How to Price Handmade Products for Markets
How to Price Handmade Products for Markets
Avoid undercharging or scaring off customers – here’s how to strike the right balance.
Pricing handmade products for craft markets can be tricky. Charge too little and you risk undervaluing your time and skill. Charge too much and you may lose customers before they even walk up to your stall.
So how do you land on a price that feels fair to both you and your customers?
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help handmade makers and stallholders price confidently and strategically for market success.
1. Start With Your Costs
Before setting any price, know what your product costs you to make. This includes:
- Materials: Fabric, yarn, paint, packaging, labels, etc.
- Tools & Equipment: Wear and tear on machines or tools used regularly.
- Time: Calculate how long it takes to create the item and assign an hourly rate for your work (e.g., $25/hr).
- Other Costs: Stall fees, EFTPOS charges, insurance, or market-related travel.
🧮 Example:
If it costs you $5 in materials and takes 30 minutes to make an item, and you pay yourself $25/hr, then the time component is $12.50. Total cost = $17.50.
2. Add a Profit Margin
This is where you ensure your business is profitable, not just covering costs.
A common formula is:
Cost x 2 to 2.5 = Retail Price
This allows for a profit and leaves room for potential wholesale if you go down that track.
So that $17.50 product? You’d sell it for $35–$45.
3. Research the Market
Your price has to make sense in the context of your competition. Ask yourself:
- What are similar products selling for at local markets?
- Are your materials or craftsmanship superior?
- What does your packaging and branding say about your value?
Walk through a few markets as a customer and compare.
💡 Tip: Don’t race to the bottom. Competing only on price often leads to burnout.
4. Consider Perceived Value
People don’t just buy products, they buy stories, experiences, and uniqueness.
- Do you use sustainable or ethically sourced materials?
- Are your items hand-stitched, customisable, or one-of-a-kind?
- Is your brand beautifully packaged or gift-ready?
All of these justify a higher price point and help build value in your customer’s mind.
5. Bundle Strategically
Encourage higher spending with bundles or multi-buy deals. For example:
- “Buy 2, get 1 free”
- “Gift pack of 3 for $45”
- “Add a gift bag for $3”
Bundles can help increase average spend while still giving customers perceived value.
6. Test, Adjust, and Talk to Customers
Markets are the perfect place to trial pricing in real time.
- Watch which items get picked up often but not bought, maybe they’re too pricey.
- Ask repeat customers for feedback.
- Don’t be afraid to adjust as you go. Pricing is never set in stone.
Final Thought
Your handmade products are a result of your talent, time, and care, they deserve to be priced accordingly. Craft markets are full of people who appreciate the value of handmade. Stand confidently behind your pricing and know your worth.
Big Little Markets have events all year round. Check out our event listing to see when our next event is coming to an area near you.
Market Bookings
To book a pop up market to come to your venue, shopping centre, car park, business, park or other space, we typically need four months notice.
Get in touch with us and discuss what you are offering in terms of space, how you can help promote the event and what else you have planned for the event day. If there is space for over 30 stalls, if you have a strong promotions plan and event strategy, we might be able to bring a pop-up market to you for a minimal fee.
Terms & Conditions
- Stallholders are not permitted to pack up before events conclude.
- Site access for set up is 3 hours before the event.
- Final site maps and run sheets will be provided to stakeholders 1-2 weeks before the event.
- Please provide a site map with location preferences for the event.
- Please note final site map locations may change on the day of the event.
- Redsteps reserve the right to relocate vendors for better fit and to avoid gaps.
- Bump out concludes one hour after the event finish time. Should bump out be required after trading hours, extra charges will apply.
- Please outline on your site map where we will have access to toilets, power, water.
- All vendors will be required to provide their Public Liability Insurance Certificate of Currency with their application.
- Redsteps holds $20 million public liability and conducts risk assessments with every event.
- All food vendors will be required to provide us with a copy of their Streatrader licence.
- Vendor selection is at the sole discretion of Redsteps. Venue can provide exclusions of stall types or provide guidelines as to stall types.
- Stakeholders must respond accordingly and cooperatively with all Event Management Staff
- The Event Organiser has the right to leave the premises should stakeholder behaviour be inappropriate or unsafe or breaches the vendors terms and conditions.
- Stakeholders agree that during the event, the event organisers will be conducting videography and photography which may be published for the purposes of Redsteps and future event promotions.
- Should the event be postponed due to bad weather or other circumstance we will reschedule the event to the next best date available for the location.
- In the circumstances an event is cancelled due to extreme weather conditions and a replacement date cannot be established within 30 days of the original event date, Redsteps holds the right to retain fees for any works completed to date if event organisers have been paid any fees to host the event.