Pricing Stained Glass

by Suzanne
(Texas)

How do you go about pricing a stained glass item?

Answer

A pretty simple formula that isn't perfectly accurate, but will work, is to charge the cost of materials plus $3.00 for every piece of glass. If you've been working with glass for any time at all, it is fairly easy to estimate how much your materials will cost (at least a ball park figure).

For example, on a panel with 80 pieces, you might have $20 worth of lead, $100 worth of glass, and $5.00 worth of solder. Total materials cost $125 plus $240 (80 pieces @ $3) for a total price of $365. This method helpd to factor in bevels, etching, wire work, anything above and beyond a simple window.

Another way to charge is by the square foot for panels. The going base rate can range anywhere from $50-$200 per square foot depending on your location and the detail of the panel. Add an additional $3.00 per piece. So if you charge a person $100 for a square foot size panel and it has 20 pieces the price will be $160.

Everybody uses their own formula in pricing and many of us use more than one. On flat panels such as windows we charge per square foot but how much will depend on detail & materials. Our base price is $90 per square foot. We occasionally charge a design fee ($50 to $100) if it's going to be something way out of the ordinary and I know it will take me hours to come up with an acceptable design (I do only original designs, nothing out of a book). In the end, the design fee is always deducted from the price of the window. We also ask for 1/3 down before we start constructing the window and the rest is due at the time of installation.

Lampshades and other 3-D objects are charged by the cost of materials plus $3 to $5 per piece maybe even more if it's a 1000 piece Tiffany lamp.

Pricing Stained Glass

by Ann Sirles
(Birmingham, AL USA)

Pricing my pieces has always been a guessing game. Is there a formula that can be used? I don't usually keep track of the time I spend on a piece as I'm not in the glass business for a living and don't really count my hours. My work is usually sold on consignment rather than being commissioned if that makes a difference.

Answer

Here's a very simple way to charge if you don't run a busines, but want to make enough money to make it worth your while.

Use a per square foot price. That price pretty much depends on what other people in the area charge. If people know you as an artist and like your work, they will be willing to pay more than they would pay a neighbor that does an occasional piece as a hobby. You could be charging anywhere from $40 to $125 a square foot.
Multiply the number of square feet in the panel by your pre-determined square foot price. That gives you your base price.

The next step is to add a per piece price. That could be anywhere from $1.50 to $5 depending on the complexity of the pieces, and if you use bevels. Bevels would be at the high end of the price scale.

Count you pieces and multiply by the per piece price, then add that to the base price you came up with in the first step, which was square foot price x square feet in the panel. You now have the price you will charge your customer.

If the panel was 1 1/2 sq ft and your sq ft price was $50, the base price for the panel would be $75. If there are 20 simple pieces in the panel, the per piece price would be 20 x $1.50 = $30.00. The total price for the panel would be $105.00.

Pricing Stained Glass Projects

by Sally
(Virginia)

Is there a formula for pricing stained glass pieces?

Answer

Pricing has so many variables that it's difficult to give a one size fits all formula. A lot of it depends on your demographics, and what other people or studios in your area charge for their work. When you're just starting out you don't want to be the most expensive, but as you build a name for yourself you can raise your prices.

The general rule of thumb is to charge by the square foot.

Many people price using a base square foot price, plus a per piece (number of pieces in the pattern) price. The pieces are frequently priced at $2.00 each, but that would depend on the type of glass and the intricacy of the cuts, so it could be much more if you use, for instance, all antique glass. More is charged for framing, bevels, jewels, etching, and other specialty techniques. If you plan on installing the piece, you would charge more yet to include time, travel, and labor.

So...say you are making a window that is 5 square feet in size and has 100 pieces. You decide to charge $100 per square foot. That's $500. The 100 pieces at $2.00 each comes to $200. The total cost of the window is $700.

You look again and see that some of the pieces are very small and will be difficult cuts. You decide to charge $4.00 each for those 35 pieces. Now you have $500 square foot price, $130 for the 65 easy pieces and $140 for the more difficult pieces. The total price is now $770.

In general, you need to know what the going rate is in your area and take it from there. The numbers I used above were for convenience only.

There are a multitude of ways to price and I'm hoping that people reading this will jump in and tell us how they do it. They will reply in the comments section just below here.

pricing formula

by Dianne
(Florida)

how do I price stained glass suncatchers, panels, etc. and also stained glass stepping stones

Answer

Pricing is not terribly complicated. First estimate the cost of your materials. In addition to the materials, charge a fixed price per pattern piece. For instance, say you estimate that materials will cost you $100 and there are 50 pieces in the project. You have decided that your per piece price will be $4.00 (which is actually a reasonable price per piece). You would charge the customer $300 for the finished project.

That is a much better way to charge then using a set square foot price. With a set square foot price you could have one project of 3 square feet that has 100 pieces in it and another one of 3 square feet with 500 pieces in it. It will take you much longer and more supplies to make the 500 piece panel than the 100 piece panel, yet you are getting the same amount of money for each one.