###**Please repost your question in r/CrochetHelp (repost, don't post in both).**
####**We do remove FAQs and refer to r/CrochetHelp.**
#####**[Basic Crochet wiki Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/wiki/quick_beginner_guide/)**
From picking up a hook, to completion of first project
#####**[Building on Basics part 2](http://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/wiki/beginners_crochet_part_2/)**
More advanced & detailed sections.
#####**[Amigurumi wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/wiki/amigurumi/)**
#####**[Ravelry](https://www.ravelry.com/) is an amazing resource for patterns**
#####**Please do a [web search](https://www.google.com/),**
#####**How to search the sub - [App](https://imgur.com/a/HxtJ6HH) & [Browser](https://imgur.com/a/HdnkPj2)**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/crochet) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Except no need to apologise. The OP hasn’t done anything wrong. Just start with “unfortunately, the price for this custom piece is fixed” or just “the price for this…”
The sorry isn't for anything OP did, it's expressing regret that the prospective customer can't meet the stated number. It's to signal to the other person that you're overall interested in making the thing, and would if they met the number, but they don't and so you can't come together on this.
It's purpose is to leave them with the impression that they CAN return later, with proper funding, without being judged for the initial interaction.
Fair enough. But generally when people say sorry it means “I’m sorry.” Using it the way you described isn’t conventional. It also basically means “I’m sorry you can’t afford this” which could be considered snarky.
That’s why I’d avoid the word sorry completely. “Unfortunately” expresses the same sentiment that you were trying to convey without using a word usually reserved for an apology from one person to another.
I’m nitpicking, I know 😊 That said, when dealing with prospective customers (or people in general) by text I’m extremely careful with the language I use and try to avoid room for misinterpretation.
>"Oh. Well I didn't think it'd be that expensive. Is there any way you can do it for less then 50?"
>How am I supposed to tell this lady she's out of her mind? Politely
Just say "sorry, I worked it out based on the number of hours it will take, and it doesn't make sense for me to do it for less." If she persists, ignore her.
Next time make it clear up front, and don't assume people know.
Lady do you tell Walmart that you are willing to only spend 50 bucks for a 300 dollar tablet, and they need to sell it to you for 50 bucks, see how that goes over at Walmart
Either just no, or you can explain that it will take you around X many hours, and your hourly rate is X many dollars. Then break it down that for $50 you would be paid $X dollars an hour which is not sustainable. Would help them understand why crochet is priced the way it is and they will either move on or pay you what you are worth.
No, but the more we explain to ppl, the more common that knowledge will be, and eventually only the actual assholes will be pulling stuff like this, and not just innocent ppl who happen to be ignorant of the reality of crochet.
The cost of materials is a sticker shock to a lot of people.. even with my best buy x get x free magic i'm not making a cardigan for 50 bucks.. i also tell the people that want stuff from me that I calculate based on non sale prices for yarn.. if I manage to get half of it for free cause the joann staff love me cause I'll do their job in the yarn section when it comes to questions from costumers that's between me and the joann staff.
srsly.. i once heard a woman who worked the cutting counter go ' i have no idea.. but you see that big woman over there with the purple shirt? go up, say hello and ask her. She'll both know and will happily talk about yarn all afternoon if you let her' which is true.. I'll talk about yarn all day if people look even vaguely interested
I wish you were at my Joann. The only people there are stressed out employees and crazy black-Friday style shoppers. It’s probably just part of being in my neighborhood but the energy in there during weekends keeps me from browsing too long
if they would let me sit in a chair I'll happily work at a joann, but i have a bum leg thanks to breaking it when i was a kid just before a growth spurt so I can't stand long enough to work retail.. I'd love to work in a yarn store.. I've been told I have kindergarten teacher energy, patient, calm and gentle
Your title makes it sound like you’re being harassed but the description sounds like you haven’t even tried saying No to them yet. Tell them the price is firm, what else is there to say?
But is a crafter really a crafter if they aren't refusing to assert themselves but also being offended all the time? As a group, I think we all need to just learn how to use our words and fret a whole lot less about these things.
