The Framers Forum

My pricing model is based on a some mark up of materials, plus an hourly rate, but this doesn't really account for specialist skill. For example, an hour spent water gilding is priced the same as an hour spent chopping and pinning a basic factory made moulding. An hour's an hour, but one of these activities requires a considerably more skill and training than the other. I'd be curious to know if and how you guys reflect expertise and specialist skill in your pricing?

Calico

I don't do water gilding but if I did I would definitely up the hourly rate as it is not a common skill.

Up market motor franchises charge far more per hour for their labour but is doing an oil change on a Merc any more complex than on a Ford?

Yes,I charge more per hour for photo restoration than I do for chopping frames, although with the molding mark up it'sprobably about the same.

In my experience their is a difference between what you want to charge and what someone is prepared to pay, that is the governing factor especially if a client wasn't expecting to get water gilding and you are up selling. But I agree you should be able to differentiate the price to take into account skill.

I have started hand finishing frames some with 8 or 9 processes involved. I have a client who has a number of large exhibitions a year and isn't afraid of using large expensive larson Juhl mouldings, so when he decided to take my hand finished frames I based my pricing on what he was already paying plus a bit more because they were unique and exclusive. So I was making very handsome profits on it but instead of an oil taking 20-30 minutes to frame it was taking 2-3 hrs so really even though I make considerably more profit taking into account time using an expensive ready finished frame is far more profitable. However to compensate i would probably have to charge double which the client wouldn't pay (even though the paintings sell for 10K+) so I plan on making the process more streamlined and reducing the production time which I have started to do with practice.

is doing an oil change on a Merc any more complex than on a Ford?

Not necessarily, but it is different because on a Merc it has to be sucked out. There is no oil sump plug
So it requires specialist machinery to accomplish the same task. Someone has to pay for that ~ the client

If I turn a bowl on the lathe, the price the customer pays is based on 3 factors: -
the complexity
the level of skill required
What I guess the customer will be prepared to pay for the finished article

So if it's turned, then carved, it will cost a lot more than one I can do from a ready made profile.
Not frame making, but I suggest that the principle may be similar

If you are producing something exclusive, desirable and of limited availability, then it's a niche market product and the law of supply and demand will favour the seller.

It's a sellers market - If you want it, then you have to pay the sellers price. So plenty of scope to charge accordingly for your skills.

Handfinishing is a good example of such a niche market. Have you ever seen anyone offering handfinishing on the cheap? I don't think so! The same is true of watergilding. Beautiful things and beautiful work costs plenty, it always has!

Reminds me of the woman who took a ring to a jeweller to get it valued. He took a quick look at it though his eye-glass and said £15. Then charges her £50 for the valuation.

Now it may seem that is £50 for tens seconds work, but there again it may have taken 30 years to gain the knowledge that allowed him to make that assessment.

I'm not sure that I didn't read this quote on here actually, but I heard/read that Picasso was talking to a journalist and did a sketch on a scrap of paper. The journalist asks how much it's worth, and Picasso responds with " a million dollars". The journalist is amazed, and asks how something can be worth a million dollars when it's only 2 minutes work. Picasso responds again by saying its not a million dollars for 2 minutes work, its a million dollars for 70 years work.
I realise that its a world famous artist there so there's many other factors at play, but a skill developed over time has to be worth more.