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Hey ladies -
I need your help. I am working on 100 wedding invites w/envelopes & 100 response cards w/envelopes and need to know what I would "charge". They are for my cousin, so they'll be my wedding present to her (not charging her - they don't have much in the wedding budget and no parent assistance). I just want to give her something showing what it would cost if she "purchased" them from me (and to give me a starting point if I do more in the future).
Please see my gallery pic: custom wedding invites by JasaVA at Splitcoaststampers
Do I charge supply cost * 2 (labor = supply cost)? My supply cost was $84.
I feel like maybe I'm not charging enough. According to other "professional" invitation websites - the cost would be $200+. what do you think?
I think your charge should be well over $200. I looked at the website you had posted and anything with ribbon is over $110 for just the invitations and that is a plain card.
With all the stamping and printing you did I would think you could easily charge more.
Personally, I'd look at it as a per item charge. And for an invite, reply card, with two matching envelopes plus customization - I'd say $3-4/person's invite set easily. The way I'd look at it is, if you do get any referrals from this event, you don't want to underprice your labor/talents. So with my estimations, you'd be giving her $300-$400 worth of a gift.
Maybe she might want matching thank yous for after the wedding too. If you feel funny about charging her $2/each for those (or something similar) maybe she could help you stamp them for less $$?
I have a business doingthis as well and I would agree...I would charge $3-$4 per set (invite, rsvp card & envelope). I always charge per item whenI do invites and announcements. They tend to take more time and be more detailed.
Good luck and they are beautiful!
There are a few different ways you can go about pricing. A general rule is 3x supply cost which would be $252. Does that cover your labor expenses? If you spent 20 hours on the invites, you'd only be making $8 an hour.
Or you could do:
* supply cost + hourly wage (time it takes x wage you should earn for your service). If the supplies cost you $84 and it takes you 20 hours complete the order and you want to earn $20/hr (a reasonable rate for designers), then...$484.
The ones the client originally chose are simple, mass produced invites. The company can charge so little because they make them by the hundreds of thousands. A handmade, handcrafted invite shouldn't be compared, price-wise or quality-wise, to the invitation mills.
In business, remember there are other fees and expenses you'll need to cover in your pricing to make a profit. (Taxes, overhead/utilities, marketing/promotion, etc.). Even if you're doing this as a hobby, don't sell yourself short and don't be afraid to ask for what your time is worth.
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Your invites are beautiful! You could easily charge $4.50 to $5.00 for each of these (invite + RSVP +2 envelopes). I say this as I am in the wedding business (10+ years) and know costs.
Please do not sell yourself short. Make sure that you not only consider the paper as part of your cost but also the ink for printing, the ink for stamping, cost of ribbon etc. Don't forget to add in any taxes and shipping rates that you incured to purchase these materials. Also, calculate how long it would take you to make one invite & RSVP, multiply by how many you can make in one hour. What is your hourly rate (the $ value on your time), and add that to your cost price.
These are handmade, not something off the press so that in itself justifies an increase in price compared to something you purchase out of a catty.
You obviously do beautiful work, people should be willing to pay for tallent!
__________________ Some call me Pinky, some call me Lori - I answer to both Pinky's Pictorial DREAM as if you could live forever, LIVE as if you only have today.
I'm so glad that the responses to your thread have told you not to sell yourself short. This is so important. You put time, energy and your creative efforts into this. The invitations generally on the web or in stationary stores are machine created, not hand made. $3 - 4 is per set is not out of line.
Think of it this way - if you only think you are worth $2 per invite, then so will your customers - they don't realize how much you have put into them.
Custom work is always expensive - never cheap.
Your invites are beautiful. I did a similar design for my husbands granddaughter last year (as a gift) and I vowed if I ever did it for money I would make sure I covered all my labor costs big time, as well as my design time, supplies, etc.
thank you so much for all the compliments! Gotta hand it to SU's colors (from the earth elements) and stamp set - Roses in Winter!
I made up a "mock" invoice for her - and came up with charging supplies, then labor (supplies x 2).
This is good to know, cause I do have another order in the works for a MK consultant who wants custom Thank You/coupon cards. I told her that I have to charge a little more than my regular card charge ($2/each) because she wants printing on the inside of the card, too (custom printing that I'll do from my PC).
I do plan on making coordinating thank you cards for my cousin's wedding - but I figure on making those her bridal shower present. Probably would spend more on the supplies than I would on her present - but at least I know that she'll use what I give her...
thanks, again!
I spent $700 on my daughters wedding invites and they were not as pretty as the ones you have done! Go to a party store or wedding reception center and ask to look at their invitation books and you will see how much more value your gift really has.
Art is intended to provoke an emotion from a total stranger. If you�ve succeeded in this, consider yourself an artist. Paper Shanks Blog. Love me or hate me, you are still talking about me
Beautiful cards! I have in my gallery a gift certificate holder with envelope that I sell for 2.75. Your set of three are easily worth 4$ or more!
I gave the lady a bit of a discount because she ordered lots at a time, I got some product for a wholesale price, and I know I should have charged more for my time. I know that I feel almost apologetic for charging... we shouldn't but we do...
Take pride in that gorgeous set of cards. They and you are worth it!
charging for custom stuff
