Spindle Turning - PRICING

Re: Spindle Turning - PRICING

Ron Sardo in PA

>Great Article Russ! Thanks!

I'd like to add a few points.

1) Imprint the sample with your name and phone#. A nice label should work fine. You would be surprised at how easily a business card or brochure can be separated from your sample.

2) Once you have found a few prospects that look promising, follow up with them on a regular basis. Remember, many times these folks are busy and it is easy for them to forget who you are. A reminder now and then is a good thing. Be short, be pleasant, try not to take up too much of their time. I market printing, not spindles, but I find it takes at least 6 calls to a prospect to generate enough interest for them to give me a call.

Re: I was hoping.........

Russ Fairfield

>I was hoping that someone would jump in here and tell me that my pricing was too high, too cheap, or that I didn't know what I was talking about.

Okay....

Ron Sardo

>Okay... You know what you are talking about but your price is still to cheap... ;-)

I know you dislike using an hourly rate, but just out of curiosity, how long would it take you to turn and finish this type of spindle? I'm guessing 45 minutes.

Here is what I come up with using my formula that I posted last year.

Shop rate: $60 per hour

Production time: 45 minutes

Material Cost: $8.00

Profit markup: 30%

My price: $68.90

Surprisingly close!

Re: I was hoping.........

Ruth

>Well, now, I don't know if I should get in on this discussion. If I could get anywhere near $60 for one finial, I'd be dancing in the street! I didn't see a size mentioned so that might make a difference. I don't know if it's my area or what, but I'm moving to where you guys live!

i'm moving to where 'he' lives

-e-

>me too, ruth ... i've got to get a better understanding of how my area prices ... seems that in the bay area, its running about $35.00/hr. but i'm ready to move ... anyone need help?

Thanks Russ -

-e-

>As always, the information you provided is greatly appreciated and now a part of my permanent documentation.

:>)

Re: Spindle Turning - PRICING

Doug Trembath

>Business is where you find it, and location means a lot in determining the cost of an item. I have found that while my vessels brought a nice price in SoCal, in my new area in SW PA, although they are very well appreciated, they are not purchased nearly as much at my prices.

The real test, in my view, is as Russ says. At his rates, he gets all the work he needs or wants. If you can do it, that's the way to do it. Finding the entities that need the work done is the toughest part, and it sounds as if Russ has that part down. The quality is obvious, so if it results in only having to deal with one supplier that you can trust implicitly, quite often it is worth the higher cost.

My own view is that I wouldn't get quite that much for a finial, but I have a $25 minimum to take on any job, and an hourly rate after that.

I don't think you're too high, Russ. It, as I already said, is whatever the traffic will bear.

Doug Trembath

Studio in the Woods

Re: Spindle Turning - PRICING

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Good morning all

Russ and Ron, you are way more scientific about this than I am. I look at something that someone wants me to turn, and then figure on how long it will take to turn it. Then I double that number for all the things I forget I have to do beforehand, problems that will arise, etc. Then I add on a surcharge if I don't like the person - i.e. if they are pushy, want to haggle, want it right away before other customers already in the works, etc. I also add on a surcharge if I don't really like the job, but can't afford to turn it down. One guy was so ill tempered he paid $40.00 per spindle for a job that anyone else would have gotten for $25.00. I got paid upon delivery and haven't seen him since. ;-) Other people who are down on their luck or have a hard time making ends meet often get a discount - poor people need things fixed too.

For the most part my seat of the pants estimates usually come out to a $40.00/hr shop rate at the least, although there have been times when I should just quit and drink beer. That isn't quite up there with Ron's $60.00/hr, but if all goes well I can get that high. Now if I could only get all to go well all the time. ;-)

Bill

Re: Spindle Turning - PRICING

Ron Sardo in PA

>Bill Wrote:

Then I add on a surcharge if I don't like the person - i.e. if they are pushy, want to haggle, want it right away before other customers already in the works, etc.


Printers call that a "PITA" charge (Pain in the A$$).

BTW - I used $60 per hour just as an example. In printing I have over 9 different hourly rates depending on the operation and equipment involved.

Here is one of my favorite stories about a well known printer, Ben Franklin.

A customer walks in one of Ben's stores and asks the clerk about a price of a book. The clerk replies $1.00

"That's outrageous" the customer yelled "Where is the owner - I want to see him right away!"


Ben walks out of his office and asks the customer what is the problem then tells the customer that the book he wants is $1.25.

"WHAT" yells the customer "Your clerk told me it was only a dollar!"

Ben replies "Yes, That was before you started wasting my time"

Re: Spindle Turning - PRICING

Ralph Tursini

>Russ-

It's hard to get an idea of the size of the finial from the photograph. What's the approximate size?

-Ralph

6" tall

Russ Fairfield

>