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Opinions about minimum charge


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I had two tiny quilts in a row. Neither of them was profitable. One took very little time to quilt, but the drop-off/pick-up stretched for an hour at both ends. An extra hour I could be quilting (I know I could control this but I love my customers and love talking quilting so it's at least half my fault!) Specs for this one--quilting 3 hours, chatting with the customer 2 hours, charges were $65. The math makes me cringe!

The second one was charged a reasonable custom price for custom work but was so small it still didn't reach my $50 minimum. Specs for that one--3 1/2 hours quilting and a reasonable time for chatting, $55 charge. Still not in the ballpark for a preferred hourly wage.....

With that in mind--(trumpets in the background)---I have decided to charge by the hour for small stuff. AND the hourly charge will include the drop-off and pick-up time. That way at $25 an hour I can charge $75 for a two-hour job and the one hour total drop-off/pick/up---and make some profit.

Or maybe I will make it easy on myself and raise my minimum to $75. The only ones who bring me these tiny quilts are those who never quilt their own and budget for the quilting--or those who have a time crunch and expect to pay some extra.

Can someone talk me out of this? Or does it seem reasonable?:o

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i charge a $50 minimum...and I drop-off/pick-up the quilts at a convenient spot in town. i rarely meet the customer in person...just generally speak on the phone...so I am making very little when you consider the time/gas i am spending. but...it still seems to work best for me. i would love to raise the minimum to $75...just don't know if it would work in my area. i may have to consider it though...if the consensus shows it to be the better alternative. i am going to watch this topic and see what advice you get.

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Linda,

From the quilts you have posted on this forum, I'm continually amazed at your wealth of creativity. Your choice of quilting transforms a quilt top into an awesome quilt that will become a family treasure. A minimum fee of $75 is a good deal for the owner of a small quilt top. It actually seems low considering the equipment and knowledge you had to acquire to do the quilting. I doubt you would have a disappointed customer of you charged a $75 minimum fee or a straight $25/hr.

I have school kids that want to mow my lawn for $25 and they do it at their convenience and complete the job in less than 30 minutes. They do not transform my yard into a work of art that will last for years.

Heidi Patterson

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Originally posted by hmerrill

Linda I've been contemplating going to a flat $25 an hour for all my custom work because I'm usually on the losing end of things. The problem s trying to accurately estimate how much time it will take. I have a $50 minimum too but don't get too many small quilts. Most of mine are queen.

Brilliant, Heidi! Maybe to estimate, figure the square inch, do the math, and offer that as the low end cost with an advisory to the customer that it could be as much as 25% higher. Or do the math and add $100--again with an advisory that it's only an estimate and you will be charging by the hour.

Where I kill myself is when I take 6 hours to decide on designs and then mark the quilt. Maybe I should start with the per-square-inch total and tell them I will add a by-the-hour fee for designing and marking. I'm going to try that and I'll let you know how it works. I have three Glacier Stars (Judy N. designs) within two months and they all want custom and they all want different designs. ***save me.....***:P

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Guest Linda S

Linda - I do a minimum charge of $35 just to load a small quilt. If it's a very simple panto, I can bang it out in less than two hours and it doesn't really bother me to get $40-50 for a simple quilt. However, an hour for drop off/discussion would drive me nuts. I drive down to the LQS, about eight blocks from my house, do a quick measure and discussion and I am Outta there! I never let people come to my house, so they don't get cozy. It really saves me time.

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Originally posted by ffq-lar

Originally posted by hmerrill

Linda I've been contemplating going to a flat $25 an hour for all my custom work because I'm usually on the losing end of things. The problem s trying to accurately estimate how much time it will take. I have a $50 minimum too but don't get too many small quilts. Most of mine are queen.

Brilliant, Heidi! Maybe to estimate, figure the square inch, do the math, and offer that as the low end cost with an advisory to the customer that it could be as much as 25% higher. Or do the math and add $100--again with an advisory that it's only an estimate and you will be charging by the hour.

Where I kill myself is when I take 6 hours to decide on designs and then mark the quilt. Maybe I should start with the per-square-inch total and tell them I will add a by-the-hour fee for designing and marking. I'm going to try that and I'll let you know how it works. I have three Glacier Stars (Judy N. designs) within two months and they all want custom and they all want different designs. ***save me.....***:P

I like the sounds of that Linda. Let me know how it goes for you. I am on sabbatical from quilting for customers until mid Oct. so I'll have plenty of time to let you try it out. :P My first quilt in Oct. is another BAQ from the same lady as the one I did last year. I charged her $25 an hour for the first one and will for the 2nd one. I under estimated my hours though by about 10 - 15 hours! LOL That taught me I have to give a better range and it is a good idea to add 5 hours to your estimate.

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Instead of raising my prices, I am seriously considering a thread charge come January, but I still need to find out how the other longarmers in the area are charging. The last customer's quilt I did was 103 X 103 and a nice panto called "Wave on Wave." I charged her $.02 per sq inch. I delivered it yesterday and she loved it.

I wound my own bobbins (used SoFine top and bobbin), and it took 18 1/2 bobbins! From some of our previous posts, many of you are charging $2.00 per bobbin. That would have added about $37.00 to her bill. I'm not sure my area will support that increase, so back to the research stage.

That said, I need to make more money, so these posts are great to read.

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Originally posted by sandradarlington

I wound my own bobbins (used SoFine top and bobbin), and it took 18 1/2 bobbins! From some of our previous posts, many of you are charging $2.00 per bobbin. That would have added about $37.00 to her bill. I'm not sure my area will support that increase, so back to the research stage.

That said, I need to make more money, so these posts are great to read.

Hi Sandra!

When talking to a new customer, I figure out the estimated charges for the quilting and then let them know there is a "thread replacement charge" and I emphasize that the charge is my actual coast for the thread I use on their quilt. I also charge 8.7% sales tax here in Washington and no one has balked about paying that!;)

No matter what your competition is doing, you are the decision-maker for your situation. Around here some charge for thread and some up their charges a half a cent to cover the thread cost. Ain't nothin' free! All the charges are buried somewhere or else you soon don't have a viable business.

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Guest Linda S

I've charged a $5/quilt thread charge from the very beginning of my business. That's why I have such an awesome thread collection and will usually have just the right color for my customers' quilts. Think about it. The last time you either hand quilted or machine quilted a quilt on your DSM, what's the first thing you had to do? Go buy batting and thread. And, I'll bet you that thread cost you around $5 for a little spool at the quilt shop or JoAnns. I make no apologies about it. It goes back into the business and I gleefully spend it on lovely thread!

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How to charge per hour for custom when the problem is - what is one going to quilt? Sometimes it takes an hour or a few hours to figure out what will look the best on the quilt. Sometimes there is frogging because what is done on the quilt just doesn't do it justice and it needs to be changed.

My minimum is $50.00. I charge a flat $5.00 thread charge. My starting custom is $.035 psi. Like Sandra, I can't raise my prices much as there is stiff competition in my area. Most do panto's and I'm recommended as the "specialty quilter" as I will do sid, feathers and quilting that will enhance the piecing, etc.

In California I also have to charge a "fabrication tax" and if I raise my prices and then add tax on to a higher price - I think I'd price myself out of work. I would love to charge what I think my work is worth, but the economy and competition doesn't allow for that.

Linda, let us know if your $75.00 minimum doesn't scare some off.

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