The Framers Forum

Hi
I'm new to framing and just wanted to check what the right price should be for an average frame.
I see over the years there have been quite a few posts on this subject but wanted to get a more up to date idea, also its interesting to see the the differences in what people charge, and as people have mentioned before hopefully useful for everyone, so people don't sell themselves short!

What would you charge for a 560mm x 460mm ( 22" x 18" ) frame?
with an average priced moulding, single bevel mount.

I'm thinking £12 materials cost , and guessing the overall price to the customer would be about £55 would that be right?

Would be great to get peoples opinon.

Thanks

Dear Jam

A short question with a long answer!

Whilst it is relatively easy to work out the cost of the materials involved, that £12 is only a very small proportion of the actual cost of making the frame. What also needs to be included are all the running costs of operating your business - rent, utilities, rates, wages (including your own) etc. The total of these costs divided by the numbers of hours your business makes frames each year will let you calculate hourly rate for labour. You can then accurately calculate the cost involved in making the frame (cost=labour + materials) and should not charge below this amount, otherwise you will of course be running at a loss. On top of this cost price, you can then choose a mark-up, all of which will be profit, and not eaten into to pay your running costs, as these have already been covered .

Regarding the difference in what people charge, this comes down to several factors: Their overheads, their convenience, their design advice and final product. All of these things will have a bearing on the price, and it is entirely reasonable that the overheads of town-centre shops will be different to someone working out of their garage. Equally, someone with experience and skill in creating unique frames will be able to charge a higher price compared with someone with less creativity and design knowledge.

For many years framers have used a "multiples" formula where you mark-up using different factors for various components of the frame. The two disadvantages of this system are that 1) You have no way of knowing whether you are genuinely covering your running costs - these still have to come out of the price you are charging, and 2) It gives a very linear relationship between size and price, which often results in small frames being sold at a loss whilst larger frames can be prohibitively expensive, despite the fact that the amount of time taken to manufacture the two items may not differ greatly. It can also discourage customers from choosing the higher priced mouldings which reduces their perceived choice and therefore their enjoyment of the final product.

The most important factor is working out what it is actually costing you to make the frame (how long as well as how much material), without this information you have no way of calculating what mark -up to apply.

I've written a document which runs through the process of working out your business running costs in a little more detail - if you or anyone else would like to read it email me at uk@framiac.com and I'll send it over to you.

Best wishes with the new venture,

Mark Wilson

I came on here a couple of weeks ago with exactly the same query as Jam's, and also glad to find it wasn't just me that was unsure of what the correct prices should be. I was completely lost as my little business differs massively from others I know in my area, so very confused with pricing. The response post from Mark was so helpful, I emailed Framiac and had the article sent back to me which has now resulted in a complete turnaround in my business, it has shown me how to calculate my own specific costs of running the business, a lot of factors I hadn't even thought about to be honest and then work out my hourly rate in accordance to my own business, I would recommend to anyone not certain about whether they are charging correctly to read the article and even to those who think they are as this was certainly a real eye opener for me. This forum is very handy! Emma.