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69K views 41 replies 33 participants last post by  wildwoodbybrianjohns  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi
I have a question that I am sure will bring many different answers.
I have made some cutting boards for the family for Xmas. I will try to post a photo later
They are made of Maple, cherry, mahogany, and walnut. All of them have at least three of the above listed woods. They are all around 12 by 22 inches and 1.5 inches thick. Against my cost for the wood I have about 60 dollars in wood into each board. Then the glue, sanding belts.finishing ect…
five of the six are basic stripe patterns of different thicknesses within each board and one is a basket weave pattern
cutting board basket
They are gifts but if I were to sell them How would I price them?
What are you guys charging for cutting boards?

Thanks
Paul
 
#2 ·
I'm not sure of the proper way to price them. I've sold a few recently. The last one was an end grain black cherry board that was 24"X24"X1 3/4. I found a buyer willing to pay me $80. I probably had $20 of material into the board. I find building cutting boards kind of boring, but on the flip side they can make you a little extra cash to reinvest into buying more tools! I'd be interested to hear what is the proper way to price them. Thanks for the post!
 
#3 ·
I have made over 15 End-Grain cutting boards thus far. Rock Maple and Purple Heart & Rock Maple and Black Walnut. I have about the same money $60-80 into them. I charge $150.00, which I thought might be to high for them. Surprisingly most understand how much work goes into each one. I have 7 of them in finishing stage with the 4th coat of finish, 5 of them spoken for. After this batch there going up in price $200.00 partly due to making them is alot of work (sanding, which we all love) and I want to do something else. Someone on here once gave me some great advice, " Do not be afraid to charge for your time"..
Hope this helps, Good Luck!
 
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#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Material Cost (wood + finish etc.,)
+ Direct Overhead
+ Your hourly rate (should include indirect overhead)

= Price

__
Direct Overhead = specific to the building process of the job
Indirect overhead = Specific to running your business (marketing, personal insurances etc.,)

If the price seems higher than the market will pay, then you need to adjust; the amount or cost of materials, adjust the time put into each board or a combination of both.

I am not a big fan of material x 3 as some projects have a lower material cost but may require a lot of labor (high labor cost).

Congrats, on getting buyers for your products that is always a great accomplishment regardless of final profit.
 
#5 ·
Add up the cost of all your woodworking tools, the space for your shop, heating, electricity, the hours it took to build, the hours it took to gain your skills, cost of the wood, and don't forget sales tax. Then divide by number of cutting boards….I hope you built lots of cutting boards.
 
#6 ·
I save my scraps and once every 2 or 3 years I glue them up into cutting boards and then I simply give them all awayto friends, charities…..............

I have no idea how to sell a cutting board at a profit when I can buy one made in Asia, or India, for less money then it costs me to turn on my lights.
 
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#7 ·
i have sold about 20 cutting boards over the last 4 months mostly at craft fairs or farmers markets what i have learned is location plays a large part. if i am selling here in the desert people will not/can not pay a lot
if i am in a better area i can charge more. no different than housing. i have nowhere near that dollar amount in my boards maybe 15 dollars i sell them for a average of about 45 dollars this is close to what you can get them for on e-bay or etsy. as for the labor i have (not including glue dry time) about 2 hours in each 1 of them. also the design of the boards plays in to the price. my tumbling blocks boards i have sold for 100 dollars.
the square block patterns sell for 35 to 55 dollars
i would ck for others in your area that are selling similar items and see what they are getting for them and price your items from that. this is the way i have been doing it maybe not the correct way but it has been working for me hope this helps and good luck
 
#9 ·
I just recently spent some time on here looking at Ebay and Etsy. I found that Prices ranged from about .20 cents to about .40 cents per square inch. So I am pricing mine at about .25 cents per square inch. Hope that helps.
 
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#10 ·
The problem with the square inch thing is that cost doesn't scale linearly with size. (Unless you consider your time free). It doesn't take much longer to make a huge cutting board than it does a small one. So if you're making breadboard, you end up with a much lower hourly rate using a strict size calculation.

The real answer is what will people buy them for? Float some trial balloons, do some competitive analysis (harder than it seems) and see what's selling. Maybe ask some trusted friends who have some appreciation for business if they would pay $X for them and see if they laugh at you. If they immediately say yes, you might consider going higher unless they're your exact target market.

