I just don't get it!
 

Just came back from looking at Etsy for the first time in about 5 years. How can some of these quilts be so inexpensive? I know how much I pay just for material for a quilt, and I am wondering how some of these can make any money. Then you go to Lancaster, or Berlin, and see these quilts that are $1200 or $1400 dollars. Am I missing something here??:confused:

And then you have potential buyers who think that paying $125 for a quilt is too much money. I don't get it either, if that's any consolation.

I'm guessing that the folks who have very low prices on their quilts are working from inherited or thrift store stash. That would make it possible to cut expenses drastically. Does however seem like they are not valuing their time very highly.
As to the really high $ quilts I don't know anybody willing to spend that much, but then I don't comprehend multi thousand $ for a wedding either.

I only make and give away my quilts for this reason..I spend more on materials than the asking price, and I feel my labor is worth something.

If I ever get to a point where I feel my quilts are 'sale worthy,' I don't expect that I'll ask much for them, simply because (one, I never give myself enough credit), but mostly because I just want to continue the hobby. My "free time" is just that; I spend it doing things I like to do, and am not expecting to be paid for things I do on my own time. Having said that, I would hope to get maybe $20-30 more than I spent on materials for what I might put up for sale.
Of course, if I were doing it for a business and grocery money, that would be a different story.

Right now, though, I haven't learned enough to put out what I consider a 'quality' product (at least not from a 'finishing' standpoint of what my binding and SITD looks like- UGH!), so for now my 'practice' quilts are giveaways.

A quilt is not something you have to buy, it's something you want to buy. I think most need the money so will discount the quilts down as low as possible. It's easy to tell they don't value their time at all. If they don't, I certainly don't.

I have sold quilts and quilted items on Etsy, and I can tell you this- there is a certain kind of person that thinks if it isn't expensive it must not be very good. And they are the ones who buy high priced quilts.

When you can buy a whole quilt set for $29, its no wonder people think they are cheap to make.
I remember buying a couple of these quilts and for the price they are not bad. The quilting is awful and sparce though. They even come with shams.
Bought them before I started quilting.
I call them slave labor quilts.

I have wondered the same thing, I would go broke if I sold quilts for less than what I put in to them!!!

We as a community just need to value our time more. I cross stitched Christmas stockings for my DIL and she had a friend see them and asked how much I 'd charge to do one. When I told her my costs plus $0.10 an hour labor would be $250.00 never heard from the friend again. And that was discounted labor. I have committed to never doing anything for cheap. I will charge for labor and do so at a fair rate.

Rose Marie makes a good point. a lot of people compare price points of store versus hand made quilts. Recently, someone asked my husband if I would make a baby quilt. I researched on etsy and saw that pricing was around $145 for a rag quilt. I sent my husband with the print out of the quilt and price and said I would make her one for $75. She has never brought up the subject with my husband. Next time, I will say $145! LOL

People will pay what they think it is worth. Some will spend thousands, some not! I don't get it either. These people that low ball hand crafted items cause a bit of ^&*^*&^ for others! peace EDIT: My boss paid 15, 500 for a quilt more than ten years ago. Yes she did! The proof is in an old QNM. peace

IT is sad enough that some stores sell quilts for little to nothing because the creators of these quilts can't be making much in wages. I'd rather give mine away than sell my craft for cheap.

I don't understand selling them for less then the fabric and batting put into items unless they themself are getting the material free? Actually I do remember on one of the other forums years back sometime around 9/11 there was a lady (saying a church type group she belong to) asking for left over fabric, bating, extra blocks saying it was to make quilts for the needy but turns out was not making quilts for the needy. We even sent them with us paying the postage. Many of us me included sent yardage, blocks and large scraps of fabic.

I wouldn't charge for labor. Doing the work keeps me from being bored when the weather is nasty. Or it's for a friend.
There's too many people who want stuff for free. Now I just toss scraps in the trash. I have quite a bit of fabric to go through, can't get help in sorting. A helper would get most of it. That's going in the trash, too. If I could, I'd burn it.

Well, a lot of people AREN'T making any money! Here's the thing though. It will ALWAYS be that way. You don't know what they are spending on materials, what kind of time they are putting in, or the quality of the work. Price your things to what YOU need to make. I have always had moderately priced items on Etsy because it's what I need to make a profit and justify my time. (Remember not everyone is selling legally either...I have some overhead I need to balance out to make any money as I have a small business). Otherwise I would just be giving stuff away and I'd much rather give it to family if that's the goal. I am a stay at home Mommy so I do this for the extra income. There have always been people who sell for less, but most of my customers come to me for the consistency of quality. So I don't worry to much about what others are doing. Market your items and build a following and you will have business. ;)

I make sure I get my quilts appraised first so I know exactly how much they are worth. Currently mine average $1100.00 definitely not cheap!

