I finally made a bags for myself this weekend
with matching pink spotty lining,
Internal pocket trimmed with ric rac (sorry not the best picture)
Now here is my dilemma, I love my bag and will use it loads BUT because of the cost of the frame, if I was to make them to sell, then they would cost around £35 each (not properly costed yet), which is expensive for a bag. I can't get the frame (or many supplies) wholesale as I am not in a position to buy enough stock to qualify. So do I just accept that I make expensive (nice !) bags or try and get cheaper quality items.
I use cotton webbing for some of my bags handles which I feel is much nicer than the cheaper alternatives e.g Jute, but obviously makes the bags cost more. How far do you take it, I would feel really uncomfortable selling someone a bag made with inferior materials, but am aware that people have less money at the moment. At present I am sticking to the quality materials model as I am still selling bags but am very aware of how much I have to charge for them. I guess it is a never ending conundrum.
How does everyone else do it ?
I have the exact same dilemma, it's so hard to know what to do! Especially if using the smaller frames that are still quite expensive - makes having to charge quite high prices for the small coin type purses. I think £35 is a good price for your cute bag though, people are happy to pay for nice handmade items :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult. These Bags cost you Money as well. At the very least you should charge enough to recoup your costs. What about paying yourself? It isn't easy to decide how much to charge. To many sellers don't charge enough for their work because they feel that selling more at cheaper prices is the way to go. But in the long run it is easier to start high and lower your prices than to start low and raise them later on. Charge what you as well as your Bags are worth, after all you to want to make Money from this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments - I do allow something in the pricing for my time, but at an hourly rate it would be under the minimum wage ! - I think I have to stick to using good quality componants and accepting it makes my bags expensive, I wouldn't feel happy selling something I didn't feel happy about the quality of
ReplyDeleteAndrea
I don't think £35 is expensive for a hand made bag, it's gorgeous and lovingly made. Someone out there will want it x
ReplyDelete