leather shop. any ideas?  Rascal Ralph.

[Tommy tornado]

between 10 to 20 dollars

[Chance]

Custom made?  25 - 30 bucks.

[Slowhand Bob]

$25 ++,  good looking product but maker name plays a large part in pricing.  When it is a hobby craft your pricing will also be a lot lower than if your work supplies the bacon!

[Silver_Rings]

I like the design.    As to how much to charge, how much is your time worth?  How much did the materials cost?  I would figure $25 plus.

SR

[Trailrider]

Howdy, Pard,

While the prices mentioned by other posts are "in the right ballpark", pricing can be a bit tricky.  You don't just have a badge-holder here, you also have cartridge loops sewn on, plus the cost of the snaps, plus your TIME!  If this is just a favor for a friend, you might want to just charge him/her for the cost of materials.  (That can be tricky to determine as well, as you may have paid $X per square foot or $Y per square inch, but if you had to buy an entire side of leather, a LOT...maybe 50-60 percent will be unusable, and thus the true cost of the leather piece you used may be double what it would be if the whole side were usable!)  Still, I doubt there is more than $6-8 worth of actual materials there.

Now, as to the TIME you spent... that is the kicker!  How much is your time worth to you?  Did you actually keep track of it? Or did you do most of the work while listening to a baseball game on the radio, etc.?  Nothing wrong with that...just did working on this project take away from time you might have been doing something else?  Your call!

But...the problem with just charging for the materials is...if/when someone else sees the quality of your work, and asks you to do one for them...or a holster, or a belt, etc.!  Then someone else sees your stuff and wants you to do it at cost!  Then you get laid off from your career job (it doesn't take a rocket scientist...and it doesn't help if you used to be one!!!), and decide to turn your hobby into a business!  So you raise the prices, put out a catalog and get yourself a website!  If you work out of your home, you can charge some of your overhead off to the fact that you'd probably be using the shop, lights, etc., anyway...      Next thing you know, you are answering your phone with your business name.  Then you join SASS and pick your alias to match part of your business name... Then... oh, WAIT A MINUTE!  We were talking about YOU!  Weren't we?   

Of hand, I'd say this piece is in the $30-35 retail!

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Of hand, I'd say this piece is in the $30-35 retail!

I agree with this since you are getting two pieces in one.

[Rascal Ralph]

I sure appreciate all your inputs! I know "custom made" anything cost more, but since he knows I enjoy doing favors for cowpokes, I figure I'll just tell him theres $10.. in it, but he need not tell anyone since it's just a favor for him. If anyone says they want one, $18-$20 . I'm sitting home all day since i'm on SS disability, so the time spent is actually enjoyable to me. Every piece I make teaches me more, and I am learning bunches!. RR ( PS ) I'm gonna need help on the toe plug on my new holster. I drilled the holes where my spacer marked, but getting the holes to come out on the bottom evenly escaped me. I know no  one will see the bottom of the plug, but is there a trick to this?  The leather is to thick to use an awl on. RR

[Silver_Rings]

Trailrider is 100% correct about where this can lead.  I have made things and given them away because it felt good.  I enjoyed making the item and the materials didn't cost that much.  Other things I have made I decided that they were worth $x and that's what I asked for them.

SR