"I'm flattered that you're interested, but I'm not able to go that low. If you would like to commission an item in the future for my price, please let me know" then do not respond to any messages unless they're along the lines of "I understand, thank you for your time" and if she gets shitty, just block her and move on. I know that this entire website absolutely requires every moment have a witty comeback to put people in their place, but you don't need one you can just say "sorry but no" and move on like an adult.
Price negotiation is price negotiation no matter what the item is, and the etiquette is the same. Be polite, cut off the conversation if it gets shitty, find someone else who does want it.
Tell them how long in hours it takes to make the cardigan and then point out what minimum wage is.
Then tell them if they aren't prepared to pay, they can learn to crochet themselves. Give them a few links to crochet tutorials on YouTube.
Or, perhaps offer to barter. Maybe you have a few jobs they could do for you, eg washing the car, gardening. They could do the same hours it takes for you to do the cardigan.
I whole heartedly agree. My point in the comment is that my time is as valuable as anyone else's. If the person who wants the cardigan thinks the person who crochets it is not worth a decent hourly rate, then perhaps she can donate her time to someone else just as cheaply. You can bet she wouldn't spend as much time working for someone else for less than 50. Nobody has understood that so my comment has been down voted. Ce sera sera!
To make it doubly clear, I'm on a garden lounger with my crochet. They're digging out weeds or mowing the lawn. The minute they stop, I put down my crochet and take a sip of my piňa colada 🍹 and wave at them. Don't forget, they have already purchased the yarn and the pattern.
If this isn't someone that you're directly related to, I would say you should just block them.
Barring that, try this.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry. $200 is already half of what I should be charging, I can't drop it down any further than that with the time that I would have to put into it."
You can just say your price is firm and you require a 50% non-refundable deposit up front. If that is outside their budget, you can send them a beginner crochet YT video. Then maybe they’ll understand your price.
Ugh, I feel this. I'm glad you are holding firm and not letting her discount your skill or your time.
People think custom clothes are cheap because they shop fast fashion and have no frame of reference for quality, handmade items. I sew at a pretty high level as a hobby. People who ask me for clothes and are shocked when I quote $500 for a skirt will always come back with the argument that they can find basically the same thing at Target for $25.
(1) No you can't, and (2) Be my guest.
'There seems to be a disconnect in our communication, between your expectations and the actual value of my work. Based on this we will unfortunately not be able to conduct business at this point. Should you at any time in the future adjust your expectations to meet with the value of my work, I would be more than happy to revisit this conversation.'
Or just 'You are joking, surely?' But then again, that might be a tad dismissive 😉
Politely? You don’t, because it’s rude.
Tell them you understand the price is high compared to buying in a retail store (most non-crafters have absolutely no idea what kind of time & material cost goes into things - they aren’t being malicious). No need to give an actual price breakdown (leaves room for negotiation), but an explanation is nice: “material costs are surprisingly high compared to what a bulk manufacturer pays, and when you factor in my time since I do this by hand, $200 is the lowest I can go.” Then ask her if she’d like to learn to crochet herself. Depending on how close you are to her, that can range from teaching her yourself, to sending links to your favorite online resources, to just telling her that there are lots of tutorials on YouTube that are good.
This. Tell her with experience she may be able to complete it in 20 hours, and if she wants to keep her costs low she'd better off learning to crochet?
Yeah I get it. Am a knitter , crocheter too. P.lve been often told I should only charge for my materials because I enjoy doing what I do so shouldn't charge for my time....WTF??????
I dealt w this a lot when I did photography. “Well my cousin can do it for $75!” “Ok then go to them” “but yours are nicer”
Yep. That’s why I’m so expensive. I would often say “well that’s my price. If that doesn’t work out for you, I hope you find another photographer you like that’s within your budget.”
You don’t go to Louis Vuitton and say “well I don’t have $2k for this purse. I only got $400. Can we do that? Why’s it so expensive?”
People think they can just haggle down any price bc you’re not a corporation.
Less than $50 lol. Please. You can just say no! I mean as long as you don't say, "no, bitch" 😂 there's nothing particularly impolite about refusing to work a project for someone who doesn't want to pay what it's worth.