I guess I will never sell a quilt, because, with limited funds, years and lack of "expensive" equipment, the most I can get done in a year is maybe 3 or 4. All of mine are Qayg, and made for family or close friends.
Pat

when we first moved back to the US I bought a few of these quilts while waiting for our house hold goods to arrive. They make great fur baby rugs and I don't fuss about them on the floor. We have given a few to the local shelter and they use them for bedding for the animals.Not everyone can afford the nice quilts. I make mine and donate them. Even without the tax write off -I enjoy making and creating them.

go Gabe!! some people do think we are just waiting for an other project... I can't charge the price for anything that comes off my machine and make wages. I did make window coverings for a lady that wanted the expensive . she also had me make 4 layers of $50. a yrd fabric. I did make money on that job. so much for the other 10 years of work at considerably less wages.

I'm a spinner and knitter as well. I had my own business for a while. People would actually pay me $60+ for ONE skein of sock yarn. That's right... it's a $60 pair of socks not to mention the time they will have to put into it to knit it. It's sort of like paying $20/yard for some local, hand-dyed batik or something. I think any one of us would pay for a yard of that and use it as a center panel. If it's worth it to the person purchasing, they'll pay the price. If they see no value in a personal touch, they won't. It's all about what the market will bear, right?

funny this showed up today. My DH's physical therapist was here this morning and commented on my 20"x26" table mat I made yesterday using my new mini Twister tool -- fun to make. Anyway, she said "you should sell these" So I asked her what she'd pay for something like this. She thought about it so I asked if she'd pay $20? She said "I'd pay $10". Then I told her I had $10 in fabric. That really surprised her. Then she commented that $20 wouldn't even include a fair price for my labor involved. Then she understood.

That's why I don't do craft shows anymore. Just not worth my time and effort.

I don't have a lot of people to give quilts to because I come from a small family and there are quite a few quilters in my extended family. And then there are family members who are lukewarm and non-committal about getting a quilt when I ask what colors they would like. These people won't get a quilt from me. I have not sold any quilts yet, but I would like to. My price would be based on cost of materials and not time. The way I see it, I would quilt anyway, if I was selling the quilt or not. So if I can recoup my cost of materials, they hey, I can go shop for more. It's not that I don't value my time, I do. But I am not doing it to earn a living and I am ok with just recouping material costs so I can go get more.

BellaBoo, I've heard that in bad times you want to sell things that people want, not what they need to make money. Figure that one out?

I'd much rather give my quilts to people who need them. I do it because I love it. I may not make money quilting but it is cheaper than therapy.

I do most of my quilts for my family for nothing. They ALL have at least 2 or 3 each. I have sold a few quilts, and when it is fore a friend--I don,t charge for labor--just the material cost. I have one getting ready to be quilted for someone--It,s queen size. He is paying $300.00 for it . Also wanted matching pillow cases to go with it.
I enjoy quilting --so it gives me something to do to keep me out of trouble(lol).

I dont sell my quilts, I get asked a whole lot about them though. I generally start off by saying "anything bigger than a bread basket you can guarantee the materials cost is between $150-$300 and then I consider my labor to be skilled labor which goes for about $20/hr, most quilts will start at 20hrs up to 80hrs to complete"

They usually get a glazed look on their face, I tell them if I am putting any more than 2-3hrs into something, I am going to use top shelf materials otherwise it is a waste. And my time is important. With that being said, I dont get any requests for my quilts. I dont mind at all.

I have noticed there are 2 types of people who look for hand crafted items. Those that value the work/skill put into a hand crafted item and understand the the value assigned. Then there are those who have the what I call "walmart" mentality, they consider hand crafted items to be cheaper than store bought.

people that dont quilt do not realize how much work goes into one

I don't know all those people come up with their prices, but here's how I come up with mine. I figure up about how much the fabric would cost to replace what I used(whether I already had it or whether I bought it for that quilt), including the thread,rotary blade if I had to change it out,and don't forget the backing and batting. Then I double that amount and pay myself $10 an hour for the labor.If you only charge enough to cover materials, you will get very tired of doing all that beautiful quilt work for nothing. And you can use your profit to buy fabric for more quilts.After about the first 5 quilts I never had to use my personal money for quilt supplies again.

interesting thread. I often asked the same question. If I did sell my "hand quilted" items on etsy. I would not give them away.

