every time I see the costing advice “2-3 x materials” it makes my teeth hurt.

If you do not respect your talent and expertise – no one else will either –

That means your first decision has to be to clearly define your goal.

Each of us has to make decisions about how we want to perceived. Why any artisan would choose to be comparable to Walmart is not something I will ever understand, but some do.

That means your first decision has to be to clearly define your goal.

The very idea of “what the market will bear” is so demeaning – If the market can’t bear the true value of your work, then you are in the wrong market.

Nothing can squeeze the joy out of creative work faster than turning it into the drudgery of making it a job where you are both under paid and under appreciated.

I know that not everyone has had the advantage of working in product development and so really understanding first the cost of manufacture BEFORE labor, the cost of labor, the overhead (all the business expenses shared over your entire business) and FINALLY the concept of PROFIT that must be added to the COGS (cost of goods sold)

I know it is just repeating what you have read “on the internet” and it seems like gospel. but 2-3 times the cost of materials is NOT what should be used for ANY hand crafted work.

Heck, that is not even the formula used by sweat shop manufacturing –

That might – very rarely – be PART of overall costing factor that is what is used AFTER all “development costs” have been recovered for mass produced items in less than nice places “for the workers”

If your goal is to be a “pin money” crafter, where all you really want is creative outlet and maybe be able to “replace” materials – that is your choice – neither good or bad.

If your goal is to seen as a professional, one who has invested time and money to learn their craft, then you need to rethink your pricing formula.

A large part of my life has been devoted to helping designers with tough love speech –

If you are in the pin money group, happy to recieve no compensation for time and talent and expertise then your costs, at the very least price for the COMPLETE replacement cost as if you had to make them the work again, and had to buy all the materials.

Or simply choose what many do, make for your own enjoyment and hopefully given as gifts to friends and family –

Obviously I have strong feelings about COSTING and how it effect PRICE – and someday I need to finish ‘the book” but if you are interested in considering more than slave labor pricing, – there are some blog articles starting at: https://wheatcarr.com/biz/pricing-pt-00-intangible-costs.php

If nothing else, please unload that gun you have pointed at your foot, respect the decisions of others instead of tearing them down for their business decisions and get past the bad business advice of applying mass production costing to hand crafting and above all – lose the false modesty, block the green eyed monster and decide what is right for you.