teric

I know that this has been gone through before. The standard hooping fee of $5.00 plus the $1.00 charge for every 1000 stitches, but would that also be for just a small area? I have been asked to put names on aprons; small, 3/4" high .... would you still charge the same ? Yes, I know it takes just as much time if not more since it is such a small area...these would be done in groups of 5 aprons per person, mim 20 + .

Bneighbor

I would keep the same pricing formula. Why short-change yourself? You said yourself, it takes the same amount of time or more, so why charge less because the area is small? We as crafters/artists are our worst enemies. We somehow think we are not worthy of charging what we are truly worth. My plumber is going to charge me the same per-hour rate for his services. The painter, the electrician--anyone you hire to do a job is not going to charge you less just because a job is "small". Your machine, supplies, thread and time are worth just as much as any "trade" ( plumber, electrician, etc). Do not be talked into a discount...once you do that, then they will continue to expect a discounted price every time. And they will expect you to to give a discount to every person they send to you.
Good luck, and be strong!

Nammie to 7

I agree with Bneighbor - your time is valuable, get paid for it!

mamabear229

I had a lady I used to work with call about hemming pants...I told her $10.00. She said what if theres more than 1? $10.00 each, I said, theres just as much work. I give no discounts for more. (she had 6 to 8 pairs) Haven't heard from her since.

imnywoman

Don't discount just because the letters are 3/4" high. If you go to a print shop, they charge a set-up fee and if you were having something screen printed, they would charge a set up fee as well. Giving a discount for volume is a different story. A small discount for more that 10/15/20 items is not unheard of but in the case of embroidery, you are re-hooping each item so you can't give away the farm. Good luck!

romanojg

What a lot of people don't understand is that you have to have the right stabilizer, the right thread and of course the right equipment and the right skills. All of these things takes time and money. You are providing a service that people can't do for themselves. If they need a pair of pants hemmed or a seam mended then they could do it, maybe not the best way but they could do it. If they are coming to you for emb, its because they can't do it themselves. You are offering a speciality service that not everyone can do. It's hard to charge for what we are worth sometimes. I had this guy at work that wanted some work done. I emailed my friend and ask her how much I should charge and she said at least 15 an hour. I would of never said that high, not because he couldn't afford it but I just never know how much. So many people think that because they can get somethings cheaply made at a discount store we should be no different. I ended up figuring it would take me about an hour to do each item and charged him 15 each. He said ok and had no problem with it. He was so happy with what he got, he said he'd never have been able to do it himself. I had to explain to him what hemming was, and then when I told him I'd have to make bias tape, I explained that to him as well. He's one of the smartest people I know in the IT dept that we work in so I felt great that I had to explain these things to him. If you go to sites that offer embroidery or even the blanks, you have to order alot before you get a discount. I agree with everyone else, no job is too small and deserves to be charged the same rate. If you have emb booths at the malls where you are, or even shops call and ask how much they charge, you'll find out the final cost have to be really big before a discount would ever happen, if then.

teric

Thank you all for your replys...I will work hard in the future not to sell myself short....I'm worth it!!! So is my time!!! :-}