How are quotes established for a job?. Is it by the hour?, a flat rate based on experience?. How much time is allowed for design and layout. If hourly what sort of rates are reasonable? I know this is a loaded question as there is alot of differences in quality which, of course affects the rate. Basically, I get asked on occasion to do some engraving for someone but have a real hard time working out a rate. I usually spend as much, or more, time on D&L than I do cutting. I've done cutting for people and charged $30 and they say they were quoted by other engravers $250 to do the same thing. I would feel guilty as hell charging that much but don't know how to set a value. Thought??

Thanks
Cody

Cody Tetachuk
9/23/2006 10:44:51 AM

Cody,

I do not actually engrave for hire (I have been offered jobs in the jewelry trade but have not started.) However, my advice (based on many years of custom jewelry fabrication) is, while reletively unexperienced you should base your estimate at $25 an hour. When you become more experienced and possibly locally known, base your estimate at $50 an hour. Since nobody actually works as fast as he estimates, your actual income will be less than that. When you actually begin making the dollar value of your estimate, move it up.

Remember, If your estimate is accepted, you deserve the pay. Also, do not be suprised if your customer complains, some do just to have somebody to talk with. Over the years of jewelry fabrication I found the proper answer to complaints was, "I am sorry you are not satisfied, I will retain the piece as an example of my work." Never offer to reacomplish it, doing so will waste your time and energy and accomplish nothing (25 years experience).

I hope my advice is helpful. I am sure we will both happily accept the advice of the engraving professionals on this forum.

Leser Holmes


Lester Holmes
9/23/2006 7:17:00 PM

Lester, thanks for the response. You make some very good points. For me personally, I feel $25 to be a bit high but your point is well taken and I will adjust the value to suit my situation. I suppose one of my biggest struggles is with the time it takes for design and layout. It usually takes as long or longer for that than the actual cutting. Perhaps I should only charge for the time spent cutting.

Cody

Cody Tetachuk
9/24/2006 10:26:48 AM

Hi Cody

Here’s my 2 cents worth………………………………………..

By day I’m a signwriter and I’ve been self employed for about 24 years. Design, artwork and quoting are part of my day to day routine. The same principles apply whether you are signwriting, engraving or whatever.

One word of advice I can give you is always charge for your design work. Never, ever give it to the customer for free.

A big problem with creative people is that they have a tendency to under value their work and whilst they can be good at creating, their business skills are often lacking. You have a skill and so you should be charging accordingly. Design and layout are part of the job and you should be compensated for it. Always be up front with the customer and tell them. If they don’t like it, then politely thank them for giving you the opportunity to price their work. Let some other person work for slave rates. You will be quite surprised at how much respect you will gain by doing that. A lot of this has to do with self esteem and your own sense of self worth.

My own personal feeling is that $25 per hour is very cheap. Personally I would double it. Unfortunately one principle has always remained the same. Cheap work attracts cheap customers!!!! Set your price, stick to it and be prepared to walk away from the job if you have to. Always remember by under pricing your work the only person that is being cheated is yourself.

There is a raft of information out there on how to set your hourly rate. Most of it deals exclusively with full time self employment and very little for the hobbyist. There is quite a bit involved with setting your hourly rate. Overheads such as depreciation of equipment, maintenance, down time (time on the phone, talking to clients, office work etc) also have to be factored in to your overall pricing strategy.

Another thing that tends to happen when you under price your work is resentment builds up. You start cutting corners and you begin to realise that you are giving up chunks of your life for next to nothing. This starts to reflect in your finished work and attitude towards the customer.

My best advice is….. never sacrifice or skimp on quality. Always do the very best job that your skills allow on the day. Have good communication with your customer and if necessary educate them about what you do and the process it takes. Be prepared to lose the job or customer. Act confidently in your business dealings (even though you maybe shaking inside) and real confidence will follow. Put a proper value on your skill and time and expect to be compensated accordingly. If you do all of those things your self esteem will increase and so will your customer base.

If you like, I can scan some information on the calculations for setting your hourly rate and post it on my web site for you to download. It’s a worthwhile exercise to do every year and the final figures may surprise you.

Best regards
Andrew Biggs


Andrew Biggs
9/25/2006 5:47:13 PM

Hi Cody,
All the market will bear, $100 an hour should be minimum. Steve Heilmann wrote a good piece for the ACGG a couple years ago that applies well to engravers also.
All the best, Barry

Barry Hands
9/30/2006 1:25:16 AM