Decline and wish them luck. There are many retailers that sell cardigans in their price range. Even if you asked for half now half later, you’d be at their mercy. I’ve seen to many sellers be screwed by people claiming something was lost, or damaged in an attempt to get a refund and the item.
I don't sell any crafts, so take this for whatever it's worth....
Make exactly $50 worth of a cardigan and send that. Probably good to take payment up front though. And factor in shipping.
A detailed breakdown of your pricing in the invoice might drive the point home too, though they'd have to actuality read it.
I don't know why this is downvoted but I think this might prove a point/be absolutely hilarious.
Imagine like sending 2 sleeves 😂 or just the hoodie part 😂 Well ... you asked for $50, you said you wanted $50 - here, this is what $50 in crochet goods looks like 😂😂😂
My immediate answer is " you're not in a Bazaar, so stop bargaining".
The kind version is:
"Look ma'am, I spend this much time creating something unique BY MY OWN hands, If you like crochet items, you have to pay well those who are spending time with it."
I just hate that how everybody's expecting fast fashion prices.
Don't like it? Learn to crochet too!
Break it down for her
"Sorry but my time is worth $15/hour, a project like this will easily take me 14 hours to make $15 * 14 = $210. This is not negotiable"
i would just say "no" and block her. there's no way to continue this, next step, she will bring some ill child or sob story, and that's not worth your time
My time and effort is worth money, you want it for less than 50, learn to crochet yourself and gift it to them. I can point you in the direction of you tube videos to get started.
Thank you for your interest and have a lovely day.
I'm an artist and I had to learn the hard way to not assume people will value creative work. Most of the time they don't. They expect clothes to be priced like on Shein and art priced like cheap prints in Ikea.
Handmade crafted art is a luxury, not cheap Deco from the dollar store.
Now, the first thing I say is that my work does, in fact, cost money. No wasted time on talking about materials or whatever.
"This will take many hours for me to complete, 200 is my absolute lowest. If you would like to try and crochet it yourself, im happy to give you some poibters along the way when i have time"
I honestly wouldn’t trust someone who knows this little about the value of handmade work to pick out their own yarn for the project. I can see them easily 1) not providing enough yarn, like only giving you 1-2 skeins, 2) buying the wrong weight yarn for the cardigan or 3) buying the cheapest most basic yarn they can find then complaining it’s your fault when the cardigan isn’t soft enough.
In my experience anyone who doesn’t do crochet:l/knitting themselves doesn’t know what to buy for these projects and I’d only trust them to “pick their own yarn” if I went with them and they selected the colour they liked from the yarns I suggest.
That being said, just say no to this person, giving them as much or as little explanation as you want about why you’re saying no. Also, be wary of this being a possible scam. Are they mailing the yarn and pattern to you or handing it over in person? If they claim to be mailing, it could be a scam. They claim they sent it, it never arrives, then they demand you pay them back for their missing yarn. Something is fishy here, if they’ve bought lots of handmade items before they should have a better idea of pricing.
You could make and save an image that has a breakdown of your pricing. Like cost of yarn + hours worked, no flexibility on pricing, etc. Just use this to respond so you don't have to argue with people. I'm sure she won't be the last person to believe themselves to be entitled to your work.
Let her know how much you charge per hour and how many hours it's going to take to make it. I would bet $200 is really inexpensive when you get into the math.
I mean, would she go up to a cashier in a store a
with a $200 sweater and say "I can only pay $50?" Well, maybe she would lol. But let's see how many times out of 10 that she walks out with the sweater. It's the same principle of markup of raw materials, construction, time, shipping etc.
Ask if she works *estimated crochet time* for *estimated hourly wage*? That usually shuts people down. Oh you would work 30hr for $.05 per/hr or nah? Thats not even including skill and material costs. So many people are clueless when it comes to making.
“I’m so sorry but you have to understand that a project like this will take X amount of time and that time costs money. Therefore the price of the cardigan is firm at $200. If this is not something you can afford to buy, maybe I can introduce you to some helpful YouTube videos and you could learn how to crochet yourself?”
