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quoting prices on making items
I just got hired on as a seamstress for a curtain, valance, drapes, pillow.... company. I do not know how to quote for items that I will be selling. What does seamstresses get now by the hour...for instance for a pillow how do I quote the labor in making a pillow, a cushion for a chair etc.... I do have a degree in Fashion Designing. Just confused on the quoting part....
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I make wedding dresses. If (post #35766, reply #1 of 4)
I make wedding dresses.
If you try to charge by the hour you have to take into account time ordering material, banking, travelling, planning, book keeping etc.
My method is less precise but works for me. I just charge the higest I think I can for a completed dress, stressing to buyers "no extras." (The alternative is labour plus materials but most brides would prefer a inclusive figure and it is frustrating when brides try and skimp on materials choosing cheaper linings or trims, I also hate the quibbles over cost of thread etc. Do you charge customer is you need extra equipment or attachment to make dress? I have used this method of charging but abandoned it. i know it works for some)
Because I order all fabrics etc wholesale I can say to customer "this is a gorgeous silk that cost £25 per metre." Of course I don't pay £25 per metre but the customer would pay that in a local shop.
If a company rather than customer is going to pay you you will need to check out local hourly rates.
Book "sew up a storm" is full of tips and stories about earning an income from sewing
curtains (post #35766, reply #3 of 4)
Thank you for the book suggestion, I am going to check it out, and hopefully it will help me...thanks again
I figure out price per hour (post #35766, reply #2 of 4)
I figure out price per hour plus supplies but quote an estimate to the client. I always keep track of my time for future reference. My price chart is based on that but doesn't show the numbers of hours. It takes me about 5 hours to make a simple dress plus another 2-3 hours for measuring and fittings. I charge $160 for that dress. If the client wants extras, such as an elaborate collar or ruffles or apliques, those are added to the basic cost according to how long it will take me to add each of them. And I always charge retail price plus driving time/gas if I have to provide those items.
Chris
Reply to quoting prices: Advice from a consumer (post #35766, reply #4 of 4)
I once called a marketing company because I wanted them to create a brochure and some other marketing pieces for me. The lady provided me a quote and it was for time. I did not give her my business because in my mind this was an open ended quote. She could always come back and say she needed more time and I would not have a finished product. I told her that I intended to purchase a product (e.g. a brochure) and it was not my intent to purchase her time.
My advice to you is for you to come up with a value for your services or the item that you are selling. In the mind of the purchaser, they are buying an item and your time, overhead, and materials should be included in the price.
Another example is when I take clothes to be altered (I am still learning to sew). My seamstress charges me a price to take in the waist or to take up a sleeve. She does not charge me by time since she has calculated how much time she thinks it will take and understands how she values her time.
Just my two cents...