Hello everyone ,
I’m confused about pricing my designs , mostly I work with sterling silver but , on my website I have visits but not much sales , maybe too expensive or too cheap ?
How do you calculate yours ?
Thanks .
Ayca
We just had a discussion about pricing earlier this week with lots of good information. Following is a link to it. I have a website too, but I use it mainly as a way to start a conversation with potential customers that are later concluded via email, phone call or in person. Good luck…Rob
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Oh thanks you very much , I didn’t check the last week conversations 
You focus only on part of the selling equation. You are leaving out presentation and the story. Surfing the web you might see a piece of jewelry you like. It looks nice, you may look at the price, but there is nothing unusual about it different from the others. Look at how it is displayed in the image. Is it the center point or is the decoration around it taking more of the interest? Next why should someone buy your necklace when there are others out there that look similar. Here is the greatest opportunity sales person has. The story. Is there a cultural tie in, a historical tie in, enviromental tie in, or a personal story that grabs at the buyer? You need to address all aspects not just the price. Making the necklace is only a small part of the process.
Aggie
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Pricing is complicated and I still struggle with it. I’ve watched pricing videos by jewelers and after doing the math knew I’d sell way less at their prices. I sell in markets and shows (and some retail), and it’s my only source of income, so what I do will be different from someone who is not relying on sales for a living. So I have to set prices at a point that people in my markets will actually pay, never mind what I might be able to get for it in a different venue or what it’s “worth”. I have found a balance where I have a lot of bread & butter things which don’t take long to make, so the profit margin is higher, and then I can have other things at much higher price points and eventually the right person will come along & appreciate what they are getting. But to figure out my basic price I add detailed cost of materials, and I time myself & multiply by an hourly rate which includes what I need to make to live (and I live a pretty simple life), plus other costs like packaging, fees, etc. That’s my basic price, and it became very important to be accurate about this once I got into a retailer who was actually selling significant amounts of my work, but then I am sort of random about raising it to account for the “wow” factor - is it a really special piece, unique, etc? Then I raise it as much as I feel like, because someone will eventually pay it. So, my profit margin on items varies quite a lot. Good luck!
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I have found that for my business, Marlene Richey’s pricing formula in her book “Profiting by Design” works best. In a nutshell, you take your production time x your hourly rate + all the costs involved in the work. Take this figure and then multiply x 2 to get your retail cost. Since I no longer wholesale my work, I’m not going to comment but whatever you do, keep a written record for each piece. I hope this helps. And for your hourly rate, it’s what you would pay someone else to make it if you were contracting it out. I know others are going to probably disagree on this point but there is no way I’m going to receive an hourly rate based on my 10,000+ hours of experience + my gemology degree from GIA. Consumers don’t care and the market won’t bear it.
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in “all the costs” i would include something for electricity, room rent, cosumables and amortization for equipment. personally i think that multiplying your number by 2 is not enough. Jewelers mark things up 5x and don’t do any work. I know they have employees and rent &c but i have always thought that 5x was too much.
of course having that GIA degree will give you more credibility to your customers.
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You are right , I ve been confusing about if I should focus on a collection or each piece is unique and has its own story .
I see sometime a simple but beautiful jewelry even effects me such as color of the gem and some without using a gem but is telling about nature , animals or words … when I check their prices they are very expensive and I think that they worth it.
So when I look at mine , I think they are not high price but well made and unique ( ahaha as for me 
)
Thanks for your comment it was helpful
Ayca
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Spano
We also have to bear in mind what the market will bear. I know that the mark up for NYC is much higher than say Seattle. New jewelers have to understand that there are different pricing methods but once you find one that works, run with it.
EL