How To Develop A Price Point For Your Leather Products 

Sir, every video you make is incredibly informative and high quality. I am grateful that you've been so productive on youtube. As long as you keep making videos, I'll keep watching them.

Rosanna, Thank you for your Blessing, I do understand, That is why we started Dallas Design Dreams, there were no where kids, youth and adults could go and learn how to make products and become entrepreneurs. Arthur

When I began this journey to create handbags I had no resources or guidance. I'm truly thankful for finding your impressive videos, your wisdom and the encouragement that you pass on in each of them. This has been a very helpful tutorial to get me started, you made it easy to understand & I can't wait to learn more from you. Thank you very much for all you do!

Dee, Thank you for watching, for your comment and for your BLESSING, I NEEDED TO READ YOUR MESSAGE this morning, I know that I must be doing GOD will, because of how hard the forces are coming against me, most people always think of GOD, but forget about the devil, he hate to see people being BLESS. Thank You Arthur

Thank you Mr. Porter ; .....so very helpful .....I 'm so glad I found your channel here on youtube .... keep up the vision that GOD gave you ; no matter what the devil say or try...just know that GOD GOT YOUR BACK....BE BLESSED .

Good Info Arthur I want to thank you for passing this knowledge along

Thank you sooo much...im starting a business and had no idea how much to charge for leather goods.....thank you so much for everything that i learned with this tutorial

Thanks for taking the time to make all of your videos. They are invaluable and very much appreciated! And specifically this one for me - I always wonder what is a fair price for things I make (I still only make fabric bags but your method to calculate cost will work just fine for that too.) Now I will be more confident in calculating an accurate price. So happy I stumbled across your channel!!!

Good video on developing a price point because I can use this for other items I sell. Thank you for all that you give and do for others.

This is a great lesson to learn from. Thanks for sharing, Mr. Porter.

Thank you very much Mr Porter for all of your great videos,I love that you show when a mistake is made , mistakes will happen, the important thing is to fix it. We are expanding our business from only doing Hawaiian print bags and now we are gathering the materials needed to make leather bags. With your videos we are getting a great start, thank you for all the tips, especially on how to price out the product, very different from what we did in the past. I pray your feeling better. Margaret

Thank you for the education. I am learning what aI want and when I want. Please keep adding more. I hope you get out of this as much as I do.

Hello ollieincountry, Thank you for such kind works, comments like your are the type that I think about when I am making these videos for the world to see. THANK YOU Arthur

Another good and informative lesson!!

Thank you for the advice I appreciate that very much

Beyond useful information!! Thank you much!

This is so helpful as a start my journey into working with leather. Thanks again.

Thank you for your videos. Although I have been doing custom sewing for years I have always felt that I was unable to charge what I was worth. Listening to your explanation made a lot of sense to me and I can now feel good charging what I am worth. Very much enjoying your videos and learning alot. Thank you again.

Hello Thomas, Thank you for watching our videos and for taking the time to comment, I charge two times the cost of the hardware. Arthur

and you equipment charge is absorbed by your labor charge. including your support supplies like sewing machine, thread, glue. rivets, nails, rent, electricity, water, etc. all of this you include in your labor. this is how he came up with the $60 an hour. I mention this because he did not tell how he came up with the $60 . You have to charge enough for it or you will not stay in business. The Chinese can charge what they what too, they just choose to charge less, because they need less there I would suppose,who knows! But here in this country we have to live and we deserve a living wage so this is why we charge like this. No one gets wealthy making leather goods, we do ok, we can manage to send our kids to school afford to buy a home and things like that, but we rarely take vacations and we usually work 5 1/2 days a week.We work on the books after hours so you never see those hours. But we feel them as the days run into weeks and weeks in to month and then years. Their is so much that goes into a handbag a shoe then most people know and they really don't care as long as they get what it is they are looking to buy. It cost me $25,000 before I opened my doors to make my first pair of shoes. I will never get that money back until I retire and sell my business. Since then I have put a lot more in to my business so I could continue to make a living. We are always having to look for ways to cut cost but make the same quality of product.

