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In which I am not a Chinese sweatshop worker

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  • In which I am not a Chinese sweatshop worker

    So with daughter's new awesome (expensive) school, I've been doing my best to drum up new business. On the day I announced on my shop that I was opening up custom orders, I got an email for a huge order.

    One queen size quilt, four twins and two crib sizes. She already had all the materials and the tops done, just needed them quilted. So we messaged back and forth hammering out details, and then came the kicker - price.

    For just the quilting, I usually charge $0.025 per square inch. Which isn't a whole lot compared to other quilters, but still alright considering the time investment involved.

    Total for all seven quilts came to: $813.02 And of course she wasn't happy. Said that she'd already spent a ton of money already, and the quilting design wasn't really complicated, you can guess the rest.

    I'm trying to be nice, so I broke down her order for her, told her for me to just prepare and do the quilting, I was looking at 120 hours of work. And that if the $800 was too much, that I could do it for $5 an hour, but I would have to charge shipping. So $600, plus about $50 to ship everything. Also that I would be happy to do payment plans, or spread the work out to try and make it easier on her.

    Oh no, she cursed a blue streak and said she was only looking to pay $250 MAX to have all this work done. So I wished her good luck, and got out my chocolate.

    I don't really think I overcharge for my work. I know other quilters who charge 4-5 times what I do and they love to tease me about it. (jokingly of course, we're friends and they live in an area where they can actually charge that much.)
    https://purplefish-quilting.square.site/

  • #2
    I don't know what prices are right and wrong, but it looks like she just lowballed you to an insulting level and wasn't expecting you to end the conversation. Good for you! let's see how long i takes before she contacts you back on this.

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    • #3
      Raise your price when she does. "Oh sorry that quote was only good for 24 hrs."
      GFY

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      • #4
        She cursed up a blure streak after hearing that you'd be working at less than the minimum wage?

        That's not a customer - that's bordering on an owner.

        Rapscallion

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        • #5
          LOL I agree with MiloMorai... and in all honesty, your price seems extremely fair. $5 an hour? She's a little crazy to scoff at your offer. Hopefully she comes to her senses!

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          • #6
            When I buy something from an artisan, regardless of what it is, I don't dispute their price because I have no idea what kind of work it takes to make the magic happen. It's not my job to tell you what your services are worth, after all.

            It's awesome to watch an SC try to get someone solid to bend without the desired result!

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            • #7
              If someone were to tell me that they were to pay less for the jewelry I made for them, then I'd just keep the set[s] I made for myself or for Christmas presents. The only way anyone will get a good deal or anything for free, is if they are co-workers, friends, or family -- then again, that's usually the only people whom I make things for anyways.
              Eh, one day I'll have something useful here. Until then, have a cookie or two.

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              • #8
                My mom is a quilter. Heck she's won several ribbons for her quilts at the Minnesota State fair, and one of them was featured in a quilting calendar a few years ago. She puts a lot of work into them, and they are worth every penny.

                The person who offered you $250 for all that work is a complete idiot. I wish the idiot the best of luck finding someone stupid enough to do all that for only $250.
                "Life is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid" Redd Foxx as Al Royal - The Royal Family - Pilot Episode - 1991.

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                • #9
                  $250 for seven quilts? Dream on! She's nuts.
                  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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                  • #10
                    $250 for seven blankets? Not even taking into account that they are different sizes and of course, a queen size would cost more than a crib size that's only $35 per blanket. I don't think you can even buy that much stuff in a retail store with low quality work done for $250. Even if you could, it definitely wouldn't be custom work or quilting.

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                    • #11
                      Quoth bhskittykatt View Post
                      $250 for seven quilts? Dream on! She's nuts.
                      Yep, that's a bit low. My grandmother was a seamstress, and made quite a few quilts over the years. Most of the quilts were done simply to use up scraps from other projects. But, she kept very few of the quilts--nearly all of them were given away to family and friends. I'm sure they would have cost a pretty penny. However, she found a way around that. Her church had a group of 'quilting ladies' who would do them. Grandma still had to get everything ready, and provide the materials...but the 'ladies' took care of putting the quilts together. Since they were volunteers, they never charged very much.

                      Maybe that's what the 'lowballer' was thinking of when she made the $250 offer? Otherwise, she's on crack.
                      Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. --Enzo Ferrari

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                      • #12
                        Wow, what a cheapskate. I was told $300 for just the king quilt that's still in a box in back room. Maybe I should be contracting with you.

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                        • #13
                          Haggling is okay for any sort of custom work, but there's a huge difference between haggling and being downright insulting.

                          If the price is $850 as quoted, I might try to offer, say, $750, and see what goes from there. Being polite of course. Most likely I'd get a return offer of 825, then I'd counter 775, then we'd agree on 800. Something like that, so long as it works out for both sides.

                          If the seller doesn't budge the price, then its not open for haggling, so I either take it or leave it. If the seller does budge, then haggling is okay, just so long as I keep the demands reasonable, that is!

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                          • #14
                            Wha? Did she think you had magic elves sewing for you or something? Does she not realize the amount of work that goes into quilting, hand sewing, custom patterns, etc? The woman is out of her mind, and I hope she realizes what you're worth and comes crawling back!
                            "If anyone wants this old box containing the broken bits of my former faith in humanity, I'll take your best offer now. You may be able to salvage a few of em' for parts..... " - Quote by Argabarga

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                            • #15
                              Quoth Rapscallion View Post
                              She cursed up a blure streak after hearing that you'd be working at less than the minimum wage?
                              At that point, there's only two things you can do:

                              a> Inform her that the price just went up from your previous quote by a quarter an hour per curse word, or

                              b> break out the ol' Book o' Quotes.... "Good Night, and Good Luck." *click*
                              "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                              "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                              "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                              "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                              "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                              "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                              Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                              "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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