# So lets talk pricing.



## Big Nick (Jan 22, 2009)

Please close this thread. 

Thanks a lot, 

Nick


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## Uruk-Hai (Aug 31, 2008)

I agree you've got great props there and someone less creative than yourself would be chomping at the bit to get them. I personally think you're not charging enough for your time. If you're only making between $15-50 profit on them depending on how long it takes you to make them (and I think it would take a while) it might not be worth your time and effort. I'd figure out what hourly rate you'd be happy with and then realistically work out an estimate of how long each prop takes. Base your final cost on that. Now whether people would be willing to pay for your hard work - that would depend on how much they want it but at least you wouldn't feel like you're working for nothing when you could be building your own props. Just my 2 cents.


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

Uruk-Hai said:


> I agree you've got great props there and someone less creative than yourself would be chomping at the bit to get them. I personally think you're not charging enough for your time. If you're only making between $15-50 profit on them depending on how long it takes you to make them (and I think it would take a while) it might not be worth your time and effort. I'd figure out what hourly rate you'd be happy with and then realistically work out an estimate of how long each prop takes. Base your final cost on that. Now whether people would be willing to pay for your hard work - that would depend on how much they want it but at least you wouldn't feel like you're working for nothing when you could be building your own props. Just my 2 cents.


Totally agree. You are short-changing yourself and time involved (and mess and cleanup  ). 

If you really want to build them, I'd also check about ordering wholesale or in quantity to see about getting a price break on things like the skellies... just to see if you could pad a little more profit into the prop without raising the price sky high.

I think also that you need to check out the sales over on EBay and the like - specifically custom Halloween props - do the market research. You do have some great pieces there, but you don't know how well they'll sell since you're targeting two different sub-groups: 

1. Those people that want the cool stuff, but may think that "home made" is not as good a quality (more willing to pay bigger money to the big name sites for the cheap mass-produced junk because they don't know any better). So you'll have to convince this type that your props are superior quality and worth the money you're asking.

2. The Halloween enthusiast that is getting into building their own props, or lacks the skills to build their own props and wants custom made stuff and can appreciate the effort and better quality. This group, you're targeting the lesser skilled prop builder - they might be a whiz with the mechanics, but not so good at the corpsing or finishing touches... which is where you'd come in.

See, when I was just starting out, those prices would have shocked me. I can't even remember what I would have thought would be a "reasonable" price, but it would have scared me off. BUT you really can't make this sort of stuff without charging AT LEAST what it cost you in materials and labor, and I realize that NOW, and think your prices are too low taking THAT into consideration. 

So the biggie would be to try to reduce your materials cost so you wouldn't have to raise the prices over what you've got, but still account for your time...

Good luck!


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## Zombieman (Feb 24, 2009)

Hey Nick, first of all you do very good work. I have to compliment you because your props are very realistic looking. I don't think your prices are unfair at all to be honest with you considering the cost of materials. The only issue I see is finding enough people to have enough disposable income to spend that kind of money on props right now. So, whereas I think your prices are not unfair considering the quality, you still might have trouble selling them.

As for the skulls, I'm thinking the price might be a little high. I understand that the materials alone drive your asking price, but I personally probably wouldn't pay more than $35 for the prop at most. You might not want to make too many of those until you see if they actually sell.

Now granted, I'm very new to this and have only begun to check out Halloween decorations, so these might be underpriced compared to what's out there, and my expectations of prop pricing might be unrealistic. I'm just thinking as an uninformed newbie who's looking to buy some props. I have no talent or experience and don't think I could come close to the kind of quality your offering.

I hope this helps. I've been lurking for a while and this is my first post, but I wanted to comment because I really like your work! Great job!


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## TK421 (Mar 27, 2009)

I agree, you are not charging for your time. What you are creating are professional quality props. You should do the market research and see what the pros are charging. You're skeletons are beautiful. Your resident evil dog is gorgeous. 

I also agree with Frankie's Girl. See if you can purchase materials for a better price. See what it costs to buy in bulk, order off the internet, etc. Don't be afraid to haggle with local merchants, too!


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## Big Nick (Jan 22, 2009)

Anyone know of any places that sell props like these? I would love to see what the pros are charging for stuff like this it would give me something to compete with.


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## TK421 (Mar 27, 2009)

Here's a quicklist. You can also just run a google search, or get a vendor listing for one of the national conventions.

www.MostlyDead.com

Halloween Decorations, Halloween Props, Halloween Costumes, Halloween Masks, Halloween Accessories

Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Halloween Props & Halloween Animatronics at HauntedProps.com

TheHorrorDome.com - Halloween Props, Costumes, Masks, Haunted House Animatronics

FrightProps - Halloween Decorations, Halloween Props, Pneumatic Props, Animated Props, Halloween Accessories

Homemade Halloween Props, Halloween decorations, Halloween costumes, Haunted Houses

Halloween Asylum - Totally Demented Halloween Props, Masks and Costumes

THE HAUNTER'S DEPOT - Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Christmas, Christmas Costumes, Masks, Props, Haunted House Supplies, Decorations, Animatronics, Changing Portraits, Horror Props, Special Effects, Makeup, Makeup Supplies

Halloween props, custom masks, custom props, custom promotional marketing products designed by Dynamic Design International manufacturers


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## Big Nick (Jan 22, 2009)

I found some places that sell similar props but the ones i saw (Skeletons) had more meat on the bones of their props than mine do, Anyways they were in the 400-700.00 price range. 