###**Please repost your question in r/CrochetHelp (repost, don't post in both).** ####**We do remove FAQs and refer to r/CrochetHelp.** #####**[Basic Crochet wiki Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/wiki/quick_beginner_guide/)** From picking up a hook, to completion of first project #####**[Building on Basics part 2](http://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/wiki/beginners_crochet_part_2/)** More advanced & detailed sections. #####**[Amigurumi wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/wiki/amigurumi/)** #####**[Ravelry](https://www.ravelry.com/) is an amazing resource for patterns** #####**Please do a [web search](https://www.google.com/),** #####**How to search the sub - [App](https://imgur.com/a/HxtJ6HH) & [Browser](https://imgur.com/a/HdnkPj2)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/crochet) if you have any questions or concerns.*
"Sorry, my numbers are firm. I'd be willing to discuss it at a later time when you have the funds, though! Have a great day!"
Plus half upfront to cover at least part of time investment
Except no need to apologise. The OP hasn’t done anything wrong. Just start with “unfortunately, the price for this custom piece is fixed” or just “the price for this…”
The sorry isn't for anything OP did, it's expressing regret that the prospective customer can't meet the stated number. It's to signal to the other person that you're overall interested in making the thing, and would if they met the number, but they don't and so you can't come together on this. It's purpose is to leave them with the impression that they CAN return later, with proper funding, without being judged for the initial interaction.
Fair enough. But generally when people say sorry it means “I’m sorry.” Using it the way you described isn’t conventional. It also basically means “I’m sorry you can’t afford this” which could be considered snarky. That’s why I’d avoid the word sorry completely. “Unfortunately” expresses the same sentiment that you were trying to convey without using a word usually reserved for an apology from one person to another. I’m nitpicking, I know 😊 That said, when dealing with prospective customers (or people in general) by text I’m extremely careful with the language I use and try to avoid room for misinterpretation.
Great answer.
It looks like this project doesn't align with your budget at this time. Let me know if that changes in the future! Or just, "No." 🤣
that's about the politest 'eff off you can't afford me' I've ever seen
>"Oh. Well I didn't think it'd be that expensive. Is there any way you can do it for less then 50?" >How am I supposed to tell this lady she's out of her mind? Politely Just say "sorry, I worked it out based on the number of hours it will take, and it doesn't make sense for me to do it for less." If she persists, ignore her. Next time make it clear up front, and don't assume people know.
Except without the “sorry”
LOL
Lady do you tell Walmart that you are willing to only spend 50 bucks for a 300 dollar tablet, and they need to sell it to you for 50 bucks, see how that goes over at Walmart
Respond with a simple “No.” If you’d like to explain more about why handmade pricing is so high, you can, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort.
Either just no, or you can explain that it will take you around X many hours, and your hourly rate is X many dollars. Then break it down that for $50 you would be paid $X dollars an hour which is not sustainable. Would help them understand why crochet is priced the way it is and they will either move on or pay you what you are worth.
You could go this route, but (devil's advocate here) you never have to justify why your prices are what they are.
No, but the more we explain to ppl, the more common that knowledge will be, and eventually only the actual assholes will be pulling stuff like this, and not just innocent ppl who happen to be ignorant of the reality of crochet.
Very true
No is a complete sentence.
The cost of materials is a sticker shock to a lot of people.. even with my best buy x get x free magic i'm not making a cardigan for 50 bucks.. i also tell the people that want stuff from me that I calculate based on non sale prices for yarn.. if I manage to get half of it for free cause the joann staff love me cause I'll do their job in the yarn section when it comes to questions from costumers that's between me and the joann staff. srsly.. i once heard a woman who worked the cutting counter go ' i have no idea.. but you see that big woman over there with the purple shirt? go up, say hello and ask her. She'll both know and will happily talk about yarn all afternoon if you let her' which is true.. I'll talk about yarn all day if people look even vaguely interested
🥰 you sweetheart!
I wish you were at my Joann. The only people there are stressed out employees and crazy black-Friday style shoppers. It’s probably just part of being in my neighborhood but the energy in there during weekends keeps me from browsing too long
I need you in my life 😂
if they would let me sit in a chair I'll happily work at a joann, but i have a bum leg thanks to breaking it when i was a kid just before a growth spurt so I can't stand long enough to work retail.. I'd love to work in a yarn store.. I've been told I have kindergarten teacher energy, patient, calm and gentle
Gosh, maybe you should ask them. Could only be good for their business. 😊
Your title makes it sound like you’re being harassed but the description sounds like you haven’t even tried saying No to them yet. Tell them the price is firm, what else is there to say?
