Customer Reviews

The Woodworker's Guide to Pricing Your Work

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4 star:		(4)
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This is a must have for anyone selling (or thinking of selling) their own woodworking products. The book is very easy to understand and includes information on everything from pricing small craft products to high-end antique reproduction furniture. There is also a lot of information on record-keeping and forms that you can customize for your own business. If you are a woodworker, and have ever asked yourself "How much should I sell this for?" Or if you have a business, and you want to do everything you can to make it successful, this is the book for you!!

This book does a good job of making you think of all of the costs that you could incur to run a woodworking shop (even a very small one) and gives good ideas on where and how to sell your projects.

Ever go to a craft show where things are really selling? Except for that lonely person sitting behind a card table reading a book or knitting. This book explains WHY that's happening and how to avoid it.

Ever try to sell things with a REALLY low price so they'll move? But they don't. Here you'll learn why that happens.

Excellent points are made, many of which I never thought of,and great forms to use.

But this is a case of GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out). Not the book but the buyer. For this to be worth the price the buyer has to be a person who can keep up with the DETAILS of a business. In other words, the crap work. If you're a "Hey, dude, I just want to get out and make sawdust" Neither this book, or selling for that matter, will work for you. Sorry.

If you're NOT like that then grab this book. A clear winner.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' with it. (-:

If you're serious about being proficient in ALL aspects of making and selling a product then this is for you.

Not everyone needs this book. If you enjoy woodworking for the relaxation or craft and you only make things for yourself or for gifts, you don't need this book.

If you occasionally sell a doodad or whirlygig to a friend or coworker, you probably don't need this book.

If you are actually trying to make a profit or are seriously considering selling your wares on a bigger scale, you NEED this book!

There are lots of suggestions for almost any small business included here and that alone increases its value. The focus is on woodworking though so the author focuses on issues and concerns of the woodworker/business.

Sometimes it's hard for us as woodworkers to attribute a value to what we produce. Products that we hand-craft or at least produce ourselves always resist valuation. If you're going to sell your stuff and expect to actually profit from it, you should really look closely at the ideas in this book.

Guidelines for your hourly rate and considering all sorts of factors are completely and relevently discussed. Bookkeeping and record keeping play prominently.

If you're going to cross the line from hobbyist to seller, take a look.

This book does a very good job of helping woodworkers price their work. The method of determing a selling price is straight forward and clear. The one thing I would like to have seen is a bit more information on how the hourly rates were arrived at. Was it a survey, some govt. publication, or what? Regardless, this is a good book for those of us just opening our woodworking business. A good read and a good reference.

When trying to determine if a particular business is 'worth it' or not, it helps to have perspective from others about the mechanics and philosophy of how to do it. This book does that for me. If you are thinking about going into any business where you generate a product, use this book or other reference to make sure you don't short change yourself. If you don't charge enough so you stay interested in it, then the effort isn't worth it, no matter how much that is, then there is the making sure you stay in the 'black'. You can't do work for others 'for free' (or cheap or at a big discount) and stay in business.