Thread: What to charge/ask

Davo,

Thought I'd jump in here since nobody else seems to be. Those are all really nice, solid pieces that look really good in their spaces. I'd be sad to see them go if they were mine but needs must I suppose. As for pricing, I've seen beds and sideboards of a similar standard in galleries for 4 figures and chipboard masquarading as real wood for a few hundred dollars in Fantastic Furniture. I guess if you had time and inclination to consign them to a gallery you could wait for the right punter, but with built-in buyers you'll want to go somewhere in between. If you have the time, have a wander round some furniture shops and get a feel for what's reasonable for real furniture. (Yeah, I know, you're moving house - what flamin' time?!?) Just my 2 cents worth, hope it helps.

John

Have a look through ebay for similar items. We've sold a number of things through ebay and it works well. Make sure you do a good write up with a bit of humour and things sell.

Nice work, Davo. Your a talented man.

Go to HarveyNorman or Bay Swiss, that sort of thing, suss out what similar types of furniture are retailing for then add, say, maybe 20 percent for the custom/hand made factor. Now if your happy with what those figures produce for your handi work, I would now suggest that you have the new house buyers make you an offer on the items, if it comes in around or (god forbid) over what your happy with, then hey, presto! grand sale.

Good luck, it's never easy doing this sort of thing. My dad was a master leather carver and he didn't have a clue what to charge for his work.

Thing is that although beautiful gear youve made mate its not a matter of "what to charge/ask" but "what the market can bear" or rather "what your new to them house buyers can afford to pay and if its in line with your own ideas of what its worth given the cost of timber used time taken to make care and skill gone into their construction etc etc along with the level of attachment you have to the item itself...

Id say Dustys on the right track... if it matches your ideas expectation then go for it if not then keep em!

Another idea... if time isnt really an issue ie: you can store them in the new place shed or whatever for a bit... contact the community newspapers for the towns up north in the kimberleys and out in the goldfields then advertise them there say something like "please contact to discuss transport costs" its actually not that expensive to send such to say Broome or Derby.

Just an idea to consider since most of those areas dont have access to SOLID timber furniture of the sort of quality youve made there mate... they are also more likely to be more prepared to pay a good fair price of it as well.

Thanks for the ideas and kind words as has been said price is always what the market decides.

I think I’ll push the ball back in to their court and ask them to make an offer, but I’m thinking of at least 2k for the bed without mattress. Which might mean we wind up keeping it I suppose. I over engineered the bed a bit the head board alone is almost too heavy for one man to carry.....

The other stuff fits the house well but the Adirondack chairs are a big favorite with SWMBO they are surprisingly comfortable, I can always make more though when we have the space.

Cheers


Dave

Hi Dave,

My 2c worth.

Given the timber and the good looking items, my "gut feel" would be, in order, around $2.5k, $1.2k, $800, $600 and $1.2k.

Much less, and I would think you'd be doing yourself a disservice. Perhaps even a bit more wouldn't be amiss, depending on how nice the pieces really are, the amount of time making them (be realistic on the time spent and multiply by a reasonable craftsman's rate), plus timber, establishment & sundry costs.

But, and it's a fairly big "but", as others have said, it's really about what the market will take. One option might be to have an auctioneer value the items, as these folk are quite adept at reading what a piece might fetch. Just don't let on, at least to start with, that you built them.

Cheers!

PS Let us know the outcomes please; it would be very informative I'm sure.

the rule of thumb in the business world is what ever the cost of materials you x by 3 for a whole sale price and x by 5 for retail. sentamental value can never be determined. hope this gives you some idea and it is a shame you need to sell this beautiful work.

Hi Dave

I asked the wife's opinion of what the pieces might be worth. Her comparison is those furniture warehouses which sell solid timber furniture (made in Indonesia or China). So from her perspective the rough answer is a couple of thousand for the lot.
I know how this hurts as I have about a grand invested in the WRC I need to made a pair of Adirondack chairs, and once I add the construction time their "value", to me, will be well in excess of what I could sell them for.

On the bright side the new owners may appreciate good quality and be willing to pay a real price for the items. You could talk to them to see if their existing lounge, for example, is a Moran, a Freedom or an Ikea flat pack. This will give you a bit of a guide as to what they consider to be "quality" furniture and hence what might be a fair price.

You could always recycle your furniture into custom made pieces for the new house.

Ian

Easy

Cost of Materials + (number of hours x min $30) X 1.2 for ware and tare on equipment x 1.1 GST.
And remember it is not what the market will pay but what it is worth simple as that if you demand a fair price as above the the market can dam well pay a fair price or go to Fredom Furniture and buy complete crapp!
Remember if you sell quality work like this cheap then you do yourself a disservice and put one more nail in the coffin of people trying to make a living doing quality work.
Better to bive it away to someone you like than sell it cheap.

Ross

Hi Dave nice work.

You wouldnt have plans etc for the bed, SWMBO saw the piccie and thinks it's quite nice.

Unless you need the money quickly don't undersell yourself.

thanks

living in sydney some of the upper end furniture shops sell ***** thats far more expensive for far less. Dont try to impress the buyer of the house you've already sold the house so no need to impress them further. - charge what its worth:

Materials,
time,
skill,
markup,
replacement value

definatley dont undersell the stuff ;l

Time and time again blokes here (the BBS) and in the real world undersell - they do themselves, the market and future furniture makers that rely on sales (Eg Different) a major disservice.

a solid jarrah table sells for at least $500 in shops - a bed from particle board in freedom at least $1k. mark up and sell at a cost that you feel comfortable with.

Davo, that's nice stuff. Love that jarrah. (Bet it's heavy!).

Can you get into home base in Subiaco? There's a furniture shop there called "Hobbywoods", run by a guy called Bruce Mazzachelli. His business is selling "homemade" furniture made by "hobbyist's" like us. Like your work, it's beautiful and not cheap looking. I drop in there for inspiration once a year or so (when I venture out of Margaret River). Bruce is happy to talk with you and you might get a feel for prices.

By the look of your work, I'd echo the others. Don't sell cheap.

Richard

Looks great, must be hard to even think about selling.

Found this Perth shop. You might be abkle to get an idea of prices of similar stuff. At least you can then use this as a guide for the buyers if they think they are getting ripped off.

http://www.justjarrah.com.au/index.html

Paul

Mate let me just say they are beautiful and I would feel very sad to sell them.

OK here are the quotes from Mrs Wongo.

From left to right
$1500 to $2000
$1000
$400 to $500
$1500 to $2000
$500

I hope the buyers have the same appreciation like we do. Good luck.