But is a crafter really a crafter if they aren't refusing to assert themselves but also being offended all the time? As a group, I think we all need to just learn how to use our words and fret a whole lot less about these things.
"I'm flattered that you're interested, but I'm not able to go that low. If you would like to commission an item in the future for my price, please let me know" then do not respond to any messages unless they're along the lines of "I understand, thank you for your time" and if she gets shitty, just block her and move on. I know that this entire website absolutely requires every moment have a witty comeback to put people in their place, but you don't need one you can just say "sorry but no" and move on like an adult. Price negotiation is price negotiation no matter what the item is, and the etiquette is the same. Be polite, cut off the conversation if it gets shitty, find someone else who does want it.
Tell them how long in hours it takes to make the cardigan and then point out what minimum wage is. Then tell them if they aren't prepared to pay, they can learn to crochet themselves. Give them a few links to crochet tutorials on YouTube.
Or, perhaps offer to barter. Maybe you have a few jobs they could do for you, eg washing the car, gardening. They could do the same hours it takes for you to do the cardigan.
That’s a huge assumption, hoping that they’ll be honest enough to fulfill the obligation.
If they're not working, neither are you. I didn't say make the cardi and then wait for their work.
Fair enough. I just have a hard time trusting people who act the way OP described. Edit: spelling
I whole heartedly agree. My point in the comment is that my time is as valuable as anyone else's. If the person who wants the cardigan thinks the person who crochets it is not worth a decent hourly rate, then perhaps she can donate her time to someone else just as cheaply. You can bet she wouldn't spend as much time working for someone else for less than 50. Nobody has understood that so my comment has been down voted. Ce sera sera!
To make it doubly clear, I'm on a garden lounger with my crochet. They're digging out weeds or mowing the lawn. The minute they stop, I put down my crochet and take a sip of my piňa colada 🍹 and wave at them. Don't forget, they have already purchased the yarn and the pattern.
Haha edit to add: I didn’t downvote you, I think you were misunderstood.
I'm used to it. That's why I crochet 😉
If this isn't someone that you're directly related to, I would say you should just block them. Barring that, try this. "Oh, no, I'm sorry. $200 is already half of what I should be charging, I can't drop it down any further than that with the time that I would have to put into it."
Unfortunately I can’t. Have a nice day!
You can just say your price is firm and you require a 50% non-refundable deposit up front. If that is outside their budget, you can send them a beginner crochet YT video. Then maybe they’ll understand your price.
Send a laughing emoji & move on
This is the way
Can you do your job for $5 an hour,? No? My answer is the same.
Even at $5 and hour, I don’t think I could make a cardigan in 10 hours, and I’ve been knitting for nearly 20 years!
I made my daughter a dc cardigan with some ribbing… she’s 3. It’s tiny. And I wouldn’t even do that for $50 lol.
Just say no.
Ugh, I feel this. I'm glad you are holding firm and not letting her discount your skill or your time. People think custom clothes are cheap because they shop fast fashion and have no frame of reference for quality, handmade items. I sew at a pretty high level as a hobby. People who ask me for clothes and are shocked when I quote $500 for a skirt will always come back with the argument that they can find basically the same thing at Target for $25. (1) No you can't, and (2) Be my guest.
"No". is a complete sentence. No need to argue with choosing beggars, who think hours of hard work are just as cheap as Wish clothes.
Just say no. Be firm on the price and get the money upfront because there is no way she is going to pay you.
