Do any of you have items made in your area by people who do Machine Emb & Monograms? If so, for a simple 3 inch one letter monogram, how much would you expect to pay?

Tonight a friend called & we had been talking about me making some "medicine" bags for the Seniors she sponsors at her Church last year, nothing came of it & I quit what I was working on with them. She started talking about it again tonight & wanting me to go talk to them. Here are my dilemmas.

These are FQs sewn w/serger & then reinforced, sew in bottom, then turn down big cuff & sew about 1 & 1/2 inch from top & hem, then drop down another 2 inches & hem. In the seam I make buttonholes for the nice cording to go thru, so that's it unless they want monograms, which have to be done, then sew the bags together. She has two bags I monogrammed for her last year, so she can demo those & the four I have sewn together.

To this friend, anything over $2 is high. The FQs cost me $2 ea on eBay, then my time, plus thread, needles, & tear-away or cut-away backing....I feel guilty if I state a fair price in my opinion, then they try to get me to lower it. I understand phanaggling. When I first started this 2 yrs ago, all the reading I did said the fair price for Machine Emb & Monogramming was a flat $5 just to put the fabric in the hoop, put it in the machine, then additional for time to do the work, cost of downloading the particular designs off Internet (most of the individual ones are not free & I charge the customer the price off Internet). On monograms, I digitize those on my 4D Program to the size, color, etc. they want.

The folks in this small town & surrounding areas act like I've offended them, but people from larger cities think my price is too low. How would you handle a situation(s) like this?

Very small town here. One lady that does custom embroidery as far as I know. She will do it on just about anything but mostly does those heavy wool letterman's jackets. To put on the school logo (about a 3 1/2" cirlce design w/ 2 colors) on the right side chest area of the coat is $20. Names in the hood are $5 per letter with a $20 minimum. She charges $20 just to sew the silly sports letters on after the kids win them.

Try not to let yourself be taken advantage of. If you make anything for one group at a low end price, every group in town will expect the same treatment.

Maybe you could quote them a price that makes them provide the fabric. If they see the cost of fabric, maybe they will go away.

I would give a take it or leave or price. You need to cover your cost then some for time, etc.

Seems now days everyone is looking for a bargain and don't care if you make money or not. Charge what you think you need to make a bit of money, if too high for her, let her go somewhere else, you haven't lost a thing.

It makes no sense to lose money on this project. I would also shop around for better prices on your fq. Buy yardage and go to some of the wonderful internet stores where you get fabric for $2.99 to $4.50 a yard - good brand names, just a year older fabric. You need to make something on this to make it worth your while. Have a heart to heart with your friend and explain your expenses and time and machines and software and thread and good fabric - you got the idea!
Judi in Ohio

non-sewers rarely have any idea what goes into anything we create; set a price, including cost of materials, fair time (i charge $20 per hour sewing time with a min. 1/2 hour)and if you want you could offer a quantity discount...if you are making 20 of the same thing it may be faster and easier to chain piece and speed up the time frame.
if the recipients think you are asking too much let them try to find less expensive...when they are unable to you will find they will pay your price.
a few years ago i was putting together quilts and my ds was selling them to her co-workers...i had to stop, i would put lots of time, money, fabric ect. into a quilt's creation, my sister would take it, (totally disregard what i told her, thinking i was 'being over the top') and sell a quilt i put $250-400 into and sell it for $150, because that is what they could afford...after a couple of 'heated arguments' i just decided i would no longer make them for her...then she really needed one for someone, i told her she had to make it her self but i would help her...after she 'lost' over $100 on the deal it finally got through her thick head and she quit asking me to 'give' so much away...especially when she realized i was not trying to cover any time put in and was only charging for materials, and taking quite a loss...
people will never understand unless we educate them, do not under-estimate your hard work, it is just as valuable as any other job you may do, as long as you use quality materials and do a decent job you have every right to be reimbursed fairly.

I agree.

Thanks everyone. Now to get the idea across to this lady in a non-offensive manner will be my next challenge. Like several of you said, we need to get paid for our time/fabrics/supplies.

I too think that people have no idea how much quilting costs...or sewing for that matter :) They think that because you have the machine and talent it's all free, or next-to-free. Please don't let yourself be taken advantage of....if you are able to do it at a price that suits everyone then it's great. If not, you can move onto YOUR next project :)

Have her come over and watch you make one bag start to finish. The entire time I would tell her what things cost you. She will see all the time and effort involved.

Great idea. Thanks.

You could tell her that you will let her do the sewing and you will just do the embroidery. I do some embroidery and charge $1 per 1,000 stitches (unless I have to digitize something, then the price goes up). but start off at $5 or $6 just to cover the expense of having to buy a particular color of thread. If they're asking for several of them, charge the $5 once, then just charge per stitch. People are amazed that a simple letter (although large) can be 27,000 stitches and and hour plus just to stitch out. But you also have to factor in your stablizer, which can get pricy.

I just wouldn't do it. The recipients are not going to understand the reality of costs and will think you are over-charging.

The problem is people here in the US are so used to sweat-shop labor pricing. Yes, you can buy a t-shirt for $5 here, but would you really make one by hand to sell at that price? No way. Of course over seas where laborers are treated horribly, live in sewers and are paid a few cents an hour a $5 t-shirt is a huge amount. So, sure she can get anything "cheap" but not USA made, and not made by hand. It's the same mentality of always wanting the cheapest price and not wanting quality. Let her think your over-charging. She can find someone else dumb enough to work for $1 or less an hour.

I can't imagine how you could offend her by explaining that the price she desires only pays for a FQ from ebay. All the other costs are being borne by you and your time is not being compensated at all. So not only are you losing money but she is saying that your time has no value. If she can't understand that, I would not do it.

Rachel, you've read up on the cost of stitches I see. The lady who wants to get these done for the people in her Senior Class is the one who wants something for nothing. These people she's doing it for may not want them, so I'll let her get the orders for me. Why go there and maybe waste time I could be making a charity quilt, or doing work for a paying customer? She's the one talking this up, not me. I have a good reputation from all my regular customers. Most of my orders have been word-of-mouth or Business cards I sit in a holder at the local town drug store. My Teacher customers & customers who travel out of this area never question my price(s). It's my fault that I let one person get on my last nerve, but I was taught that if you want quality you pay for it. Quantity can be thrown together, but I learned in the Old School by both my Grandmothers, my Aunts & my Home Economics Teacher in High School.