When I started weaving as my job, my career, lo, these 40+ years ago, the prevailing wisdom for pricing was that you trebled your material costs.
At that formula, this scarf ought to sell for $15.
While I may have paid about $10/lb for the yarn in this scarf, that price is not a true reflection of the material costs. I happened on a bargain for yarns that would have cost me a lot more if I had bought them from the supplier in the U.S. By the time shipping and exchange rate and duty was added to the yarn it would have cost at least double that. So, even if I trebled that amount, the sell price using that tired inaccurate formula, my selling price would be $30.
Even if I used that as my wholesale price, doubling it would still only bring the selling price to $60.
But no where in that pricing formula are my overhead (those costs that continue every month regardless of what you do or do not do), my labour, the additional expenses of things like the wet finishing (water, soap, electricity to run the water/dryer/steam press), the dry finishing (which takes as long as the shuttle throwing to weave the scarf), the cost of booth fees and travel to other cities. Not to mention my years of study, my skill.
So, no, I won’t be selling these scarves for $60. The price will be more like $100. And even at that, they will be a bargain. Even if I do say so myself.