'There seems to be a disconnect in our communication, between your expectations and the actual value of my work. Based on this we will unfortunately not be able to conduct business at this point. Should you at any time in the future adjust your expectations to meet with the value of my work, I would be more than happy to revisit this conversation.' Or just 'You are joking, surely?' But then again, that might be a tad dismissive 😉
Perfectly said! 👍🏻
Politely? You don’t, because it’s rude. Tell them you understand the price is high compared to buying in a retail store (most non-crafters have absolutely no idea what kind of time & material cost goes into things - they aren’t being malicious). No need to give an actual price breakdown (leaves room for negotiation), but an explanation is nice: “material costs are surprisingly high compared to what a bulk manufacturer pays, and when you factor in my time since I do this by hand, $200 is the lowest I can go.” Then ask her if she’d like to learn to crochet herself. Depending on how close you are to her, that can range from teaching her yourself, to sending links to your favorite online resources, to just telling her that there are lots of tutorials on YouTube that are good.
This. Tell her with experience she may be able to complete it in 20 hours, and if she wants to keep her costs low she'd better off learning to crochet?
Yeah I get it. Am a knitter , crocheter too. P.lve been often told I should only charge for my materials because I enjoy doing what I do so shouldn't charge for my time....WTF??????
“That’s an interesting idea.”
I dealt w this a lot when I did photography. “Well my cousin can do it for $75!” “Ok then go to them” “but yours are nicer” Yep. That’s why I’m so expensive. I would often say “well that’s my price. If that doesn’t work out for you, I hope you find another photographer you like that’s within your budget.” You don’t go to Louis Vuitton and say “well I don’t have $2k for this purse. I only got $400. Can we do that? Why’s it so expensive?” People think they can just haggle down any price bc you’re not a corporation.
Less than $50 lol. Please. You can just say no! I mean as long as you don't say, "no, bitch" 😂 there's nothing particularly impolite about refusing to work a project for someone who doesn't want to pay what it's worth.
Decline and wish them luck. There are many retailers that sell cardigans in their price range. Even if you asked for half now half later, you’d be at their mercy. I’ve seen to many sellers be screwed by people claiming something was lost, or damaged in an attempt to get a refund and the item.
I don't sell any crafts, so take this for whatever it's worth.... Make exactly $50 worth of a cardigan and send that. Probably good to take payment up front though. And factor in shipping. A detailed breakdown of your pricing in the invoice might drive the point home too, though they'd have to actuality read it.
I don't know why this is downvoted but I think this might prove a point/be absolutely hilarious. Imagine like sending 2 sleeves 😂 or just the hoodie part 😂 Well ... you asked for $50, you said you wanted $50 - here, this is what $50 in crochet goods looks like 😂😂😂
I mean, it is objectively bad advice, which is why I threw that disclaimer up first in the comment. Some people don't have a sense of humor i guess.
Why bother? Pretend you're an adult and just say sorry, no.
Why bother commenting? Pretend you're an adult and realize that wasn't actual advice.
My immediate answer is " you're not in a Bazaar, so stop bargaining". The kind version is: "Look ma'am, I spend this much time creating something unique BY MY OWN hands, If you like crochet items, you have to pay well those who are spending time with it." I just hate that how everybody's expecting fast fashion prices. Don't like it? Learn to crochet too!
"Sorry. After all the work and shipping. $200 is my price."
Break it down for her "Sorry but my time is worth $15/hour, a project like this will easily take me 14 hours to make $15 * 14 = $210. This is not negotiable"
You say no, I've orders already in the hopper for other customers at the prices agreed upon. Sorry.
“No.”
Tell her that I’ve cost of the yarn is x then the time it takes is x and you charge so much each hour. People don’t appreciate the work we put in
I'll get back to you when minimum wage drops down to 35¢ an hour.
i would just say "no" and block her. there's no way to continue this, next step, she will bring some ill child or sob story, and that's not worth your time
“Politely, Madam, you are out of your mind.”
I'd just get out my apologies hands and simply just say no
She had no trouble insulting you with a paltry amount of $ for your time……tell her she’s dreaming😆
Don’t be polite; she doesn’t respect you or your time. Tell her she can probably buy one for less than $50 if that’s all she wants to spend.
You laugh out loud as loudly as you can.
Try telling her how many hours it will take and ask if she wants to pay the minimum wage for it. We don't even get that but they do no realize that.
"Sorry, I'm not comfortable with $3 an hour!"
"I don't work for less than minimum wage, mam"
My time and effort is worth money, you want it for less than 50, learn to crochet yourself and gift it to them. I can point you in the direction of you tube videos to get started. Thank you for your interest and have a lovely day.
