corsetmakers: Selling a corset.

Love As Thou Wilt (

dominanefret) wrote in

corsetmakers,
@ 2005-04-13 00:57:00

Entry tags:

corsetiers, newbie advice, reference

Selling a corset.
So I am nearing completion on the first corset ever that I plan to sell and I need your help.

I have NO CLUE what to charge for it.

It is made out of metallic midnight blue acetate velvet, and lined with blue acetate taffetta, it will be encased in plane blue biased tape. I'm using sprung steel boning and a proper busk. The corset is beautiful but fairly simple... no exciting trim or embroidery or anything like that.

What do all of you think I should sell it for? What is a reasonable price for something like that, which will still allow for a decent profit? I don't want to go out and say "I am charging bla bla bla" and have it be way to much, but I also don't want to go out and say "I am charging bla bla bla" and realize that I could have gotten a lot more.

Like I said, it isn't overly fancy, but it has taken a lot of hard work. I will post pictures when it is absolutely complete.

So any suggestions? What would a good price be??

(Post a new comment)

auroraceleste
2005-04-13 06:06 am UTC (link)

Ya know, this should be a memory (the 'why do corsets cost so much', 'how much does it cost to make a corset', and 'how do I know what to charge for a corset' questions are all closely related and asked often enough).

There was a really good thread on what people around here charge, I'm still trolling the calendar for it. Meanwhile, maybe these links will help:

http://www.costumebeginner.com/corsets/buying.htm#why
http://www.darkgarden.net/faq_04.asp

soniabunny, do you remember where/when in your journal I answered your question about pricing? The comm post I'm looking for was right after that, because you cut and pasted it here, IIRC.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

auroraceleste
2005-04-13 06:12 am UTC (link)

Oh! I found it!

Here's my pricing guide:

My pricing for anything I sew: Materials x2, + cost of supply rental (I usually just go $20/hour I sew on my machine and $10 per hour of drafting time) and $15 per hour of work (other than machine and drafting, like cutting, pinning, ironing, etc). I don't think I'd ever go above $30 per hour, that's pretty much tops for experience among anyone who hasn't been hired by a movie to produce costumes and such IMO. The benefit after you're knowledgeable and better is that you're faster, so that you increase the per hour cost so that each corset costs about the same as it did when you started, but now you are better so you can make two of those $180 corsets in the time it used to take you to make one, thus your experience is gaining you more money.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dominanefret 2005-04-13 06:41 am UTC (link)
	Thankyou so much, that helps a lot. I sat there thinking about all of that going "but is this right? do people normally charge for this??" Those links are wonderful. I agree this should be in the memories! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	britgeekgrrl 2005-04-13 04:48 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, okay, hint taken! I'll add it to the memories. Sheesh! :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

electradesigns
2005-04-13 06:56 am UTC (link)

Perhaps you might want to try selling it on an auction. Start the bids at the cost of materials times two. If you already have a buyer, I would start with cost x 2, and, depending on how many hours you worked on it, decide how much your time is worth based on your levl of skill. If you are very skilled and quick, you would charge more than someone who takes longer and is still learning. if we could see a picture of it, it would help a lot.

(Reply to this)

I used to have this posted in my LJ

electradesigns
2005-04-13 06:59 am UTC (link)

How Much it Costs to Make Your Corset

(based on over-bust corset with no embellishment)

Price of over-bust corset with no embellishment $275

Corset materials

1 yd fashion fabric $15
1.5 yd twill $11
.5 yd binding fabric $4
Grommets $5
10 yd Boning $15
Boning tips $2
Busk (regular) $15
8 yd Ribbon laces $10
12 ydTwill tape $5
3 yd fusible webbing $6
1 roll fusible webbing $2
2 spool heavy duty thread $5
Drafting paper $1

___________________
Basic materials $96

Mockup materials

1 yd cotton duck $7
Thread $1
Boning $1
laces $3
______________________
Basic materials $12

Total materials Costs: Apx $108

Labor for each corset

pattern draft 5 hours
sourcing materials 5 hours
making mockup 5 hours
altering pattern 2 hours
make corset 40 hours+
email correspondence 5 hours+
Post office 1 hour
_______________________________
hours on each corset 63 hours

$275 Corset price
-$108 Materials Costs
_____
$167 for labor
Divide $167 by 63 hours of labor = $2.65 hour for skilled labor

Now lets say you didn’t count the time spent responding to client email, sourcing materials, trips to the post office, etc. That’s about 50 hours spent on each corset., which comes to $3.34 an hour. That’s half the minimum wage in America.

