Latest batch of pens! Quick question!

[TLowe2]

Hey all! Check out my latest 6 pens I made for a customer! These are Burl wood cast in blue epoxy and hand dremeled and inlayed with 24k gold!

I did 15 coats of CA glue and polished them!

I have a question for you all... What should I charge for these? My customer never asked for a price and money doesn't seem to be a concern so I want to make my time and efforts rewarded but not be unfair. Penn State industries says the kits average $110 per pen but do not take into account custom hand inlays with gold, lol.

I did some quick math and the material cost was roughly $40 and it took me about 4 hours per pen from start to finish.

 

[jttheclockman]

Couple questions. You say you have $40 invested. Is that per pen? finally why so many coats of CA.? They look nice. I am not going to give you a price because That is a personal thing. I do not use formulas. Charge whatever you feel is necessary. The gold does not make them worth any more than if it did not have it in them in my opinion. It is a nice talking piece. Anyway nice work on the pens and am sure they will be much appreciated. I am sure others will give you their formulas for making pens. But many factors go into selling pens. Good luck.

 

[darrin1200]

My method accounts me as well as my business. I feel my time is worth $30/hr, yours may vary, it's up to you. So it's Materials plus Labour. Then I add 50% for the business. It takes a lot to pay for tooling, workshops, packaging, websites……etc. Shipping is added on above this.

Materials: $40
Labour @$30/hr: $120
+50% for business: $80
Total: $240

As JT says, it's a personal thing, but it is nice to hear what others do to give you a reference.
Those pens are gorgeous by the way, and inlaid 24k gold is definitely an up-price. I may steal that idea, and try it on a hybrid blank myself.

 

[leehljp]

I agree with JohnT above. Another point to consider: Location and local economics determines a lot on pricing. What one could get in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo is quite different from what the same pen would get in a town of 50,000 or less, with even less in rural towns. I currently live in a basically rural location and cannot get nearly the price worth the effort on some pens that was very easy to get when I lived overseas in Japan.

There are occasional pens made that are superbly "exceptional" in artistic design and color that should be priced based on its artistic value over and above the same pen of a "good" design and color. At this point, set formulas are thrown out the window, but don't get excited and think "all" are exceptional - unless they are.

 

[Woodchipper]

Elegant pens! As Hank mentioned, a lot depends on the market and the artistic value. Remember, there are people who spend four figures for a fountain pen. Good luck.
BTW, I worked in sales with a guy who said he used two per cent as a rule. He took the cost and multiplied it by two. "Isn't that two percent?"

 

[egnald]

Very Cool collection of pens. - Dave

 

[johncrane]

your pens look great, i also agree with John T

 

[TonyL]

nice collection! what someone is willing to pay has little to nothing to do with one's cost. the cost should be known (for the seller's sake) and may serve as a starting point for some type of pricing methodology. they are beautiful pens.