Priced too high

[Mary Beth]

Okay, the phone has been ringing a little more lately - yippee...new customers, needing quilts done. One just dropped her's off on Friday. Today another "potential" customer called so I was being my normally nice self...and she wanted to know what I would charge to quilt her queen sized quilt. I asked if she knew exactly how big it is and she didn't, in fact she was not sure that it was queen size, but she thought it was. Then I asked what type of quilting was she wanting on the quilt. She told me it has appliqued stars and if I could do stars it would be perfect. I told her I can do stars but with applique I hardly ever stitch over the applique itself (I have never stitched over applique - it feels like sacred ground to me). She said, how would you do that, sounds like a lot of work to me. I said that it is a lot of work, but it inhances her quilt. Then I changed tactics and told her that my quilting prices start at .015 per square inch and that if it was 96 x 96 it would be approximatly $138. She freaked...I have never paid that much for quilting. I said well let me see if I figured that right...over and over I was telling her right for the 96x96...She didn't know how big her quilt was and I told her I would take a look at it and let her know what we could do. Also, I am two months out (because I work PT not because I have tons of quilts hanging), she was a little taken back by that too. At least she thanked me before she hung up...I just raised my prices January 1st because I was the cheapest around here...I won't give it away!!

I guess my question is...why do they think we will quilt their quilts and not make it worth our while??

[GERRY]

Every person has a priority list in their head, & a bottom line.

Evidently her priority isn't her quilt-tops, or the quality of the quilting, it's the money, maybe she is on a tight budget, after all if you can barely make form pay-check to pay-check, a 100 bucks is a lot right. You don't know her circumstances so you can't judge it, especially over the phone.

Anyway it sounded to me she was just testing the market to see how cheep she could get, & never really intended to bring her quilt-top in for quilting to you. Unless you were willing to give her a super bargain.

To bad you didn't pin her down on how much she has paid in the past, & who she took her quilt-tops too, that would have given you more info, to work with. Also if you had asked her call you back with the true size of her quilt-top you could have given her a clearer estimate on the price.

Any way don't fret, I doubt she was really interested in your quilting for her anyway, if she is happier with the price at some other LA-quilter then she can go there, soon you going to have more work than you'll know what to do with.

Chin up girl

[Mary Beth]

I have been talking to other quilters in my area and found that they have been starting at .015/sq in for some time...so I have been behind in the times. I didn't mean to come across like I was judging her...because I am not a judgemental person...and I know what it is like to be poor - I was a single mom for 8 years making very little money. I guess I see people hiring plumbers, electricians, etc...and I don't charge as much as they do...yet...oh well. Better luck next time.

[Bonnie]

Its amazing how many people fish....now for all we know she might have been fishing to see what you start your prices at so SHE too can use the same price in her quilting...she might not have been even who she said she was. I've had many of them who would say they were "Jane Doe from Whereever....and my caller ID was saying I don't think so.... It happens and if they show up its good, but one of those things you don't really get to excited about till you see the quilt.

[kennan100]

This might also be someone who has never been to a LAer and has no clue what is involved much less what a machine looks like. Kind of a sticker shock thingie. She amy have ahd a friend of familoy memeber doing it for her for PPP and just chraging her for batting and thread or something. Doesn't sound to me like she's paid for any quilts at all if she was shocked by your price...but you handled it very well!

[CucumberQuilting]

We just had a local quilter raise her "price" -- yes, one price, from $40 all the way up to a whopping $50. That's for anything folks. And yes, you get from her about what you pay for. She has an older machine without a stitch regulator, uses only fat poly batt, even if you bring something else, and she's a heavy smoker. So...maybe your gal had only ever used someone like that.

[BethDurand]

Hi Mary Beth,

Thanks for posting your statement. I had a customer call yesterday looking for a quote, and I think I experienced the same thing. Based on the brochures I see from other quilters, and who I've talked to in my area, I'm right on track with them. I was still a little taken aback at her non-verbal response. There was a bit of a gasp of air from the other end of phone line. One of those things I guess.