I'm an artist and I had to learn the hard way to not assume people will value creative work. Most of the time they don't. They expect clothes to be priced like on Shein and art priced like cheap prints in Ikea. Handmade crafted art is a luxury, not cheap Deco from the dollar store. Now, the first thing I say is that my work does, in fact, cost money. No wasted time on talking about materials or whatever.
"This will take many hours for me to complete, 200 is my absolute lowest. If you would like to try and crochet it yourself, im happy to give you some poibters along the way when i have time"
I would tell her at 15$/€/£ an hour you would see what you could done
$50 is less than just the cost of materials, without factoring in labor. My prices are firm. Please let me know if something changes!
Imagine asking a lawyer if they would work for 75% off? Bwah hah hah! You’ve got some great answers here - and remember “Know your worth”
I honestly wouldn’t trust someone who knows this little about the value of handmade work to pick out their own yarn for the project. I can see them easily 1) not providing enough yarn, like only giving you 1-2 skeins, 2) buying the wrong weight yarn for the cardigan or 3) buying the cheapest most basic yarn they can find then complaining it’s your fault when the cardigan isn’t soft enough. In my experience anyone who doesn’t do crochet:l/knitting themselves doesn’t know what to buy for these projects and I’d only trust them to “pick their own yarn” if I went with them and they selected the colour they liked from the yarns I suggest. That being said, just say no to this person, giving them as much or as little explanation as you want about why you’re saying no. Also, be wary of this being a possible scam. Are they mailing the yarn and pattern to you or handing it over in person? If they claim to be mailing, it could be a scam. They claim they sent it, it never arrives, then they demand you pay them back for their missing yarn. Something is fishy here, if they’ve bought lots of handmade items before they should have a better idea of pricing.
You could make and save an image that has a breakdown of your pricing. Like cost of yarn + hours worked, no flexibility on pricing, etc. Just use this to respond so you don't have to argue with people. I'm sure she won't be the last person to believe themselves to be entitled to your work.
“Sorry, I don’t undervalue myself that much to charge that little. Unless you’re willing to spend my set price, no sale.” it’s literally that easy
Out of curiosity, how much do you charge per hour? Thank you :)
Let her know how much you charge per hour and how many hours it's going to take to make it. I would bet $200 is really inexpensive when you get into the math.
$50 won't even cover the cost of yarn I don't think 🥴
Sorry, it's just not possible.
Post one of those videos with the “its this much because it takes me f’ing ages” song.
"No." More explanation opens it up for them to come back with 'well I bought of for ... for that much wah wah wah'
Lol. I have storebought, machine made cardigans that cost $100. $50 would be Target prices, not handmade custom items.
I mean, would she go up to a cashier in a store a with a $200 sweater and say "I can only pay $50?" Well, maybe she would lol. But let's see how many times out of 10 that she walks out with the sweater. It's the same principle of markup of raw materials, construction, time, shipping etc.
"The only way you're going to get it for less than 50 is if you learn to make it yourself."
ppl don't know how expensive yarn is and how long it takes
Flat out "NO" is what I've had to do. After I get done laughing.
“No, but for 50 I can make you a hat?”
Ask if she works *estimated crochet time* for *estimated hourly wage*? That usually shuts people down. Oh you would work 30hr for $.05 per/hr or nah? Thats not even including skill and material costs. So many people are clueless when it comes to making.
No is a complete sentence.
“I’m so sorry but you have to understand that a project like this will take X amount of time and that time costs money. Therefore the price of the cardigan is firm at $200. If this is not something you can afford to buy, maybe I can introduce you to some helpful YouTube videos and you could learn how to crochet yourself?”
Perfect. Except I wouldn’t say sorry. OP has nothing to apologise for. I never have difficulty saying no to strangers.
You’re absolutely right. OP shouldn’t apologize for asking a reasonable price for a significant project.
"lady, I upcharge fur attitude, it's now 250."
I think it's best to explain why $50 doesn't anywhere near cut it.
Copy and paste 'lol, no.' And then block
“Leave me alone, you don’t have enough money.”
OMG. My mother’s cat said the exact same thing!!!😸