I wouldn't recommend asking family members, they don't tend to give useful answers. ("Why yes sweetie, I'd totally buy that cutting board for $1500 if I had any money! You make such nice things!" <-Not useful)
 
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#13 ·
the 20 dollar world.

Years ago I carved a few 1/4 scale loons. I put one in a gift shop on consignment for 150 dollars. 75 to me, 75 to vendor. That loon sat there for months collecting dust.

I took the loon out and put in the store right next door and asked for 350, vendor put their 100% mark up and it was priced at 700 dollars…..............it sold the same day.
 
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#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
I do real well at Farmers Market, and a couple gift shops. I agree with Eddy above about what your local market can bear. A board I sell for $40 locally can fetch $75-80 up in Indianapolis, easy.

I'm also fortunate to have 2 high quality Ma & Pa hardwood mills nearby that give me really great prices.

Don't forget to factor in supply costs. It's not unusual for me to use 4 different sanders on one board…..belts, pads, and discs can get pricey after a while!

If you view my profile pic, those boards range from $25-45 locally. $40 & up in the city. Have fun with it.
 
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#16 ·
I think it depends on what the wood cost and time are, I found a great deal on wood and bought about 2,000 to 3,000 board ft of mixed oak, cherry,maple,black walnut,brazillian cherry,mohogany for only $100.00. so I would not have to charge as much as some.
 
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#18 ·
That edge grain board would sell for about $40 to $80. That style as end grain would be a lot more because the construction requires more cuts and glue up and it's more difficult to get those lines in there (you have to apply to the face of the board before the end grain cut).
 
#19 ·
#21 ·
Over the past 5 years, I have probably made 150 - 200 cutting boards (End grain), and another 300 serving boards. I am in a Canadian city, and I find the price I can fetch varies according to:

1. Design - I got very bored grinding the traditional pattern with rectangles moved around; so some of them have been quite fancy
2. Woods used - I started with Cherry, Maple, Walnut. Now I almost never do a board w/o exotic woods of some sort - Wenge, Purple Heart, Canary Wood, Padauk, Ipe (when I can source it). So these woods push the costs up. Currently, Wenge is $32/bf CAD, so I am limiting that use now.
3. Location of my booth - Christmas Craft Fairs are the absolute best in my city. However, at 76 years old, 5 - 10 hours at a booth is never enjoyable. I had almost zero success with a website; Etsy was no better.

I have arrived at the point where I only want to do creative woodwork, so I wait until someone asks me if I am still doing the work. Then I get them to choose the woods, and I show them some designs that I have in mind.

My boards usually bring in $120 - $200 CAD; anything less, and I am "working" for a few dollars/hour.
 
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#22 ·
I would think $150 - $200 for a board like that but again, location is everything. I don't really sell anything anymore but I have a friend that heads from Seneca, SC to the Asheville area to fetch top dollar for his tables and turnings. He said that if he only stayed local, prices would be 25% of what buyers attending the twice annual fair in Asheville are willing to pay.
 
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#23 ·
Like others have said formulas determine cost

I use the following
-Bf of board cost per bf
-% waste x Above number
- glue 1$
-shipping(if Needed)
-tool use 1$ (includes wear on saw blades/jointer/planer)
-sand paper 1$
-mineral oil 1$
-wax 1$
-feet 2$
-expendables (shop towels etc) $1
-labor (75 hour or so depending where you are) x .33 hours= 25$
-packaging 1$ (I use Heat shrink bags)
-If you have to pay for a table at an event Divide that cost among the items you anticipate selling
 
#24 ·
That made me smile

In the end the price u will recieve will only be determined by yr neighbor who does it at a loss and his/hers looks better then yours

Almost impossible to make a profit

Its like making yr own wool and thinking ur gonna make a profit if you eat the lamb
 
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#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
One of the industry leaders in cutting boards. John Boos. Check out their website on cutting boards and price yours accordingly.

The market dictates what people will value your work at, Boos charges $ 142.95 for a 12Ă—12x3 Maple board for instance, and people buy them. From what I've seen, none of their boards are anywhere as artistic as some of the boards I've seen here on LJ.
 
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#26 ·
Michigan maple is perhaps the oldest surviving butcher block company on the planet ….. certainly north america

Its a Canadian company ?

Like i said

Worth is somewhat subjective and if you can put the head of the loon on one end and the tail on the other and call it a butcher block cutting board

Flip a coin

Sometimes we win

Either end names the price :)
 
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