Beth

[annlittle1]

Hi Mary Beth,

Sounds like the same problem I was having back in October. I want to be sure that I do quality work on each quilt that I do. That takes an investment in classes, practice, tools, and time. I also start my prices at 1.5 cents per square inch. I don't think that is an excessively high price. I found that quilters outside of Oklahoma City were willing to do a queen size quilt for $40.00. So a lot of people here drive 50 miles outside of the city to get cheaper quilting.

Funny thing is my best customer is from California. I'm not even sure how she found me. But she keeps sending me quilts and has brought me at least one other customer, plus I quilted a quilt for her church to be auctioned off. Its a very small church, but they raised over a $1000.00 with the quilt.

When I worked in RE underwriting we would always have customers come in and say they could get a better rate elsewhere. Our response was that if you only wanted the lowest interest rate you could always find someone that could beat our rate. But if you want good service and a loan officer that remembers your name a year later, you'll come back to us. It was nothing unusual to have that rate shopping customer come back to us a year later and refinance their mortgage with us because they were unhappy at the service they received with the "lowest" rate mortgage. I just keep reminding myself of that now.

Phyllis Hughes

Oklahoma City

[Mary Beth]

My Dh tries to be my PR man...I told him about the call last night and he took her side and said..."You did raise your prices by50%". I had no response. I thought of lots of stuff...but I kept quiet. I guess I have some thinking to do...but I don't feel I should charge less than everyone else in town.

[Stagecl]

Mary Beth,

My choice is not to quilt over applique especially if it turned under and stitched. But, if it is fused that can be another story...in this case one might want to do an all-over. Yes, time and energy went in to cutting out all the little pieces for fusing, but so does cutting out all those smaller triangles and squares for quilts. Art quilts are machine quilted on top of the applique for decorative purposes...why can't fused applique be E2E? I have done it on a quilt with fused applique...the customer requested it and it turned out great. If someone is on a tight budget, as Geraldine mentioned, it may be the only way they can afford to have the quilt quilted. As to price fishing just stay with your prices...people get what they pay for. I think, too, that I am not meant to quilt for everyone and everyone is not meant for me to quilt for them.

Cheryl Mathre

Stone Creek Quilting

Sandy Hook, VA

[The Last Stitch]

You are not over priced. I am in town!! My business is in Peculiar about 20 minutes south of the city and my starting price is .015 per square in as well. Dont drop you prices. She will get what she pays for.

Don

[JudyL]

Mary Beth:

I was way higher than the other local quilters when we lived in Kentucky. I can bet it's the same in the area where we now live in Mo. Almost everyone here who has found out that I quilt has asked "what are your prices?" It's kind hard to tell people my prices, without them seeing my work, when I know I'm going to be at least double what they're paying now. I rarely tell anyone my prices now. I figure if they're truly interested, they can go to my web page where the different price ranges are explained and they can see pictures of my work, or we can arrange a meeting where I can look at their quilt, take samples of my work and we can go from there.

If someone is used to having a huge meander for a certain price and then you quote them double that amount without them seeing the difference in the quilting, they are likely going to be shocked. But, if they see your work and see how much nicer the quilting looks when you've gone around (vs. opposed) the applique.

As far as I can see it, there's no reason for your prices to be any lower than those around you. It is hard to have that reaction when you give your prices to someone but think about it -- if you're charging 50% more and you're still within the average range for your area, you're also making 50% more . . which means to me that I can buy 50% more thread and/or fabric!

[Mary Beth]

Thank you all for your responses. It's good to hear from you Don, from right here in the area, and to know that I'm not dreaming these prices. I was pretty sure starting at .015 was at least the average.

Thank you Judy, everything you said encourages me. I am not going to back down on this one. My phone doesn't ring every day, but I do have the backing of my LQS owner and her business is really picking up, so I'm sticking to my guns.

You guys are great cheer leaders

[dfjett]

HELLO! This is YOUR business and YOU get to say what YOU will quilt and how much YOU will charge. Now, make no mistake, this concept should be tempered by your desire to remain in business! However, if you are uncomfortable quilting over applique, then you will not be satisfied with the outcome of the quilt, no matter how great it is. Nor should you feel the slightest bit guilty about what you charge. What would have been the final hourly wage at your former rate? It obviously was not in line with what you determined you needed in order to be financially successful.