This is a great video on how to price per square inch for small leather goods thank you the video was extremely helpful

Arlette, Thank you for your comment and for watching our videos, I hope this video will be of some help with showing you how to charge for your time, just remember that once you spend your time on something, you can not get it back. always value your time, if you don't, no one will. Arthur

I know the plans I have for you,'' declares the LORD ,''plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.''...........# jeremiah 29:11 keep your head up my brother , We all will have to answer to the LORD OF LORDS & KING OF KINGS ONE DAY...Yes!!!! even them haters.....and some how just knowing that helps me stay on the up & up .....(the path that the HEAVENLY FATHER has sat before me).......BE BLESSED .

Hello Marie, Thank you for watching our videos, if you are going to be doing leather bags, you need to get a industrial walking foot sewing machine, make sure it have revers , use machine go for $600 - $900.00 new ones go for around $1,200 - $1,500.00 if you find a machine you like contact me before you purchase, hope this is some help. Arthur

Love your videos. So informative and I even brushed up on my conversion math. Saw the website and I love what your doing. Wish we had a place like this in atlanta for my kids to attend during the summer. Be Blessed

Thanks for this very useful information, It will help me to price my items fairly.

Every now and then we will run across someone like that. Arthur

Arther thanks for this, I hope some of my customers watch and realise whats involved.

Have you done a video on setting rhinestone rivets? If not, hopefully you'll be doing one soon. I fully admire your teaching techniques.

Hello Garen, Thank you for your post, glade to see there is more simple way of doing this, I have always had a hard time with math, your formula is much simple and quicker, Thanks for sharing, this is one of our goals, start a movement of sharing. Arthur

Hello Patricia, Thank you for your comment, I know viewers have been waiting for the Tote bag video, I just had to give you the information on sewing machine, thread,tools and price point, Thank You for watching. Arthur

I would love to see a belt made!!! This is fantastic!! I keep watching the videos over and ov

WOW!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS FAB TUTUORIAL. I'M GOING TO MAKE MY FIRST LEATHER BAG (I'VE STRIPPED MY LEATHER SOFA AND THE LEATHER'S FABULOUS)

Thank you for sharing this information! I have always short changed myself.

Dee,THANK YOU Arthur

thank you!!

Hello dj shiaka, Thanks for watching and for your comment, my price points gone up every year and is due to go up next month by at less 30% I have been ask to do a video on how to use a industrial sewing machine, how and when to adjust the tension, I should do that video by the first week of next month. Arthur

Thank you Arthur

Thank you yet again Arthur...another brilliant video. I was going by the sq ft at first. But now for smaller pieces I will calculate by the square inch. I am not about to give away my profit.

MelbourneSkincareCo, Thank you for watching our videos and for your comment, send me some pictures of you products when you get a chance. Arthur

Chris, Thank you for watching and for your comment. Arthur

Awesome as usual

Kelly, Always remember this, this stand WORLD WIDE WEB, one you put it online you are sending it out to the WORLD. Arthur

Great video!!!

I just found your channel! Hallelujah! You sir are an excellent teacher. I have been toying with the idea of getting an industrial machine for leather. I have a semi but it just doesn’t cut sewing through 4-5 layers of fabric, vinyl, leather. I hesitate because I don’t know how much of a machine is “too” much. I sew wristlets, small tote, purses but not out of leather because my machine does not like the thickness. Also your explanation of how to calculate costs was most helpful! I wish I could attend your classes but distance is a factor. Do you do video classes per chance? In any event you have a new subscriber! Thank you!

Hello Rosanna, If you only going to work with fabric and upholstery leather you can use a portable industrial walking foot sewing machine, you can find them from $250.-$600.00 Arthur

Awesome Video Arthur. I would love to have the spread sheet to help me. I am so thankful for all your help. You have inspired me so much. I have been making hand bags for 3 years, but I just made my first leather one, plus I made a wallet to match it for me. I love it. I would love to send you a picture of what I made that you showed me . Thank you so much.