I think every one quilts for a different reason. To some it is a business and for others it is a hobby. If you want to be sucessful in selling your quilts you have to know all about marketing your product. One of the girls here hit the nail right on the head.....Do the best job you can possibly do and market to your own clientele that you have developed through the excelance of the product that you have put out there. Decide what your product is worth to you, and do not compromise on it. If it is really wonderful, it will sell and then the sold item will sell again for you. It is like a growing plant, but you do have to water it and take care of it. Do not worry about what other people are selling their product for. If your product isn't selling, ask the buyer what they are looking for. Keep up with the times. Know what quilt buyers want now and put it out there. I sell to a select group of people I have come to know over the years and I do not advertise to the public. I have never worked for cheap and have never needed more work. Trust me..this is the way to go!

I know what you mean. I have non quilting friends that think it's ridiculous to pay $1000 for a hand appliqued and hand quilted quilt yet they have no idea of the hours it takes to do one. I have seen the same quilts sell for up to $3200 in a quilt shop so it can be either way.

I made a quilt for my brother for Christmas and had to mail it to him. When I was asked if I wanted to insure it, I said yes, then they asked for the amount. How do you value something that is really priceless (it is one of a kind, just for him). I insured it for $500, which is about the cost of fabric and quilting. I could not see insuring it for more, as I would not know how to value my time. Luckily, he got it without a problem and loves it.

Quilting is an art! Look at what you have to pay for some art that doesn't even take the talent or time or material of quilting.

I have to agree if you would put an amount on hours put into it, the cost of fabric people that don't quilt would not pay. That would include shopping for the material which sometimes take a lot of time.

I had never been on etsy, so I checked it out after your post...Crazy, some of the quilt prices do not seem to cover the price of material, alone. One of my cousins asked me if I would make her a quilt, I told her how much fabric it would take and for her to buy it and send it to me and I would charge a nominal fee to piece and quilt it...have not heard from her again!

I make and sell smaller items that I want to make for the fun of it. Mostly I used my fabric and batting scraps but
I do estimate the cost of those when i set a price because I did pay for them once. The shop I take them to is a small town very nice consignment shop where the owner artfully displays the antiques and collectibles along with hand made items. She charges 30% of sale price for her consignment fee. My prices aren't set too high because they wouldn't sell otherwise and I just need to get the cost of materials back and some extra for buying more fabric or tools for me. And I have gotten requests from customers who have bought my things to make them something else. A table runner of 16x32" costs me about $8-10(all my fabric and batting is bought for 30-40% off) and I sell for $25. So after commission I take away $17.50 which I'm happy with. It's not that I don't value my time, it's that I do value doing what I'm passionate about and that's sewing and creating beautiful things during my retirement. And I make too many to give all of them as gifts or keep for myself so some are donated for raffles and the rest go to be sold.

One of my first quilts was a wall-handing for DH...24 x 36 ish...done in bargello style. His co-worker said she wanted one & asked what I would charge to make one for her. Since I really didn't want to make another - at that time - I gave a figure of $200, thinking that would make her stop asking. Nope! She kept on asking when I said $600. Would I have sold it for that much? Doubt it...just didn't want to make another THEN! Especially when I found out she is the one who took DH's quilt down and used it for a table cover at an office party - he was on vacation...spilled coffee on it and then washed it. All this without telling him what had happened! I wasn't about to make her a quilt! grrrr!!! Feel better now. :) :) I think I handled her request quite nicely, without telling her I really felt!

It just doesn't add up to me either!

I've wondered about this myself and what I think is that these quilts could be made with Walmart type fabric (not quilt shop quality fabric). Please don't attack me fellow quilters for saying Walmart fabric is cheap but I'm mainly referring to the price, not the quality.

However, I would never use Walmart fabric for a quilt I plan to sell unless the buyer knows where the fabric is coming from. If they truly wanted me to make one for a certain, inexpensive price, I let them know I "could" use less-quality fabric but it wouldn't hold up for many years. I also let buyers know how much fabric is per yard which usually shocks them right away.

My simple rule when approached for a quilt......minimum of $500 depending on size and type of quilt they want. That usually sends the potential buyer running. If their still interested, then we can "talk".

I've done several memory quilts (mostly lap size) for around $200-$300 and they supply the fabrics from the loved one. These seem to be the most popular.

Bottomline.....don't sell ourselves short.

I totally agree with you on that. It's the Walmart Effect on American consumerism. Low cost over quality.
A quilt from the store that is made in China looks and feels nothing like a real quilt. Perhaps many people have never really felt or seen a real quilt and just assume that all are the same.