But, this brings me back to my original concept: this is YOUR business and YOU determine the standards. YOU are the boss now with all the wonderful perks and annoyances!

And, by the way, it sounds as though YOU are doing a great job of it: careful consideration of the customer's needs in context of the direction YOU have determined for YOUR business. I hope YOU catch my emphasis here!

Deborah McVay

New Jersey

[Ferret]

If it makes you guys feel any better, I haven't managed to get a single full price customer in almost a year of trying. My prices fit with others in the area, my work wins awards and is on display in my local quilt shop. I am certain that if I dropped my price to say 50 GBP for a queen size I would start getting business. However, I would not be geting paid for my time. I can't live on air, and I would rather spend my time on things that do make me money.

I suspect that $100 per quilt doesn't sound too bad, but please remember things are priced very differently over here. Quilting fabric tends to be $15-$22 per meter, a cinema ticket is $18-$24, a gallon of petrol (gas?) is $10. As a rule most things you just change the dollar sign to a pound sign and that is what we pay. So I figure that goes for quilting services too. Looking at everyone elses prices, that seems to be the standard here.

Stick it out, you will get customers who do understand the amount of work you are doing for them, and they will pay your prices.

Good luck

Ferret

[tsurich]

When I went out on my own I got a "How can you charge that when others charge less around here?".

I used the info from the survey a few months ago to show what national prices are and that I am on the low side since this is Iowa and rural area. I also now have a promo photo that I can use as a post card to mail a pix of some of my "better" work. Some quilts that I knew would be shown at local guilds meetings I gave them a little more quilting for their money but didn't show it as a discount or lowered prices. I now have just enough quilts coming in to keep me going so I figure it is just a matter of finding "your" clientele. Probably hard to do with machine payments etc. I also gave a gift certificate for $ of machine quilting to the local guild as a door prize.

[jkerekes]

Hi Mary Beth,

You've gotten great responses to your post, so I can't add too much more except that I am a firm believer of not giving your services away. A "cheap" price implies "cheap" work.

I remember watching a cheesey movie about Martha Stewart a few years ago and one of the things that she tried to do when starting out was try to sell baked goods in the mall in Battery Park, on the tip of Manhattan. It's a cool little indoor factory turned mall in a neat place, where people sell neat stuff. She priced her homemade pies at $2 and nobody bought them. She got frustrated and priced them at $20 and she sold them all. To me the message about the $20 price was "you're getting something great" whereas the $2 price message was "you're getting a bargain, discount, nothing special pie."

I think that cheap stuff is cheap. I'm not a snob--and I'm pretty frugal about most of my stuff. I'm a frequent shopper of sales, clearances, etc. but I will absolutely pay good prices for good service, period. I always leave good tips and I always make sure that whoever is doing whatever for me knows that I appreciate the work, time, etc. I will choose people based on reputation and will pay "more" for higher skill levels and expertise.

As a professional quilter, you should make more per hour than you would if you were cleaning toilets at Burger King. I'm not looking down at people who clean toilets at Burger King, my point is that it takes a whole lot more time, practice, overhead, and skill to be a professional quilter and you should be paid a fair wage for your services. Period. I am sometimes appalled that the neighborhood kids that work as babysitters sometimes make more per hour than some professional quilters do--me included sometimes:o. If you give your services away, people will have no problem 'taking' from you. If you raise yourself up to a higher standard, the quality toppers will raise themselves up to meet you--it just may take a little more time.

There are bargain hunters everywhere and you have to make a choice as to whether or not you want them to be your customers.

God Bless!

Jill Kerekes

[Dreamscapes]

I learn so much here on this site. I have run an ad in local paper since Oct.

I have recieved 3 phone calls so far, no quilts yet, so I just continue to do practise quilts for American Hero quilts to go to returned injured soliders, and community service quilts tops that were donated at the passing of 98 year young active quilt -alolic over 170 tops, plus mine. Just keep on learning.

