If you are selling products designed and made by other people you are probably buying these products at “wholesale” price and depending on the type of product and the wholesalers terms they may set the “sell price” However if you are making your own products and you are just getting started you may be wondering… what the hell do I charge for my products!
I’ve seen it so many times (and I’ve also done it myself) designers and makers under or overcharging for their products because they haven’t taken the time to work out exactly how much they NEED to charge for a product.
Here are a few things to take into consideration when pricing your products:
ALL OF THE COSTS. Like I mean all of them. Down to the teeny tiniest ribbon, button, pin on the swing tag. Each garment should be costed out as accurately as possible. Keep in mind when you are pricing garments for production there may be some variances (like currency fluctuations or shipping etc) so when you are calculating your final costs amend where required. I haven’t included things like design time on the sheet as it’s unlikely you will be factoring this in for your first or second collection.
I have created a downloadable and editable FASHION LINE COSTINGS SHEET that you can use again and again to calculate the final cost and then the markup and retail price for each piece in your collection.
There are also some other really important factors to take into consideration when pricing your fashion line.
ARE YOU SELLING A PREMIUM PRODUCT?
If so, you don’t need to be mindful of keeping your products priced at the low end of the market, infact, it will be the opposite. However you need to make sure that the quality of the products matches the price tag (so this mean no cutting corners)
HOW SATURATED IS YOUR MARKET?
Hopefully you have a really awesome niche that you are creating and selling to. A saturated market can mean trouble for a new label starting out, so this is why it’s important to have an point of difference. Why would a customer buy from you rather than all of the other brands creating the same product as you. This is an opportunity for you look at adding value to your products through specialised offers, customisation or some other awesome secret sauce you might have.
THE LOSS LEADER.
This is an old marketing trick where you price a product or service at a lower (loss making) price in order to get customers through the door to upsell them to a more expensive option. Here are some examples for Loss Leaders in today’s market
TYPE OF STORE > LOSS LEADER> UPSELL
Evening wear > Clutch Purse> Evening Gown
Suca Diving > Phone Protector > Dive Gear
Mens Wear > Socks> Suit Jacket and Pants
Kidswear > Basic T shirt > Cool kids clothing/ accessories
Outdoor Store > water Bottle > Hiking Gear
You get the idea and I’m sure you can think of one for your business or brand to allow you reach out to potential customers with an attractive offer.
Over at Bombshell Bay our Loss Leader changes from a wet swimsuit bag to tropical flavoured lip balm (which we also alternate as free gifts with purchase (and value add when needed)
So now you have some information to help you better how to price your products go an re look at your range and see where you can charge more, where you are over charging and where you can add value with a few small tweaks.
VISIT THE SHOP PURCHASE THE FASHION LABEL COSTINGS SHEETS (They are downloadable and editable so you can keep re using them)