I only saw one dog that could compare to mine and in my opinion it looked like total garbage. That was going for i believe 500.00

I saw the skull cluster like mine but theirs was made of foam and not hard plastic like mine. It sold for 30.00. 

I think i might try ebay and see if my items are even a hit. If they are i will push more for trying to sell them. With the Economy the way it is now i'm sure you guys are right about people just not having the money to spend right now. 

Thanks for the help.


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## Baron Samedi (Jan 15, 2009)

Nick, 
I am a great admirer of your work, as you know and I agree with all the previous comments in that I really don't think you are considering charging enough for what amounts to a quality, limited piece of artwork. Just take a look at the sites and see what they are asking for cheap, mass produced rubbish.
May I please offer one small piece of advice? If you start selling, please do not compromise the quality of your pieces for volume of sales..it's very easy to let that happen, especially if the orders start to come in at a rate.
I personally would prefer to sell one piece of great quality than 3 or 4 pieces that do not come up to my standards.
Another thing to be aware of..When it starts becoming _work_, it can stop being _fun._
Please don't let that happen.

Wishing you the best of luck.


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

Last year I saw some corpsed buckies on the local "classifieds" site for $300.00. I got an email today that talked about $400 3 axis skulls, with movable eyes... Both prices seemed way to high for me, but when you break down all the materials you need and your time those prices start sounding reasonable....unlesssss you have a lot of time to spare.

skulltek


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## kprimm (Apr 3, 2009)

I also totally agree that you should charge more but i also agree with everyone else about finding people to pay for them. I also am comsidering selling props and face the same problem. Not sure what to charge to make it worth my time to make them and cheap enough to be able to sell them. That is exactly why i took the step to learn to make my own stuff. It seems all the pro prop makers charge so much for thier props that i for one wont even consider buying one, i would much rather make my own for way cheaper and way better quality.


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## Big Nick (Jan 22, 2009)

I can honestly say that i will never let quanity become a higher priority then quality. I don't mind doing the props especially since i doubt i will be selling a lot of them i am just looking to do this for a little extra pocket/halloween money. If it becomes a hit (doubtful) then great.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Gorgeous skulls.


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## Dragonomine (Sep 28, 2008)

As a quilter, I have this rule of thumb.. well, it's pretty general, actually. For your basic quilt you should charge a base of 3X cost to make it. This is just generally, because the more difficult the pattern and more effort you put into it would also raise the price. 

Now we're talking about your props which are remarkable. And the price you're thinking about charging is ridiculously low. It's not like you're using a cut up blucky that's $8. It's quality.

Starting out it may be tough to get a name for yoursef but once you do you're gonna do very well! Just hang in there and remember your time and talent are worth it!


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## Dragonomine (Sep 28, 2008)

OMG I just had a BRILLIANT IDEA!!!! And if anyone wants to do something with it, let me know. lol I want in.

I was just thinking there are some sites out there to sell crafts on. There's a few for quilters I look at. Anyway..I digress...

Create a website specifically for buying/selling halloween stuff. Everything on one site where haunters can see a ton of stuff and buy whatever they want.


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## bayou reaper (Mar 12, 2005)

Hey Nick with your skill of corsping I think with a little glue,carving and hacking. You could make one of these look good.

Plastic Skeleton

I've seen some incredible corpses made from these. You can save a whole lot on shipping them because of the weight difference.


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## Dr Morbius (Jan 12, 2006)

Scatterbrains said:


> Last year I saw some corpsed buckies on the local "classifieds" site for $300.00. I got an email today that talked about $400 3 axis skulls, with movable eyes... Both prices seemed way to high for me, but when you break down all the materials you need and your time those prices start sounding reasonable....unlesssss you have a lot of time to spare.
> 
> skulltek


My guess it's my skulls that you got Emailed about..I should chime here as I too have only recently started selling my prop skulls..I started out charging for materials only and giving my labor away for free. I soon discovered that my free labor was in high demand, but my time was in short supply. Basic economics came into play and I soon discovered that I needed to charge something for my time. I played around with pricing and went as low as 250.00 per skull. People told me it was insane to charge so little. My wife just rolled her eyes. I calculated how much time it took to make the prop, and how much skill was involved, then came up with an hourly wage I would pay someone to build it for me and came up with the 400.00 price tag. If you use a similar formula you will hit the right price.


