How to price your handmade items without forgetting your time

To price a handmade item, add the materials to the time spent multiplied by your hourly rate, then divide that total by the share you keep from each sale once fees and commission are taken off. Then round it to a price that is easy to display and easy to pay.

You can do this sum directly with our selling price calculator for handmade items. The examples below show the method step by step, with made-up figures.

Why pricing by eye costs you money

Many makers set their prices by looking at what others charge. "Those sell for around 30 euros, so I'll charge 30 euros." Gut feeling isn't the problem. The problem is that this price often ignores the time spent. A piece can seem to sell well when it actually took a whole evening.

A fair price has to cover three things: materials, making time and the costs that go out with every sale. If one of those three is missing, the piece sells, but it earns you almost nothing.

The four-part formula

Before you start, gather these four pieces of information.

1. Materials: everything that goes into the piece, packaging included.
2. Time: the hours you actually spend, from design to finishing.
3. Hourly rate: what you want to earn for an hour's work (see below).
4. The share taken by fees and commission: stall fees, consignment commission, card payment fees.

selling price = (materials + time × hourly rate) ÷ (1 − share of fees and commission)

Write the share as a decimal: 20% becomes 0.20.

Step by step: a €36 necklace

A necklace takes €6 of beads and thread. It takes an hour and a half to make. Your hourly rate is €15. Fees and commission come to 20% of the selling price.

1. Time: 1.5 h × €15 = €22.50.
2. Materials and time: €6 + €22.50 = €28.50.
3. Divide by the share you keep: 1 − 0.20 = 0.80, then €28.50 ÷ 0.80 = €35.63.
4. Round: €36.

Check: at €36, fees take €7.20. That leaves €28.80, enough to cover the €28.50 of materials and time.

Why not sell at €28.50 straight away? At that price, 20% goes in fees and only €22.80 is left. You are €5.70 short of paying for the materials and your time.

Why a ×2 or ×3 mark-up on materials forgets your time

Many makers still do this sum: materials × 3. It's quick, and it can be enough for a piece that takes ten minutes. But the multiplier only sees the materials. Time doesn't appear anywhere.

Take the necklace again. Materials cost €6; multiplied by 3, that gives €18. With 20% in fees, €14.40 is left. Once the materials are paid for, €8.40 remains for an hour and a half of work: €5.60 an hour.

The multiplier becomes misleading as soon as a piece takes time. The more work an item involves, the more it underprices it.

How to choose your hourly rate

Your hourly rate isn't a number picked at random. A simple way to set it:

hourly rate = (yearly costs + desired income) ÷ hours actually worked

Example: €3,000 of costs over the year (stalls, travel, equipment, insurance) plus €12,000 of desired income makes €15,000. If you work 1,000 hours in the year, including making, markets and admin, your hourly rate is €15.

Be careful with the hours. Preparing for markets, buying materials and answering messages all count too. If you only count half your real hours, your hourly rate will be twice too high, and your prices may put buyers off.

Your accountant can help you list your costs. For your insurance and your business status, check with your insurer and the CMA (the French chamber of trades and crafts).

Check what your current price earns per hour

Take a piece you already sell, and work out:

earnings per hour = (selling price − fees − materials) ÷ time spent in hours

Example: a candle sold at €18, with 20% in fees (€3.60), €4 of wax and wick, and 45 minutes of making. That leaves 18 − 3.60 − 4 = €10.40. Divided by 0.75 h, that's €13.87 an hour.

If that figure is below your hourly rate, you have two levers. You can adjust the price. You can also cut the time: a template, a batch of materials prepared in advance, standard packaging. Don't lower the quality to hit a price.

Adjusting your price without breaking everything

• Round to a price that is easy to pay: €36 rather than €35.63.
• Keep an entry-level range, with a small affordable piece, alongside a more elaborate one.
• Test a price rise on a single item, then watch the reaction over two or three markets.
• Don't copy the price of a piece that doesn't take the same time to make.

When to review your price

Redo the sum as soon as something changes: the price of materials, your making time, a new commission or your hourly rate. Note the date and the new price. In a few months, you'll know what really worked.

Frequently asked questions

Should my income be included in the hourly rate?

Yes, if you want your business to make you a living. Without income in the sum, the price covers materials and costs, but not your work. You can start with a modest income, then raise it season by season.

What does consignment change in the formula?

The shop's commission goes into the share of fees. If it keeps 40%, the share is 0.40 and you divide by 0.60. For a piece that has to cover €28.50 of materials and time, the price becomes 28.50 ÷ 0.60 = €47.50. Before signing, check whether the commission is calculated on the price excluding or including VAT. You can also use our consignment commission tool.

Should I include VAT in this sum?

It depends on your business status and how you are registered. We don't settle that here. Before publishing a price, ask your accountant or the CMA what applies to your business, then adapt the sum.

My calculated price looks too expensive. What should I do?

Look at the time spent first: a piece that takes two hours can sometimes be simplified. Then look at the materials, as another supplier can sometimes change the cost. If the price is still high, offer a simpler or smaller range. A price that covers your costs is better than a price that attracts buyers but earns you nothing.

To find out whether the market itself is worth your time, read how to tell if a craft market is worth it.

In Comptartisan, you can keep the suggested price of each item and see after every market what you really kept, so you can adjust without starting from scratch (Comptartisan).