Thank you...

I just loved your video. Thank you for putting more information for this craft. I loved the point where you broke down the formula, 144 sq inches, I sq ft,. That site you gave, is almost better as good as Tandy Leather, Now I am torn who to buy leather from, Tandy or Hide House. The hard part is to come.. How much Do I want an hour? What is my self worth, We live in an area of uncommon wealth and the economy is tight, Thinking to myself, if I overprice., it may not sale.. Thank you Mr. Porter.

Awesome

Interesting! good stuff is expensive.

Great video thank you for sharing. I only have one simple question, do you add any profit to the hardware? I'm a bookkeeper for profession, I've done bookkeeping for 13 years already and your formula is perfect. I would do by 200% or 300% but every item takes different time to produce. I admire your formula and I think is the best. I was very confused on how much to charge for my items, because I have invested a lot of money already on tools and leather but I guess it goes with the trade.

Now that you know your price, how do you move onto actually making a sale?

Hi Arthur! Hello from Spring, TX. Just wanted to say that I really appreciate your Vids! I binge watched the Series on a Bag with Lining/Zippers, and I'm about to get started making my own. You're a fantastic Teacher. I'm a Mulitmedia Artist, but have always wanted to work in Leather, and now I feel confident enough to get going. I'm choosing to Hand Stitch my pieces, mostly, but the process of the Lining/Pockets was something I knew I would have to really think about until I Found your channel!! Thanks so much!!! Karen

Most people have no idea, what it take to produce a product. Arthur

Thanks for the advice. Now if I could just find user manuals I would be great. I just found out that the 9510 is a special stitch machine..

Very informative, now is your final price of $349 a direct to the public price? I am assuming if you factor in wholesaler and retail dimensions the price would eventually be in the $1400 range?

Thank you for this information, it's always hard to figure out how much your labour is worth.

Hello Marie, if you can get this machine, get it. this is a good machine, this was my first industrial sewing machine, both are a good deal. Arthur

hi arthur, have your price points been the same since the beginning of business? also, have you discussed machine tension in any of your other videos listed? if not i would really appreciate some general advice on this, newbie to the field..! many thanks for the informative vids, they are very helpful indeed!!

helpful video, thank you for sharing it with us! fyi, i would suggest also adding costs of threads, oils, wax, paper, cutting blades, daubbers, etc. used in making the product that cannot be re-used.

siiiiiiiiii me adhiero al pedido de Yolanda Boyadjian. estaria buenisimo !!!!

chandaseng, Thank you for your comment and for your kind words. Arthur

Thank you for this informative video on how to charge for leather products. I quickly realized that I am not charging properly.

After the research I have done and from the pics that I have seen of both the regular and special stitch, this one looks exactly like the special stitch.. it has an extra box over the needle and over the wheel with an extra smaller wheel on the side.

Good insight I'd include rent of the place ur using in ur expenses as well right?

Hi Arthur, How do you go about pricing leather that was bought on sale? Do you use the regular price for your cost, or do you use the sale price and pass the savings onto your customer?

Javier, Hope all is well, if you look at the cost I put on the hardware and look at the Ohio Travel price you will see there was a profit margin, remember do not under price yourself. Arthur

YOU ARE WELCOME

Annette, YOU ARE WELCOME Arthur

I want to try making a bag but I want to work with upholstery leather and fabric to begin. What's a decent machine to buy . Thanks

Very good information, you explain the concept very well.. I would like to know where you purchase your hardware for your purses and bags.

Hello Arthur, Let me say thank you for this information. I am wanting to start my own handbag business. Right now I cannot afford leather hide fabric. Will this formula work for faux leather fabric?

Hi Arthur, I am so interested in beginning my own handbag line but am not sure which machine to purchase. I am located in South Florida and wish I could attend one of your classes I have seen several used machines but am weary as to whether I am purchasing the correct machine for leather. I have been able to find someone who is going out of business and have purchased several hides from him. Any help would be appreciated. I Do love your videos I watch over and over everyday.

