Another week going by with no blogging : ) I have been brainstorming new things to make for Etsy to sell. I love making bears and soft toys but I am starting to think it is not enough.  So now we look at ideas that could sell all year round as gifts and below the $25 to 30 mark.
Not as easy as it sounds because once you have added in time, material costs and other things that make up the final selling price of an item, it is easy to be over that!

A typical  formula I now use to price stuff is:

ITEM COST = COST OF MATERIALS+ COST OF LABOR+ LISTING FEES + SELLING FEES+ PAYMENT PROCESSING FEES+ COST OF PACKAGING

SELLING PRICE = ITEM COST X 4
WHOLESALE PRICE = ITEM COST X 2

As you can see there is a lot more to pricing than just materials. When I started out, I used to just take materials and multiply by 3. It works for a bit but then you realize that while the price sounds great if you are a buyer of goods, as a seller it is priced more as a hobby rather than a viable living. I have been told so many times by people that my bears are so expensive. I make a living doing this and I have a lot of costs associated with this. I did not add Overhead as a category in my formula as a lot of my costs are covered as I work from home and do not rent a space and my cell is used for more than just work. It is hard to split this out. It also takes a long time to make a collector bear.
 My bears are meant to last a lifetime and to be passed on to the next generation. They are made as such and prices as such.

Even so, with that fancy formula I often end up with a price that is not realistic to sell the bear at. Often it ends up being a compromise between the two formulas: old and new.

So now I am looking at making things such as book covers with applique animals, coffee cozies, tissue holders and satchel messenger bags with animals appliqued on. The list will grow...

Any ideas?