Jewellery Repairs

It's been a couple of weeks since I wrote anything here. Frankly, I couldn't think of anything to say. But, thankfully, a thought has occurred to me. On the weekend, while I was enjoying the first of my two annual Thanksgiving dinners, one at mother-in-law's, and one at Mum's, mother-in-law presented me with a bag of jewellery that her friend from work wanted repaired. The stuff was inexpensive, and the repairs needed were mostly broken clasps or restringing. Mum-in-law said, "Now, Diana, you make sure you charge her for this!" It occurred to me at that time that I have no idea what a fair price for jewellery repairs would look like.

The Eternal Question - What is My Stuff Worth?

When I first started selling my jewellery to friends, co-workers, and at a couple of small local legion craft sales, I used this formula for deciding what to charge for my work:  What would I pay for this?  The problem with this method of pricing is twofold. First, I'm extremely frugal (read cheap.) Secondly, I tend to undervalue my work and my time.  When I decided to register my business and really make a go of it, I began reading other jewellery designers' thoughts on the matter of pricing your work, and I began to realize that I was selling myself short.  I used to concern myself only with covering the cost of the materials, and maybe make a little bit of profit.  I didn't consider all the other costs of running a jewellery business, like marketing costs, website fees, packaging, shipping, displays, show fees, a tent for outdoor shows, tables, replacing and upgrading tools, computer software for accounting and tweaking photos, and classes for learning new skills.  If you're not pricing your stuff to cover these costs, and making a bit of profit on top of that, you're not going to be successful.