looking for opinions

[Tony k]

I am going to be building a l shaped entertainment center for someone .It will be made of oak ,customized to fit their living room .Im new to being in business for woodworking .how do I go about coming up with a price for something like this which would be fair?thanks Tony

[John]

This topic has been touched on a lot in the forum. Most guys agree that you should add up your material costs + whatever you think your time is worth per hour X hours to complete the job.

I would further suggest that once you come up with a price, go to your local "Oak Emporium" and see if they have a piece similar to what you're going to build and how much they want for it. If your price is less than double their's, you're fine (because yours is custom made to fit a space, and theirs is one of several thousand churned out by a robot).

[Ken Dolph]

I disagree with John. You are taking many risks: Will they like it? Can it be done this way? Is the wood going to stain right? Will my reputation be hurt if they do not oike one aspect of a fine piece?

In business - for risk you are given profit. Add up all the costs as John says, include everything, then double it minimum. If anything goes wrong you risk loosing all your expenses and maybe future business. The profit can be used to make a whole new one if the customer is unhappy. You can keep the profit if everything goes perfectly.

If you are making in quantity for stores. They are taking the risk and you charge them only what your costs are now. They double it. By the time you have made your hundreth one yu probably ahve cut yur costs in half and will still get your profit.

My 2 cents

Ken

http://stonewood.safeshopper.com

[Tonyk]

Thanks guys ,Yah the hardest part is trying to get a fair price and more importantly a pleased customer.

[dano]

When I build for friends (that I like) I charge them twice the cost of all the materials. I might be a little generous, but if they like it and the price, they'll tell others to who you can jack the price up.