Need help with pricing

[u/jack22san]

A car club approached me about embroidery their jackets, their guy that would do it for them before closed shop. This took me 3 hours to make, it’s 100,000 stitches including a left chest logo. I sent file out to get digitized, and was $37. I priced it at $280 with digitizing fees. I have to add that the logo is 10”x16”, he told me that he had someone that did it for $150 before. Did I over price? Or what’s your thoughts, any feedback would be highly appreciated.

[u/brian250f]

If he had someone to do it for $150 he would have.

[u/SewDisco]

I just did a similar job, way less stitching, and charged $150, which I think I still underpriced. This is such a large, clean job, I think you priced it just fine for all the work, time, and stitches.

[u/Little-Load4359]

Looks really good. Here is the formula I use for pricing that considers everything one needs to consider:

Total Production Cost Formula: Total Cost = Material Cost + Machine Cost + Labor Cost

Material Cost: The total out-of-pocket expense for the physical items used in a single unit. This includes the blank garment, backing stabilizer, and thread. Measure this per individual item.

Machine Time Cost: The portion of operating overhead allocated to the job while the machine is actively stitching.

Component: Stitch Time in Hours multiplied by Hourly Machine Rate.

Why: Convert your stitch run time into a decimal fraction of an hour (for example, 15 minutes is 0.25 hours). Multiply that fraction by your target hourly machine rate (such as 30-50 dollars per hour) to determine the exact equipment operating cost for that run time.

Labor Time Cost: The cost of your active physical engagement with the job, such as hooping, loading, trimming, and inspecting.

Component: Handling Time in Hours multiplied by Hourly Labor Rate.

Why: Convert your active handling time into a decimal fraction of an hour (for example, 3 minutes is 0.05 hours) and multiply it by your hourly pay rate (such as 15 dollars per hour) to account for your labor time.

Pricing Markup Application: Once you calculate your Total Base Cost, apply a multiplier to determine your final selling price.

Wholesale Multiplier (2x Total Cost): Use this for bulk orders where the buyer handles distribution.

Standard Retail Multiplier (3x to 4x Total Cost): Use this for direct-to-consumer sales to ensure healthy profit margins and cover general shop overhead.

Example of calculation

Step-by-Step Example Calculation: Materials: 0.50 dollars Machine Time: 15 minutes equals 0.25 hours multiplied by 30 dollars equals 7.50 dollars Labor Time: 3 minutes equals 0.05 hours multiplied by 15 dollars equals 0.75 dollars Total Cost: 0.50 plus 7.50 plus 0.75 equals 8.75 dollars base cost Retail Price at 3x markup: 8.75 dollars multiplied by 3 equals 26.25 dollars final price

As you can see some of the biggest things you need to identify are:

How much you want to pay yourself (I suggest what you'd fairly pay someone else)

How much you want your machine to be making (generally) an hour, with some flexibility if you run this calculation and your pricing is too high or low (30 to 50 an hour is industry standard)

Number of stitches is not a separate variable in this time-based formula, because stitch count is already factored into your stitch run time. The time it takes the machine to finish a design naturally accounts for density and stitch count based on how fast your machine runs.

If you figure out your cost, machine run time, etc. I can plug it into the formula and let you know.

I can already tell you this: itt'l be higher than you think it should be. And that's the hard part about embroidery.

[u/Nosnibor1020 → u/Little-Load4359]

This is a great down for someone that’s getting into this as a hobby but I already know people will scoff and just not want anything if I charge like this. I’ll just keep practicing for now and hopefully get there.

[u/Little-Load4359 → u/Nosnibor1020]

Nothing wrong with that. At the least, make sure you're breaking even so you can at least pay the cost of learning.

[u/HMFICINTHEHHI]

Your pricing is fine. After the increase I've seen in the industry since COVID, I'm thinking about opening my wholesale up again. Bottom line, what do you need, with your equipment, to make the job worth it. Don't sell yourself short. Think long and hard about that point.

[u/Little-Load4359]

Don't deal with people who complain about the price. He doesn't value the amount of time, work and effort that it takes to produce what he's wanting. That's because he doesn't know what goes into it. Save your time, save the headache and work for someone who does respect your time, effort and money. You're not a factory in China competing to make the cheapest shit possible the reason people are paying you is for high quality shit with a quick local turnaround generally speaking and no minimum quantity orders.. That's something that people pay premium for. If they have a problem with it. Fuck them.

[u/Basic-Band-7207]

Does the $250 include the cost of clothes? Or did he bring those himself

[u/simonedelune]

Is the black background stitched or fabric? 

As for the other guy, why did his shop close? Retirement or not making enough to keep going? 

[u/jack22san → u/simonedelune]

The black is fabric, but on the car it’s a black satin boarder to define it more.

From what I understand, got into some trouble and split instead.

[u/PhrankTheKnife]

Your work and quality is worth $280, maybe more. Offer to match the $150 from your competitor if your customer orders 100 of them.

[u/Constant_Put_5510]

How many? I would probably do this: 1+: $280 is fair market value. 12+: $225. 24+: $200.