Equipment

sewing machine
sewing machine attachments
pattern drafting tools
sewing tools
steel bone cutting tools
industrial grommet setter
iron/ ironing board
electricity
work space
storage space
file cabinet
washing machine/ dryer
drafting table
books

Education/ Experience

Two years FIDM fashion design major ($60,000)
15 years corset making
18 years sewing
pattern drafting
fashion illustration
technical flats
custom tailoring
artist

Additional Expenses

PayPal fees
Ebay fees
Web site fees
Internet
Model/ Photographer
Web hosting fees
Computer software
Shipping for materials
Advertising
Sample corsets

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ katana1986 2005-04-13 03:41 pm UTC (link)
	"make corset 40 hours+ " i dont know if this is just an example, but i wonder what a corset would look like if someone is spending over 40 hours on it. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ

electradesigns
2005-04-13 05:50 pm UTC (link)

To be honest, most of my corsets take quite a bit longer when you add up drafting, mockup, pattern modifications, preparing fabric, cutting, construction, setying the grommets, addition of modesty panels, embellishment, lacing it up, packaging it, etc. It adds up. This estimate is based on a basic overbust. It takes me a long time because I have a special method that results in a super strong, precise corset with lots of features most corsets do not have. I imagine many corsets take longer, especially if there is embroidery, ruffles, lace to be sewn on by hand and such. It's different for each corset and each corset maker.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ katana1986 2005-04-13 03:42 pm UTC (link)
	do you pay $15 for a regular busk? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ

electradesigns
2005-04-13 05:59 pm UTC (link)

I orederd in bulk a long time ago (swiftly running out though). After international shipping and duty fees they ranged betwwn $8-$12. I use $15 as an average because if I have to buy a busk because I don't stock the size, or if anyone else bought one online, the average cost would be about that (usually more). Most of my corsets use 12.5" or longer busks. The average length is closer to 14" (as most of them come low over the hips and tummy and even the under-busts tend to point up at top center front). The suppliers I am aware of sell busks for around that if you average it. That's not counting the $6 shipping I have to pay each time I order a single busk. How much do you pay? What lenght? Who is your supplier? I am saving up to buy in bulk again, which is why I am selling my 15" and 9.5" busks on ebay now. I bought too many, so I am selling them at a low price so I can use the money to buy lengths I need. I am flat out of 13-14" busks! I can cut down the 15" busk, but considering how much they cost, I hate to do that.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ katana1986 2005-04-14 05:17 am UTC (link)
	i buy regular busts (they are about 35 cm i guess) for 4 euro's for one, and the 'big'busk (who are 2"wide in total) and 50 cm in length for 7,50 euro. i buy the stuff from a person in the netherlands who is a professional corsetmaker, useually he doesn sell supplies,. just to me every once and a while. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ katana1986 2005-04-14 05:17 am UTC (link)
	-busks (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ dominanefret 2005-04-14 05:22 am UTC (link)
	hehehe. you buy busts. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ katana1986 2005-04-14 06:41 am UTC (link)
	i mean 'busk' ofcourse. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ

electradesigns
2005-04-14 06:52 am UTC (link)

Wow. I didn't know 50cm busks existed. That's nearly 20". I can't imagine what one would be used for. The longest one I use is 16" which is really great for male corsets. It sounds like you have a great source. unfortunatly, i live in the US where there are far fewer busk manufacturers. Almost everyone imports and marks them up. If I order internationally, the shipping is too great so I do that only when I can purchase several items at a time. I have bought from Vena Cava and Wissner.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ katana1986 2005-04-14 02:28 pm UTC (link)
	hm, yeah, the guy who sold me the stuff told me he uses the large busks for males. he gets the stuff at a whole-sale in germany, but you have to purchase at least 100 'units' from a product, so at least 100 meters of one kind of boning, and at least 100 of the same busks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I used to have this posted in my LJ electradesigns 2005-04-14 04:38 pm UTC (link)
	That would probably be Wissner. great prices but high minimums, and the shipping and duty fees are quite a bit for the Us. It's worth it when you buy in bulk. One of the members is conducting a group purchase through Wissner for those of us in the US. That should help a little. (Reply to this)(Parent)

davensjournal
2005-04-13 12:44 pm UTC (link)

I work in leather and have retailed candles and woodwork previously for this.

My pricing guide is 3x the materials.

If the materials cost me $100, then I price whatever it is at $300 for sale to a private person, and about $200 to a store.

One group of $100 repays me for the materials I spent in making the thing, allowing me to recoup the expense.
One group of $100 I can sink back into the store, for materials or for advertising or whatever (the other sets of expenses)
One group of $100 is my profit, which I can pocket or use to put back into the store.

You will note that the wholesale price does not allow me to make a profit, but it WILL encourage people to buy directly from me rather than go through the store. Because the store that bought my stuff will probably double the price, to allow them to recoup the cost and make some profit, making the whateveritis $400. My normal direct sell price is $100 less than that, and that encourages direct purchase.

It's generally done me good. There are times however when I have to slash into my prices in order to get a foot in the door. It's acceptable, as the overall will get me more than the immediate sacrifice.

(Reply to this)

britgeekgrrl
2005-04-13 04:55 pm UTC (link)

The answers on this thread have been GREAT, here's my two cents.

I work from patterns, still - I'm still learning how to draft custom corsets - and sometimes I sell the results on ebay for 'pin money' (to make more corsets with!).