[MarthaProvencher]

Years ago, my husband told me about "Giffen goods", that Martha Stewart pie price phenomenon. I just googled it, and found an article on wikipedia about it, and "Veblen goods" as well. Something to think about when we're pricing our services. I think we each need to look at who our customers are. Are they driving up to our studios in Mercedes and dickering over .015/inch, or are they driving up in 30 year old Corollas with tops made out of old dresses just trying to keep the kids warm? But be careful. I had a wave of quilts come in after another LA'er slapped an arbitrary $800 price tag on each of two quilts for a woman who happen to drive up a Jaguar. That episode became legend through out our huge guild.

By the way, my bottom price is .02/inch, but that's the going rate here. I know people who send them back east to get them done for $40. That's okay. Not many in our area have the disposable income to invest in a machine, and even if they do, they rarely have room to put it in their house. Can you say "garage studio?". It'll take me 250 quilts to break even, so don't nickel and dime me on my prices.

[Stagecl]

Dreamscapes,

Go to your local quilt shops with quilts you have quilted...show them what you can do. Ask if you can leave a book of designs, business cards and flyers...maybe a quilt you have quilted can be left on display. they may say yes or no...but they will know who you are.

Go to your quilds and show your quilts at show 'n tell. Don't say I'm a long armer...let them ask you who quilted your quilts....then say I did. It is a perfect opening for saying you own a LA, usually that leads to "do you quilt for others?" It still may take time to get a following of clients, but this works better than the paper.

Cheryl Mathre

Stone Creek Quilting

Sandy Hook, VA

[Phyllis]

Pricing......what a topic! In this area most people squawk at $.o1 per square inch. I had one customer that grudgingly paid me that amount....had another one eventually take her top back as she found someone 60 miles away who would do it much cheaper. I do tell customers the approximate cost when they bring the quilt top. I refuse to go any lower in price. The problem here is that all of the quilt shop owners also do quilting and they don't want your quilts to show off. And there are alot of longarmers in this area. I just stick to my pricing...I refuse to give my services away. You are all right, they do get what they pay for but I think that some of them don't really see the difference in the quilting, only in the bottom dollar.

I love quilting and will just keep plugging along!

[CherylUribe]

I agree to all points made here. My only addition is: you have the same bills that the customer has. Electric, gas, mortgage, water etc. Do not lower your prices.

Also, I love that Don has responded as a local quilter to you. If all Longarmers were so gracious we could all stick together, hold our ground, set standard prices and all make the money we should. It would be a benefit to all. In my area here there is a group of us that communicate about pricing etc. for this purpose. Of course there are a few that are not as friendly. I think most are coming around and realize that networking with each other is beneficial for all.

[quiltaholi_518]

I have to weigh in here.

If I don't value my work enough to charge what I think it's worth, I don't believe anyone else will value it either. I do the best job I can for what they want to pay, but if they pay for allover, that's what they get. Someone on this list once said " My client only paid for a panto, but I couldn't bring myself to do just that, so I did some custom on it. It really needed it!" Well, I wish when I pay for a new roof my roofer would say," They only paid for this shingle, but this more expensive one would look sooo much better on their house" or the plumber who upgrades a faucet because it would look better- HA! Thats gonna happen.

Speaking of plumbers, the last time I had one over for a 3/4 hour, it was $150.00 plus parts. Believe me, these ladies are paying those prices for plumbing, and brakes on their cars, and someone to paint their 2 story foyer. So, if we can't even make $5-700 per week, why are we doing it?? I would rather play all day long on my projects rather than give my work away to a complete stranger!

Ah, I feel much better, thanks for listening!

[sheilao323]

you can't skim on quality quilting, if the customer is truly serious about receiving quality work, it will be accompanied by a cost, not a ridiculous one, but a price that will be worthwhile for the quilter

[Mary Beth]

Cheryl,

If Don is who I think he is he belongs to the MO-Kan Machine Quilters Guild that I belong to. What a great group. They are very supportive and are always ready to share. At one time they were thinking of doing a "Mentor Quilter" type program - wouldn't that be fantastic for new or uncoordinated quilters like myself to be mentored by someone with great expertise. I don't get to go to the meetings much and I don't know if they are doing that or not, but I just think it is the best idea since sliced bread.