sewsew busy

I really think that people that do not do ANY kind of crafts do not have a clue as to how much time and money it takes to do them. Most of all quilts.

ptquilts

well, I have sold many quilts, mostly through consignment shops, for prices I am happy with. Now I am through with consignment (whole nother story) and just trying to reduce my inventory to gain more space. So yes, the prices are insane in my Etsy shop right now. Would I do a special order for a similar quilt at those prices? HECK NO.

So the low prices you see might be other people clearing out "slow movers". I have seen some very pricey quilts on Etsy, like $2700 for one 20" x 30".

Girlfriend

It may have been that she made it for herself and decided she didn't like it, colors didn't match, or simply wants to change her decor, and all she wants is some money out of the quilt.

I would rather have something than nothing if I wanted to part with it....just a thought.

Pilgrim

I agree that people who don't quilt have any idea how much time and money it costs to make one. I tell people I don't make quilts to sell as people can't afford to buy mine. (Not being cocky, just honest.) The quilt guild I belong to just had a quilt show and we had a quilt we raffled. It was appraised by a well known appraiser at over $3600.00 I give mine to charities and family members. I do know of a person in our guild who was trying to sell one of her quilts for $200.00 dollars at a quilt show. I said, no way, you have that much in materials. She is on a fixed income and said she had lost her job and was trying to make some money. So sad.

misskira

Some of them I think are people funding their hobby... They love the process, so if they can sell the quilt for the cost of making it, they get to create for free.

clsurz

I have found that folks price such things based on what they themselves are willing to pay for it.

On the same topic regarding pricing but not quilt related I for years worked in direct sales and I was always amazed at gals that sold the product with additional discounts when the company already gave great discounts to begin with so there was no need for us as sales reps to give yet another discount. They were seriously cutting into their own profit.

Its no different with quilts. Folks will charge only what they themselves are willing to pay for that same item if they purchased it while others who understand making a profit will charge as high as 8-10 times more the cost of fabrics, threads, labor they had in creating it. These folks pay themselves what they feel they are worth and having made this item.

Personally I only make such to donate to charities, needed, and family members. If I were to be commissioned to create any project it would be based on what I feel I am worth for having created such a project which would include cost of all materials, ie, fabric, thread, time making it, designing it and such and than add a certain percentage over that total to make a profit for all my hard work and dedication to the project.

applique

I also sell on consignment 60/40 split. I love the challenge and fun of creating and I am usually looking for replacement costs to fund more quilts. For me it is a lot like being a painter or photographer who is satisfying the need to create regardless of the monetary returns. I do, however, get an appraisal which goes with the quilt so the new owner has an idea as to how much the quilt is really worth. Appraisals on my quilts range from $900 to $1250 and no one is willing to pay that amount! I no longer donate to charities because the quilts were always diverted along the way. I would give a small wall hanging as a door prize for example and it would never be given out. Our guild guidelines even say that members can take fabric etc. from the charity table as long as it is replaced with a quilt or other fabric. The LQS fabric is taken and replaced with WalMart fabric! Since I make them I decide what to do with them especially since my children have said they have enough (and use them to cover the furniture to protect it from the pets). Life and people sure are interesting!!

x7lillies

I really don't know! I have one queen sized quilt (a bargello, but it's not twisty, just a 2-width one) that I'm selling for $600, and I feel priced out of the market. It took me about 60 hours of actual sewing, plus probably 6 hours choosing fabric (there are 29 in it!), plus probably another 2-3 planning it all out and cutting and ordering the fabrics. All in all, I guess it's closer to 75 hours (I did not hand-quilt it, just quilted along the diagonals with my little Singer). But, it's done with 3/8" seams for durability, and all the corner seams (on every block) is back-stitched. I made it to last! I got materials on sale for about $115, but non-sale market value for them was about $230. So, paying myself $20 an hour plus the materials cost (not counting machine depreciation, etc.) puts the price at about $1750!

But no one would buy it for that much, so I'm trying to sell it for $600 (which, after actual materials costs, pays about $6.50 an hour, not even minimum wage!). And that's more than many other people sell theirs for.

I don't want to be rude, but people that sell quilts at cost because they want to are kind of ruining the market for the rest of us So instead of just selling quilts, I've moved on to selling smaller quilted items that pay me a decent hourly wage but don't knock people off their feet with the price. For instance: $20 for potholders, ~$70 for a large table runner, $45 for a set of 4 placemats, etc. I will not drop the price on that quilt. I'd rather have paid $115 for it and love it like it should be loved!

skep71

after reading through all the posts and comments on this subject...you're ALL correct!!! I started selling quilts this year. I am constantly making something, and got to the point that I had nobody to give them to. I could donate them to the guild I belong to, but most of what I make are baby quilts, and they can only handle so many of those before they've had enough.

regardless of what I spend on fabric, I price the "ingredients" of my quilt at the going regular price. this way, if I am able to buy some on clearance at a quilt shop, I'm still charging the full regular price and making a little extra off it. this is in addition to labor, quilting, etc.

I do kind of price my quilts at what I would pay for one, but I know what goes into one as I make them. I don't feel I sell myself short by any means, and am making way more than just covering the cost of materials.

I don't plan to support my family with this business by any means as quilts don't sell very quickly due to the price of them. (unless for some reason business takes off sometime in the near future) It's more of a justification of buying fabric, thread, machines (yes plural...how many of us here has only one), etc. this way, I can feed my need to create with fabric and have it pay for itself at the same time.

I think we ALL have an obligation to our craft/art...to educate people about what truly goes into what we create and what doesn't go into the 39.99 knock-offs.

thanks for reading...