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Pricing worry

I've got a silver plated Byzantine bracelet on eBay at the moment and had a question from an American user about how much it would cost in 9ct gold. I worked it all out and came up with a price of £80. Is this too much? I'll show you how I got to the cost:
£49.70 for the materials £2.92 (+ a little more, $1 I think) for the paypal costs £5.50 for the shipping (with insurance) + £11 (ROUGHLY) 2 hours of my time to order, make, package and post the item --------- £69.12 ---------
leaving approx £10 to put back into more materials and in case any other costs come up.
Does this sound unreasonable?
Charlie.
Reply to
Charlie
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Sounds way too reasonable to me. Aislyn of Urban Maille had a customer making a Byz necklace out of 18k rings that was going to sell for $3000 US. In theory that would make your 9k bracelet about $500 US. Over here I think a quality sterling silver Byz bracelet will run someone about what you are thinking of charging for 9k gold. You need to rethink how much your time is worth.
JMO, Tanya
Reply to
Magik

Charlie,
sounds waaay too low to me. Have you posted this ? to rec.crafts.jewelry? Someone there might be able to help you..
Just a thought,
Mavis
Reply to
AmazeR
I haven't posted it to another group. I don't feel I could charge more to customers than I would pay for it myself. It's just not worth than amount!
Charlie.
Reply to
Charlie
I've never seen anything for sale in 10ct gold. Only 9, 18 and 24. Not that I wear anything other than 9 as (IMHO) 18ct just gets damaged as it's so soft.
Charlie.
Reply to
Charlie
I don't think you will get 24 ct either only 22. 24 carat is too soft to use. 22 is the highest gold jewellery you can buy in the UK.
I have got some 18ct. gold here beside me left over from my college days. Shirley
In article , Charlie writes 
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Shirley Shone
Reply to
Shirley Shone
bah, I meant 22ct! It's past my bedtime! :-D
Charlie.
it's
make
Reply to
Charlie

time
My time is obviously worth money, but I pay myself in terms of jewellery making as much as I get paid at my job (I'm a lifeguard, classed as a "professional") which is a pretty good wage for an 18 year old. I don't expect to make any more than that as a very novice jewellery maker. I also don't believe I can compete with chain jewellers round here if I raise my prices much more. I looked today and the max a similar 9ct gold bracelet is going for is about £100 (and that was a very nice one with cz stones). Maybe to the US market I could raise my prices, but that doesn't seem fair. Hmmm. I don't know, it's all so confusing. I only want some extra pocket money!
Charlie.
Reply to
Charlie
In article ,
I have that problem too. But I also tend to resist paying a lot of money for decorative things in general, because I'm cheap that way.
Being cheap has been a good thing for me -- it was part of why I decided to learn to make jewelry, so I could have some of the nice things I was too cheap to buy. :-)
But if I take that attitude toward pricing my own work, I won't be able to make money running a jewelry business. 
--
Stef  **   avid/sensible/sensual/wise/essential/elemental/tangle 
   **  stef@cat-and-dragon.com  http://www.cat-and-dragon.com/stef
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Reply to
Stef
The "standard" for gold jewelry sold in the US is 14K. Though 10k is often used for less expensive production peieces for mass sales.
Tina
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Reply to
Christina Peterson
Yes, I agree. I know someone who sells sterling byzantine bracelets for $125, and that's CHEAP.
OTOH, if you really really are going to sell it for that price, can I buy one too?
-Kalera

Reply to
Kalera Stratton
If you *really* feel that way, you aren't counting your time in making it! A solid gold byzantine bracelet? For what translates to what... around $150 US???
That's not cheap, that's a steal.
-Kalera

Reply to
Kalera Stratton

If I sold a sterling silver one for that price the mark up would be about £55! ($100!) I'm not sure I could actually justify that, or convince people to pay it!
Charlie.
Sure, I'm re-thinking the price though. If you're serious email me (take out the obvious in the email addy).
Charlie.
Reply to
Charlie
Charlie i just took a look at ebay and did a quick search for 9ct byzantines online, and there are none that are priced at the price you are thinking of charging. the least expensive that I saw is 90 and the stores are offering them for 150-290...for 9ct gold.
I don't often use ebay as a gauge, because i think that people lookin there are looking for things at rock bottom prices.
Additionally, your friend's piece will have what no other can have...your time as an artisan.
Rethink you pricing and the value of your work.
As a life coach, I often have to tell clients that they often get what they expect because they send out signals to the universe. You seem to be sending out "I only want to make a little pocket money" signals. If that's all you really want, then that's likely to be what you get. But if you want to be a jeweler, or a business owner, or someone who is paid fairly then send out those signals.
Go for the gold...figuratively and literally!!!
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Reply to
lgreene
people
You really need to get your hands on a book called "Handmade for Profit!" by Barbara Brabec. Chapter Five "Pricing Problems and Solutions" is so screaming out your name. I just checked this book out of the library yesterday and it is chock-full of info and a really good read. Check your local library or bookseller or Amazon in a pinch:
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. Barbara Brabec has a website also with lots of articles:
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In short, if you have programmed yourself to believe that you can only get X dollars for your work, you will never get more than X. You have to believe in your talent and rethink how much you are worth. If somebody really wants something, they will pay whatever you are asking. Try raising your prices, you may be pleasantly surprised and see an increase in business!
Tanya
Reply to
Magik
Maybe I overvalue money. I just don't feel it's worth that much, but I'll raise them a little and see what happens.
Charlie.
your
Reply to
Charlie

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