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## scourge (Jan 5, 2008)

I agree with everyone so far, time and quality are the easiest to over look. But they are the only way to turn a profit. Your R.E. Dog looks great, that could be a good seller. Reselling Bucky skulls and skeletons (no matter how good they look) will be a challenge. At least on any Halloween related forum. Just like you, most would rather just purchase the skeletons/skulls and corpse it them self’s, saving the extra $100.00 you would need to charge to turn profit. And remember, shipping is a major factor. That adds another $30 bucks or so to the final cost of the prop. So, if you could sell a corpsed skeleton at $200.00 + $30.00 for shipping, you have exceeded the price of someone buying two plain skeletons shipped to their door. I am not trying to discourage you, just giving you my thoughts. I make skulls from real human skulls and I am very aware of what the market is willing to spend. Welcome to retail it can suck a little sometimes. LOL.


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## Dragonomine (Sep 28, 2008)

OH! And also wanted to add..on one of those quilter sites people put in requests for certain things and give a price range. Then the artists put bid in to do the work, just like construction. lol It works really well.


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## Big Nick (Jan 22, 2009)

I believe there is already a place online that you can sell halloween related material only on. I forgot the name of the website though.

I may try ebay and see what happens there. Really get a feel for what the market is willing to pay for some of my stuff.


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## Dragonomine (Sep 28, 2008)

Big Nick said:


> I believe there is already a place online that you can sell halloween related material only on. I forgot the name of the website though.
> 
> I may try ebay and see what happens there. Really get a feel for what the market is willing to pay for some of my stuff.


I'd really like to see that website if anyone has a link. You're not going to get what you want on ebay. They're all bargain buyers.


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## Big Nick (Jan 22, 2009)

i believe the name of that website is Halloween Trade 

I am almost certain this is the site.


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## kprimm (Apr 3, 2009)

Thank you for the web site. Believe me i feel your pain about selling props, i too would like to do the same thing but am worried about what i can realistically make doing so. There are alot of people who will not spend too much money on halloween props and quite honestly that is exactly why i learned and started making my own. Paying 2-3 thousand dollars for a stirring witch for example when i made one even better for about 150 bucks. I have a deep love for halloween but not deep pockets. There are some great props and very talented people out there but just too few able to shell out the big dollars for real nice props.


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## Dragonomine (Sep 28, 2008)

Big Nick said:


> i believe the name of that website is Halloween Trade
> 
> I am almost certain this is the site.


Looks like the only thing that's for sale is t shirts. There's only one thing under props and it's a 4th gen bucky skull.


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

kprimm said:


> Thank you for the web site. Believe me i feel your pain about selling props, i too would like to do the same thing but am worried about what i can realistically make doing so. There are alot of people who will not spend too much money on halloween props and quite honestly that is exactly why i learned and started making my own. Paying 2-3 thousand dollars for a stirring witch for example when i made one even better for about 150 bucks. I have a deep love for halloween but not deep pockets. There are some great props and very talented people out there but just too few able to shell out the big dollars for real nice props.


I just committed $200 to building a prop at our June Gathering...you look at the prop and don't really think about how much it costs...but once you see the guts and the cost for the pnuematic cylinders and valves that are needed, then you can see why some things cost so much. This year I'm venturing into building a couple pneumatics...there goes my golf money


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## macsrealm (Feb 16, 2009)

Nick, if you do decide to sell, try Etsy. It is a site that you set up your own little online store type thing and sell homemade things. Some brilliant haunters have store on there ex-pumpkinrot. his creations are $200-300 . He still sells them though. Just a thought.


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## Rikki (Aug 14, 2006)

With good quality comes a high price. And while these guys are right that you'll have a hard time finding an average haunter that can pay that kind of price, professional haunts spend big bucks on their props. There is your target market!

Check out the prices here - Props
These guys are a fairly new prop building company. They worked out of their garages until a few months ago when they moved in the warehouse neighboring my gym. They went to Transworld and came back with enough orders to keep them busy all summer.

Nick, I can send you a spreadsheet that helps set prices if you want (just PM your email address to me). It was created to help Etsy sellers set prices that covered their material cost and paid them for their time.


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## bdoorm (Sep 16, 2009)

yo big Nick...... Frightcatalog.com has some really sick stuff. the sickest i've ever seen. now there is some competition. but horribly over priced. you need to raise up the prices.


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## HeatherEve1234 (Sep 5, 2008)

Etsy is a good cheap starter forum for artists, and also lets you generate custom orders which you can make as ordered to avoid a lot of overhead.


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## sweetheartkillz (Oct 28, 2009)

*I'm gonna be honest*

I'd say 350-400 for the skeleton. 500-600 for the wicked sweet dog. 50-60 for the skulls! Good work! I love the dog!


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