Even though I'm making a garment that is essentially 'off the rack' in terms of sizing, it's still hand-made and a cut-above that crap one finds in Frederick's. I usually spend about $65 in materials (I bargain hunt and got a biz license and resale number to buy materials wholesale) and it takes me about fifteen hours to make a corset - even working from a pattern, which saves me a lot of time. With that in mind, I won't charge less than $150 (usually $200, depends on the fabric and the fuss involved) for an item. So, if I'm lucky, I'm looking at $135 in profit, or about $9/hour for my labor - which is less than I make at my day job... *grin/sigh*

(Reply to this)

	cherryheavy 2005-04-13 08:05 pm UTC (link)
	supplies + labor = price. Supplies generally cost me from $30-$50, and I generally do about 16 hours on a corset, at $15.00 an hour. (Reply to this)

fire_fiend
2005-04-13 10:47 pm UTC (link)

I generally do supplies+labour (at 10-15$/hour)=wholesale price. Wholesale*2=retail price (to pay for overhead like rent, telephone, internet, etc)

Keep in mind though - if you're selling it with no profit, you're taking the money out your mouth, as well as the mouth of the person who would have gotten that sale instead.
I also remind people to be honest in their labour. Pay yourself what you're making at your regular job or what an industry standard is if you were sewing for a living full time. If your price ends up being WAY more than the going rate.. then you probably aren't fast enough to be making money doing this.

All of that aside.... I'd expect to see something similar for between 150$ on the low end, up to 250$ on the high end, depending on where it's being sold, and the quality of construction.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	fire_fiend 2005-04-13 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	Erm.. that's because there's no interlining, though because it has a proper busk and those are costly.. perhaps up to about 300$. I see corsets sell from 129$-400$ retail usually... thats kind of where I get those numbers from.. but the 129$ ones are cheap lingerie style ones. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dominanefret 2005-04-14 05:22 am UTC (link)
	Actually there is interlining.. I just forgot to write it down. Cotton Duck. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	demi_x 2007-10-13 09:01 pm UTC (link)
	great thread, very informative. I can see we all charge about the same prices actually, although I tend to average out my labour at £100 a day, however many hours I work in that day. (Reply to this)

pricing

ladybugcorsets
2008-05-24 03:47 am UTC (link)

what i do is charge for the cost of material plus a labour fee. u can either set this at the beginning depending on how much work goes into a corset, or charge by the hour
dont rip your self off, but you dont want to charge too much that people cant afford it. choose a target audience. young teens high school and uni students dont have much money. older women tend to have more money to burn.
i wouldnt sell one short of 80-100
hope that helps
-robyn

(Reply to this)

ichigo_neko
2008-07-03 10:36 am UTC (link)

Wow. I know I'm responding to something from 3 years ago, but I just finished my first commission and compared to many of the standards above, I totally undercharged. Of course, since it was my first commission I didn't want to charge too much anyway... Especially because my sewing skills, while good, aren't professional-seamstress-perfect.

The item
It was a custom sized waist cincher; I did one mock-up... Final fashion fabric was (really nice) silk. 3 layers (fashion/coutil/cotton lining), busk, spring and spiral steel bones (14 altogether) in bone casing; seam allowance flat-felled to the inside (with slightly-uneven contrast stitches on the outside), petersham ribbon... Anyway, altogether I charged $155. (I believe that was basically $50 materials, and 10 hours of work.)

What I charged
I just charged cost of materials (for things that I already had, I charged what it would cost to replace them) plus $10/hr for any work... drafting, cutting, sewing, whatever... And cost of shipping, and a few dollars extra to cover the paypal percentage.

What I didn't charge
I deducted a little (1 hour) to cover for when I had to go back and fix something, because it's not fair for my client to pay for my mistakes. I also had to hand-sew some edges that got caught on the flat-felling on the inside; I did not consider myself 'on the clock' for that as, again, it was my error in not catching them when I did the seam originally.
I didn't charge for any consultation... Talking about the corset, explaining to the client how to measure herself, pin the mock-up, etc., other questions about corsetry. I consider that to be customer service, which I think should be a) free and b) a given. I don't charge the time it takes me to go to the post office or buy materials. I don't try to figure out how many cents worth of thread or grommets I used. (If, however, in the future, I have to go out and buy a new spool of thread for a particular commission, I would include that in the price. But if I have it on hand, I won't bother.)

Freebies that add to the perceived value
I don't charge for any packaging materials, which are optional. My goal is to create a loyal client base; I am trying to use packaging and customer service to set myself apart. I wrap the garment in half a yard of poly-organza, and I hand-typed (on stylish stationary paper, using a typewriter) a little personalized hangtag... "I was hand-made in California for [client's name] by Marianne Faulkner of popantique.com... [etc]"

There was no extra-profit padded on there. Maybe when I go to grad school and it really hits me how much I owe in student loans I will pad my prices a bit more, but for now I feel good about the price because, as I mentioned, it was my first commission, the sewing wasn't 100% perfect, and it took me longer to get completed than I'd told the client.

Looking at it objectively, the "perceived value" and probable market value are likely more in the range of $200-$250.

For anyone looking at this later, I also recommend browsing Etsy and seeing what vendors there charge for similar styles.

(Reply to this)

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