Saturday 9 October 2010

Niftyknits Calculator

When I first started selling online I was quite naive. I didn't really think it through, but imagined that if I priced something at £10, and the listing fee was 20p, then I'd made £9.80.



Not so.

On Zibbet, premium sellers pay a monthly fee, basic sellers have free accounts. Even that isn't *really* free though, as of course Paypal take a cut, and there are supplies to buy (including packaging, business cards) and my time to consider.

On Etsy and Folksy there is an initial listing fee and a percentage commission when something sells - and of course the inevitable paypal fees. For a UK seller, there is also the currency exchange rate to keep in mind...but let's not go there today other than for me to say I use Dollars2Pounds.

I asked Mr Nifty to set up an Excel spreadsheet for me, which I'm now offering to you as a download. It's set up for me, of course, as a seller in the UK. If you are NOT in the UK, your paypal fees may vary depending on currency.



Enter your selling price and shipping charge in £. find the current exchage rate by clicking on the link and enter it. The calculator will then enter your $ price (rounded to the nearest $) and subtract the Etsy/Folksy/Paypal fees. You can then enter your costs - for me that is yarn, beads, wire, packaging, business cards - anything that I have to buy in order to maintain my business. You might also need to include costs for your blog or website. The final figure is then your profit, your "wage". I charge for my time and expertise - it's entirely up to you, the maker, whether you do this.

If you end up with too low a final figure, then you need to reconsider your pricing, maybe even reconsider what you're making! Good luck!

Go to my website to find the calculator and click on the link to automatically download a zipped excel spreadsheet. Any problems - please get in touch so we can fix it.

8 comments:

Kitschy Coo said...

Wow. And wow. That sounds like an excellent resource, thank you so much for sharing it. I'm almost afraid to look...

Pamela Zimmerman said...

wow, that is fabulous! mr nifty is really handy that way, isn't he? thanks so much for sharing all your good stuff with us!

Flora said...

Did you ever know that you're my heeeeeroooooo?

Will my undying gratitude do as payment for this execllent download?

Thanks, Flora

Heather Leavers said...

LOL undying gratitude is fine, thank you flora!

Sharona R - שרונה ראובני said...

Excellent tool, how generous of you to share it. Go you!

louise35flower said...

ooooh very clever! thanks nifty this should save some time and a few brain cells along the way!

Gracie's Garden Bazaar said...

Thank you ever so much for sharing this! so generous of you,xxx

Swirlyarts said...

Excellent - I was pleased when I spotted on the Folksy thread that you would be sharing this :)