MetaChat - Pricing dilemma. Venting and anxiety.

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22 May 2008

Pricing dilemma. Venting and anxiety. →[More:]I recently sewed 14 pillows and two mattress slipcovers (for a teak opium bed) for a casual friend. She asked me to, and I accepted the job.

I always regret taking sewing jobs, because usually I undercharge and it's not worth the time and aggravation.

We didn't talk about pricing beforehand. She supplied all of the fabric, pillow inserts, and mattress foam. I only had to buy zipper tape and thread. Probably 40 bucks worth of zippers.

Now I'm mildly stressed about asking for a certain price. I'm delivering the stuff today. She expects to pay and I expect to be paid, but I hate asking for money from a friend. I have a tendency to undercharge. I want to undercharge but not too much. We're not close, but I've known her for six years.

I know she is going to say, "how much do I owe you?" I'll hem and haw and worry that my price is too high.

I'm thinking of charging 240 dollars. 10 bucks per pillow, 30 bucks per mattress, and 40 dollars for supplies. It probably took 2 days of work, maybe a little less. This is dirt cheap when it comes to soft furnishing prices. I'm not a professional but I do professional work.

Thoughts? I know I should have given her a quote beforehand, but I didn't.

post by: LoriFLA at: 09:18 | 15 comments

I have no thoughts about whether that's high or low, but maybe it'd help you to phrase it like, "I would normally charge X per pillow, X per mattress, and X for supplies, so let's maybe say Y per pillow, Y per mattress, and X for supplies?" I think breaking everything down tends to make things sound less "sticker shocky" to the buyer and might make you willing to charge closer to what you're worth?

You may be planning to do that already, in which case, ignore me. :-)

posted by occhiblu 22 May | 09:23

You may be planning to do that already, in which case, ignore me.

No. I wasn't. I would probably so something dumb, like, "I don't know." ugh

This is great phrasing, occiblu. I will definitely use this. Thanks so much.

This particular friend doesn't experience sticker shock. She has had plenty of custom work done in the past and I'm positive she is willing to pay, but I lack the guts and self-assertiveness to state my price.

posted by LoriFLA 22 May | 09:28

I agree that a breakdown is a good idea, and be sure to include the number of hours you spent, maybe even calculated into a per-hour rate.

posted by Miko 22 May | 09:30

occhi took the words right out of my mouth. Make it clear you're giving her a bargain. You might even write out an invoice beforehand.

posted by BoringPostcards 22 May | 09:31

This particular friend doesn't experience sticker shock.

Hee. OK, then maybe it'll help you get over *your* sticker shock.

posted by occhiblu 22 May | 09:34

I agree that a breakdown is a good idea, and be sure to include the number of hours you spent, maybe even calculated into a per-hour rate.

And don't sell yourself short. Your work is worth something. Think what she would have paid a a decorator to do this!

posted by Miko 22 May | 09:36

Thanks guys. I am feeling more confident about the situation. I'm going to write up a quick quote.

I know she is willing to pay. It's just akward for me to charge and bring up money.

posted by LoriFLA 22 May | 09:49

Well... not only does it sound super cheap to me, but at that price, it won't be long at all before she's back with another job for you - that maybe you will feel like you can't turn down again. Don't get stuck in a rut of doing professional work at prices that just aren't worth it for you.

Why not drop kellydamnit a line, if you are still wondering, and ask her to have a look at this? She'll have a good idea of a fair price, I think.

But however you decide to go with it, if you don't feel like doing such a thing again, be sure to make the appropriate noises: "It was fun and I'm glad I could do this just now, because I'm going to be so busy with so many things beginning next week, I won't have time to do any other projects." etc.

Finally, I know exactly how you feel... I'm the pits at dealing with pricing/invoicing, etc. I wish I knew why.

posted by taz 22 May | 10:26

I like the idea of itemizing the total (at the normal price) and then saying "but let's just make it ____ ($50 or so less than total)."

Not quite equivalent but maybe helpful: I have a friend who is a bartender and I go to his bar a lot. He likes to give me discounts but I always know I am getting them. He'll say, "those were 10 each and you had 2, so let's just say $16." It makes it easier to tip that way, too, if you know what the fair market value is, then you can tip on that.

Not sure if she is going to tip you, but I bet she will if you quote her a price that she knows is under market value.

posted by rmless2 22 May | 11:14

I definitely like Boring Postcard's suggestion of writing out an invoice ahead of time. That will make it easier to explain how much you're charging per item and it will help quell any last-minute urge to discount the whole thing even more. Having it written down makes it more official. If you want, you can say something like, "Of course I'm giving you the friends and family price," to let her know that you've given her a break. Just be casual and matter-of-fact and have a couple of things ready to talk about while she writes you a check - ask her about her kids or something new in her house.

Then when you're done I think you should go buy yourself a new pair of sandals or a new lipstick, something fun like that. Let us know how it goes!

posted by Kangaroo 22 May | 13:01

Hi guys! I am home. Thanks for all of the support and advice.

I have a check for 250 bucks. I'm happy. I had a piece of paper and wrote it out in front of her. It was casual and friendly. I initially told her 200 (I have mental problems) but she said I was crazy, wrote it for 250, and said, "what about the zippers?"

I am so weak. I get in a place where I criticize my work and think it's not worth much, but really it is. I think they're thinking it's not good and not worth that much and so on and so forth. *crazy*

I am so glad that project is over. Now I can surf the net and do nothing without this project gnawing at me. I'm done with sewing for hire for a while. It cramps my lazy ways.

posted by LoriFLA 22 May | 13:14

I also feel kind of lame that I did not take all of this good advice and assert myself. I could have and there would have been no problems. I'm working on it.

At certain points I wanted to leave without charging her anything so I feel like I put forth some effort.

posted by LoriFLA 22 May | 13:31

Yay! You definitely put forth some effort. And I'm glad you can relax now.

I am currently playing hooky from the gym, so I'll bring over some wine and we can relax together. :-)

posted by occhiblu 22 May | 14:08

Also, when you get into the cycle of being down on yourself, I want you to imagine this face and think, "I refuse to disappoint the bunnies!"

Or, you know, if you don't want to do that, I'm totally going to start doing it. Cuz that bunny makes me immediately happy and strangely self-confident. It's like he's thinking, "Oh, c'mon, you KNOW you can do better."

That bunny, he believes in you.

posted by occhiblu 22 May | 14:11

Occhi, that sounds wonderful. I went to the gym yesterday but today I am sitting around and eating lots of cheese and crackers. So, bring on the wine!

That bunny is definitely bolstering my morale. :-)

posted by LoriFLA 22 May | 14:24

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