Fair Pricing

[stevenlink1]

Would anyone be able to offer insight on the honest value of a custom-made, hand-tooled and hand-painted belt? I found some examples...

http://aidan01mac.deviantart.com/art/Custom-Belt-77537248
http://dreamingdragondesign.deviantart.com/art/Knotwork-Belt-79782645

I know that price is always a concern for everyone, but right now I'm wondering about actual value, not what each of you would want to pay for a custom belt.

I'm making a tooled star wars belt for this girl, and only charging 2*materials, which comes out to like $30. She complained that that was expensive (much to my astonishment). IDK, but it seems like $15 for 10-15 hours of highly skilled craftsmanship is at least very generous to the customer.

If only there was a bluebook for custom leather articles...

[~Elladan~]

I think she's taking the p###

For hand-tooled/carved belts, depending on belt width you'd be looking at $100-$200+ (UK). For a decent, good quality, plain leather belt you'd be looking at more than what you're charging by quite a margin.

Why not search for custom leatherwork sites in your locality and make up a rough price list from the average others are charging?

[stevenlink1]

I think she's taking the p###

For hand-tooled/carved belts, depending on belt width you'd be looking at $100-$200+ (UK). For a decent, good quality, plain leather belt you'd be looking at more than what you're charging by quite a margin.

Why not search for custom leatherwork sites in your locality and make up a rough price list from the average others are charging?

I guess I could try that.
It hadn't occured to me that she might have been joking, and I sincerely hope that she was. The thing is, we American teenagers lead such clueless lives that I don't expect an 18 year old girl to know that the $20 synthetic belt she bought from the mall is absolute crap compared to the real thing, and that prices vary accordingly.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Mububban]

Such is life in the land of Walmart :) Everyone is used to rock bottom prices for generic factory-assembled goods. When you find the price of a genuine handmade article, it's a real shock to the system.

If your friend think's that is shockingly expensive, give her a slap and introduce her to my good friend, "The Real World" :D

You can charge cost for the materials, then figure out how many hours you think you'll need, work out a reasonable hourly rate for a skilled but non-professional person, then see what it comes out to. Then adjust accordingly to what she and you can stomach charging/paying.

Time is the currency of your life, there is nothing more precious so spend it wisely! (proverb of the day from Ol' Man Mub :-)

[CB Swords]

You'd get away with charging so little only if you're using a press to roll the design onto the belt. For a custom hand work that is way cheap.