Debra Mc

I was just thinking as I read everyone's post. When I was still in the floral business, brides would come in & I would work so hard for them. Ask what their budget was & what we had to work with & then have them say it was too much money. They then go out of town to Tyler & pay twice the price I quoted them & think they were getting something so much better. We finally quit doing weddings. They got to be a real pain.

eb in calif

I used to do hand silk screening on fabric and went to craft fairs all over the north east and south. It was not uncommon for some dufus to come up an ask - did you do this? and upon replying Yes, they would say then I am sure I could do it ....

My idea of the ultimate craft fair is for all crafters to show up with only a coke vending machine, something that everyone could sell, everyone would buy and not argue about the cost.

JanetM

I will never sell a quilt for the simple reason that the only people who truly understand the time and material cost in making a quilt are my quilter friends, and they make their own.

To those that think hand crafted quilts should be priced like a bed in a bag from WalMart...they truly don't understand, so they couldn't possibly appreciate the work we quilters do.

Don't ever feel that you are competing with WalMart. What they offer and what we quilters offer are worlds apart.

For those of you who have "lost" customers...you really didn't lose anything. Never sell yourself short. If you don't value the work you do, no one else will either.

Quilting is like any other art such as custom woodwork, fine art, custom clothing, etc. There are some people that understand the value of these things, and it is lost on others. My father is a watercolorist, and wouldn't hesitate to spend a sizeable sum for another artist's work. I don't hesitate to buy quality fabric because I want the end product to be a quality item.

Every project we make is one of a kind, and that alone makes it valuable. Do what you love for those that appreciate your skills and effort and don't give another thought to those who don't.

jljack

A doctor in our office asked me if I could try to repair some quilts for her. She bought some high dollar designer quilts for her daughters' beds (triplets!), then threw them in the washing machine, and they started coming apart!! I told her I would look at them, and I would keep track of my time and charge $10 an hour to repair them. She never brought them to me. Go figure...she'd rather, I guess, throw them out than pay to have the morbidly overpriced things fixed!!

Lostn51

Fortunately I do not run across this that much when it comes to me painting cars and bikes, just every once in a while like I stated earlier. Most of my customers just tell me to do it and they dont care what it cost, they just want it done. Sometimes I have transports dropping off cars or their bodies before I hear from the owners. All I will do is just push it to the back and wait on the phone call or email. :lol:

But I find it funny that when I bring a quilt top into my fabric store to try and match up a backing or a border for the quilt, I have all of these women saying "Oh you could make a fortune selling these". :roll: I just look and laugh and usually tell them that I am not good enough to start selling them. And after telling them the amount of labor that goes into them they are really amazed.

The best advice that I have to give to this dilemma of "How much would you charge" is to use my favorite saying........

"If you have to ask how much, then nine times out of ten you cant afford me"! :mrgreen:

Billy

Shemjo

This is a very interestng thread. I do hand quilting at my church and our prices are way too low. But we are not fast, and do it for fellowship. If you are willing to wait, we will do your quilt. We have older quilters and sometimes the stitches are not all the most perfect. We have some demanding customers and we don't mind if they don't return. We can only do what we can do.

aliaslaceygreen

Heck, $10 easily. What is the minimum wage now a days??? Tell the person that minimum wage, for UNSKILLED LABOR is XXXX. If they have an issue with asking you to work for minimum wage, then they too should be able to make the quilt, no?? After all, THEY are unskilled at the art of quilting...

alaskasunshine

Here's an idea... :idea:

Send them this posting in it's entirety. Then give them smelling salts :lol: :lol: :lol:

Granny B

Stick to your guns. Don't stress yourself Why should you work for someone else for nothing. (Even Wal Mart pays $10 an hour in most localities for labor.)

Debra Mc

This is why I retired from that hell hole I was working at. I am a very skilled floral designer with 30 years experience & the b boss owner wouldn't pay me more. After 25 years with her I still only made 7.50 an hr.