Why do people charge so much?

When I put a price on my items I go by the material and the complexity of an item. Sometimes the material was really cheap but the complexity of making the item itself was rather high, therefore it took a lot of time and work.

I think that is the biggest reason to put a high price on an item, if the one who made the item went through a lot of time and trouble to make it.

Speaking for myself, I always sell sets, they usually cost between 50-90$ and contain 2-5 pieces of clothing. I price each item individually an reduce the price if anything should come out with a lack of quality, like one ugly seam or something. Sometimes I reduce my prices if nobody buys the items I have out for sale for several months.

 

Usually, you buy about what you need. Experienced seamstresses will know about how much material you might need to make something.

 

You'd think it would work that way, wouldn't you?
But first you have to find the fabric that works, and believe me, it's hard. Then you burn a lot of fabric matching patterns and grain, and then there's the pair your sewing machine eats, the pair your pet eats, and the pair that just dissapears somewhere in the sewing room, and the pair that just doesn't turn out right.
And yes, the findings for doll clothes are butt expensive. Dritz charges something like 3 or 4 dollars for two little 1/2" buckles.

 

I haven't read any of the posts, so I don't know if what I say has been said or not, but here goes.

I dont make stuff, but I know that the time that does into making something counts almost, if not more, that the price of materials. One doesn't charge exactly what it costs to make something. Inflation earns you that little extra. Also, keep in mind that doll clothes are much harder to make than regular ones. It's difficult to sew something that is small. And it is slow. Especially for those that take a pattern and have to scale it down to size.

I think that some prices really are a little rediculous, but sometimes, if a person makes something really well and it looks awesome, it pays to spend the extra money on good quality work that you know you and your dolls will love.

Me, personally, I would rather spend the money on my dolls as opposed to myself. I like them better and, you know, that own me... and my finances... so I dont have much of a choice... ^-^... within reason of course... heh heh heh...

 

No kidding. Plus how are you putting a price on someone's talent and creativity? I think the question is Why judge how people charge? No one is holding a gun to your head to buy a dolly dress hopefully. Neverminding the fact that the artist is making the item themselves usually not farming it out to a sweatshop like the clothes we buy for ourselves. You buy the dolly dress because it is a beautiful piece. Same goes for a faceup or customizing service. You are paying for someone else's ablities, talent etc.

 

I cant speak for everyone, but do I have a habbit of chargin 1-20$ for the making of an item, depending on the dress itself. I do not expect the earn alot of money on the clothing, so I charge about 1$ for every hour I spend making the dress. I do allso make the patterns myself (not taking charge for that)

And about the fabric.....I pay about 14$ for one yard of plain cotton, and up to 100$ for a yard of lovley looking pice of fabric. I might even be forced to pay more for silk and other 'luxery' fabric's

 

This is why I've stopped calling anything I make "OOAK" - even though much of what I make is.

Have heard buyers get twitted because multiple things are made from the same pattern (even though the fabrics and trim may be different), or fabrics are used more than once in another style.

Well, if we-sewers make an all-new pattern for every outfit, or only use part of the fabric we've purchased we'd have to charge ever-so-much-more to make up for it.

Making and perfecting a pattern takes a lot of time, and these are dolls, so even if you buy 1/2 yard of a fabric you're most likely going to have left overs.

Heheheh ... I know how much it takes to make X, but all too often I find and NEED a fabric before I know what I'm going to do with it ... it's that must-have-fabric sickness ya know

 

Many people cosider it more difficult to make clothes for dolls than for humans - only certain people have the patience to work with something so small. Oftentimes the pieces are too small to be sewn on a machine, and sewing by hand takes a lot longer, and you have to be careful if you want it to look nice. If you notice, dollhouse miniatures and things (I'm talking about the nice ones) always cost a lot of money too. It's time consuming and sometimes a bit difficult to make something so small look good. Fabric and things to make the outfits isn't cheap either. Years ago it was cheaper to make your own clothes, but that is definitely no longer the case. And really, look at the price of the dolls! They aren't cheap either. I think if really good materials are used, the design is unique and the person is good at what they do then they should charge accordingly. You can't expect to get a gorgeous well-made outfit for your doll and only pay like $15 for it (I'm talking about the larger dolls here). It isn't fair to have someone do all that work and not pay them accordingly. Remember, clothing design is not just a skill, it is an art. Art is expensive. It's just a fact. Sorry, I'm an artist and a designer, and this is just how I feel. Some people do overcharge a bit on certain items though, I will give you that.