Hi Arthur Porter, How do you figure the charges on the Hardware ? I was just watching, and see the ten cents per square inch above the actual price per square for the leather. Enjoy your tutorials. Thank You, Thomas Vickers

where did you Purchase that board there

Thank you so much for the video. I have been under charging for my work for a long time. Now how about wholesaling to a buisness? How do you charge then?

Mr.Porter,it was really nice to see someone from the fraternity uploading the videos and showing how a leather handbag is made. Sir your efforts are laudable. But there is one point where i do not agree with you and that is the pricing the product. We are exporting our leather products to european countries and if we price the product for 350 dollars we will not get any order, the maximum we can charge for this bag would be about 50 dollars highest and i believe the chinese would charge even less than that . so i guess the country where you are living plays a very vital role in determining the price.

Mr. Porter your video are very useful, excellent. I am very proud of my work, but my challenge is finding a target audience on line that is willing to pay the prices as you outlined for handmade items. I have an account on Etsy, but no on-line buys. How do you begin to find the right clientele?

Hello ever told you that this is a special stitch machine, ask them what type of stitch are they calling a special stitch? Arthur

Hi Arthur. Thanks so much for the videos!!! Quick question... Where do you get your card stock?

Hi Arthur Thank you for all the insight. I'm located in central Florida looking for lessons on sewing and creating leather products, we have Tandy but to my knowledge not much else. Would you have any contacts or know of any one like yourself in my area. Thanks

Hi Arthur, I have the chance of getting a Singer 95-10 sewing machine and a 990e3 serger for $150.. what do you ? they are in working condition

Marie, could you send me a picture are tell where I can see a picture of that machine, I have a singer 96-10 with a wheel on it, I put the wheel on my machine. Arthur

Are there any online stores where you buy your leather or any other type of animal skin?

click on the published box above show more and you will see our e-mail address. Arthur

Hola gran maestro,esta clase es muy buena pero no entiendo ingles pronto estudiaré para seguir tus magistrales explicaciones,hay posibilidades de que lo que dices salga traducido al español en pantalla? gracias!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for this information!!!! I was looking for something like this for a long time! Can I send you my email to get the spread sheet please? Thanks again!!!!

Is there a pattern that can be purchased for this bag?

Great videos but you're making it hard on yourself with the math. If you're cost per square foot is 10 dollars, just divide 10 by 144 and it comes out at 6.9 cents per sq inch. round up to 7 and then add your margin in. Your ideas about charging what you think you're worth is spot on. There is nothing worse than taking on a project and underbidding yourself. Makes you totally hate the work. I work in nylon but I plan on going back to leather again soon.

Where does that 10 cents amount come from?

No entiendo inglés pero sí me interesa su trabajo soy de Argentina me encanta lo q hace quería preguntar sí se dedica a enseñar no soy novata aprendí algo y entiendo cómo explica el armado lo comprendo muy bien sí en algún momento usted lee este comentario ojalá así sea podría contestarme si los moldes también los tiene en internet gratuitos o pagos en ese caso cuánto sería el costo me encantan los sombreros desde ya muchísimas gracias

let me re-wright this when you put your products online you are sending it out to the world, most people for get WORLD WIDE WEB. Arthur

This was incredibly helpful! I was working out my Bill Of Materials today and I really needed to know how to calculate the square footage I need per bag. Here's my lay-out: bikepretty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/afterlight.jpeg I think I need to work on optimizing my yield next!

coulda just divided the price per sq ft by 144. since you already know its $10 per square foot.

Do you sell machines?

Hi "pass it on" thank you very much u have yet to charge the right price for l creations made.

You should have an algebra problem so you can just plug in all the numbers. And do one math problem. Thanks for breaking it down. I'm going to start my business when I get my taxes back. Full throttle do or die. I've been watching video after video. It's something I've always thought about doing since I made a wallet and belt in Cub Scouts

If you send me your email I will send you some pictures