 

Well, I sew for myself and sometimes a few friends. First you have to shop
for the fabrics, how many stores before you find what you need in a super
small scale pattern ( for me 4 to 5 stores ) While you might buy less yardage
if it''s high quality it still isn't cheap. Then theres the notions ( special dolly
velcro or snaps trims ...) I draft some of my own patterns so that's alot of
time there. Perfecting it. Then sewing it up takes time, when you are pattern
drafting you might sew 3 or 4 proto types ( out of less expensive fabric, but
still...I don't like to use throw away fabric I still want to protypes useable)
So as you can see there is alot of time and handwork still involved. Many
people complain that childrens clothes are expensive for the size but any
seamstress will tell you they are just as much work if not more ( due to being small ) as a normal size garment.
I am very impressed by so many of the talented people here. Right now
I can't afford to purchase from them but I admire their designs and can see
the detail and love they put into their outfits. I sure they will tell you if
they put an hourly wage in the price it would really get expensive !!!
So this is really a labor of love.

 

Oh yeah, Jinjur you are so right! I didn't even think to mention the hourly wage thing. If you broke down the price of what most of us sell outfits for into 2 parts: cost of materials and hourly wage for labor, you would see that we don't make even close to minimum wage! We're probably lucky if we get a dollar or two an hour. That's like sweatshop labor! If we charged even 5 dollars an hour things would get ridiculously expensive!! So when you think about it that way (which is how most big companies begin to calculate their cost), we aren't getting paid nearly enough, and you guys are getting a deal. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it's true.

 

time, effort, hand made = very expensive items. People put their love and effort into the item and they expect should receive equally to what they put into the item

they didnt send it off to a factory to have it made for them (if they did, I guess that is good for the customer as well, meaning there would be more clothes available to buy for the dolls)

 

I think it all depends on the quality and "complexity" ...


I have to say that things sewn with a machine are of better quality than most of the ones done by hand. theyr "stronger" in a way.... and it takes a little faster to sew things with a machine. Anyways, if your sewing by hand, its one thing, and by machine is another. you gotta know how to use both and incorporate both in your sewing, les time sewing one thing = more things done during faster time and so on.

i think the rate of the price of clothing should be at a level, and everyone sticking to the level (more detailed and better quality things SHOULD cost more, etc)
you know what i mean....

 

I think the market will always dictate prices. If something doesn't sell after a couple of tries then it is over priced regardless of the time put into it. If something takes me 3 nights to make the variation in starting price on my Ebay auctions is not much higher than something that only took me one night to make.
I have never worked out the price of what something has cost in time or materials, because I am doing it for the pleasure and joy it gives me. Any money I have made from my work has gone right back into supplies and dolls.
I realize that I am in a different position to a lot of people as being elderly I have the luxury of not doing this for a living or to make money as my needs are few.
We all have choices, if you don't want to pay high prices for something then don't, there are always cheaper options available. Better still learn to make your own you will be surprised at the satisfaction that can give.
Cheers
May

 

Oh, you are so right! I have dozens of sample denim here. Saved it all in hopes of doing SOMETHING with it.

Hugs
Mary-Lee :-)

 

Oh yes, I know all about that "must have fabric sickness"...... I quite often buy a couple of metres of fabric because I'll do something with it later and it might not be around when I come up with an idea to use it.......

*looks at the growing pile*

 

without mention the cost of the sewing machines... they are so expensive in this days...

 

[QUOTEOh yes, I know all about that "must have fabric sickness"......QUOTE]

You know it's bad when you go to the fabric store and spend most of the time saying "Have that, have that..."

But seriously, if anyone lives in the tristate area there is an unbelievable fabric store in Lakewood NJ. They have EVERYTHING you could want. Some of the aisles are so clogged with bolts you can't even see the stuff. Now this is both a good and a bad thing. Good because there's lots of pretty things to look at and bad because I'm supposed to be making money, not spending it. But oh the temptation is just too much... And that one would make a great bodice and so on and so on...

 

Heh, that's me in the yarn shops. I've tried putting myself on a yarn diet, but skeins find ways to weasle their way into my hands, and they're too soft not to take home with me, and dream about making pretty things with.

The nice thing about buying fabric for dolls, compared to buying yarn is that with fabric, you get to choose exactly how much you're buying, but with yarn, you have to get the full skein, even if it's $18, and you're only going to use 1/6 of it. Buttons in the correct size can be horrendously expensive, too. More so than human sized ones, even. I just remind myself how pretty the finished clothing will be, and that it's worth paying the price for excellent materials, if I want beautiful results.

 

I think, if there were a way for high quality doll items to be made on the cheap, somebody would have done it by now. Mattel is huge, and even they can't put out a cheap Barbie in an honestly nice outfit.