Pricing in The Upholstery Business 

Just finished my last job today,( retired at 61) Self employed, took over from Dad up here in Canada. We started in Scotland. Darn I was too cheap. Great too watch tonight. Cheers Kevin.

Wow I love this! I have an upholstery business that I started in my garage but now I want to go to a more remote location to gain more customers and also residential jobs. U really helped me because this was always a challenge in sprucing my jobs

Thank you for sharing .Have a Merry Christmas.

Very informative information I have been doing upholstery for quite a few years know and was trained in it but I think I haven’t been charging enough from listening to you thank you for this information might call upon you in the future great work by the way

Thank you for sharing your informative video. And offering your knowledge to the world. BLESSINGS.

Kevin, Ken Pittsburgh Pa. I really enjoy your videos and I have just a few more classes on your French Settee which has increased my knowledge on a similar settee I' am doing I wished I lived closer I would be taking your classes in person. Thank You Very Much for sharing your expert knowledge Love It.

Amazing.. i wonder why this video doesn't have million ticks on it.. thank you once again.

Thanks for the great information!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you for doing this I just started doing it professionally and I undercut myself horribly. I live in a lower economic area I've been doing wingbacks for 350.00 not a total teardown.

Fantastic information, thank you. You are so generous with your knowledge. I can’t believe you are giving this valuable information away for free. Your online classes are amazing and incredible value and I’d encourage everyone to consider trying one. I did and then bought a yearly subscription. You are a great teacher and mentor and certainly the best on RU-vid. No I’m not being paid for this, it’s a genuine comment 😄. I have a question about when you said you add 50% more for time if you are taking the piece down from just the top fabric (the basis of all your time frames today) to the frame. My concern is that might be ok if it was a slip seat dining chair but for an 8 way hand tied sprung wingchair surely it would take much longer to strip, remove staples and spring etc than just 50% more. Can you run down the list and estimate time to fully reupholster each style or is this too variable and detailed a question?

Thank you!!

I started in the upholstery business a few decades ago. I have worked on aircraft, autos (antique and contemporary), boats, and furniture (custom built, antique and contemporary). I have always felt that everyone involved in the transaction should understand that what is being offered is a luxury item. We aren't a furniture factory; what we do is provide the customer with a one of kind item. If a customer calls me and wants to know prices within 2-3 minutes, they invariably are not my customer, and the conversation usually ends shortly after that, in a polite manner. The real customer generally does not talk about price, but may come into look at fabric samples, which I highly encourage them to do. Then I insist that they take samples home and view them in their home. I want to get them involved in the process and get excited about their project, makes it a lot easier to close the sale. A friend, who is an upholsterer that specializes in just pillows and cushions called bemoaning an interaction with customer. The customer was telling her that her prices were to high. She took it personally. So, I explained to her that not many people can do what she does and because of that she has great value. If you ever bought a new car, you know that a sales person will do everything to not discuss price at the beginning of the interview. Build value and close with the numbers. And if the sales person is afflicted with fear of losing the sale, they stand a chance of doing just that. Thats why there are sales managers to prevent the sales person from giving away the store. Anyhow, the prices presented in the video, are pretty much spot on. However, not all rural areas are alike. I live in a rural area with the nearest metropolitan area a 100 miles away. My market, however, is high end as it is a resort/retirement community. Most of my fabric sales exceed $100/yd. Recent sale was $396/yd. Current labor price is $82.00/hr One other thing, currently, about a rural market, is that there are less and less of us doing this, which increases demand, and, of course price. When I first started taking credit cards it was complicated and expensive. But with the advent of credit card processors such as the Square, the costs and effort are minimal and the amount charged is in your bank account usually within 48 hrs. All you need is a smart phone and a card reader which fits in your pocket. So, when a customer asks how they can pay, I usually respond by saying cash, check, or credit card, but I prefer cash or check. They usually write a check. But if the cash or check aren't available, I will take a credit card, but this is seldom the case. I want to make it as easy as possible for them to give me what is owed.

Thanks so much. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I’m convinced they just don’t make furniture like they used to. There’s a reason it can take a beating but still be solid. I’d rather pay for a upholstery job and still have a solid piece of furniture that will have longevity than constantly buy crap that I have to keep investing money into.

Great video thank s

gracias, gracias, gracias!!!!

Thanks for video.Here in Ky I have been upholstering for 24 years .I get $600 for wing chair and can do one in a day .Yes I strip down all fabric and repad Arms

Wow I am lowest of low pricing here. Live 1 hour above Pittsburgh. Every year I say I'm raising my prices . Last year had no customers. Who am I ? I have been working at this since 1993 . I did governers mansion furniture when in New York, Extreme home makeover Episode 224 .When I lived in New York I got about 300.00 labor on wing chair. My business was fantastic there , Got divorced since i relocated my business 2007. I can only get about 290. 00 plus 45.00 for new foam seat. I do all to survive, boats, auto, drapery , slipcovers.When I first started I didn't even charge full price for fabrics but 10 years ago I started charging full retail. I have some beebackesr who love me and are always finding things to re-do . I charge what there willing to pay on the high end. 63 year old women with health issues but keep going along. Lucky to have home business with no overhead otherwise I would have been finished before I started

Wow. When you said business has slowed down since the pandemic, I was shocked. The phone will not stop ringing. Thank you for the information. I always like to see peoples different perspective of the upholstery world.

Yes, I'd like to know how to keep everyone that speaks to me organized. I a one band show and I'm getting more and more work. Also I'm still not fast and am having a hard time with turn around times. I also have people bring me their furniture and so far they are okay with it. I just tell them to arrange for delivery and pick up when alls completed.

Great video! I am wondering how you account for shop supplies? Staples, thread, etc. that you use a small amount of on every project?

your good upholstery work I like 👍 because I am also sofamaker upholsterer

Yeah, anything that is an inherently a custom based business, but which delivers a physical retail product as the end result.... I have yet to find a "perfect fit" software solution for point of sale or anything like that. For many years, our business used Quickbooks POS (offline version) and we would just add "products" to our database for things like "add exposed walnut base" or "latex framing" or whatever and then we would add these as line items to the customer's invoice. The problem is that most software systems are fundamentally built around inventory management and ordering. However, if the only inventory you have are remaindered yards, sleeper mechanisms, or latex mattresses.... you don't really need an inventory management. For the details of the order, hand-written notes and extensive diagrams as step #1 which we might provide to a customer in person on their first visit, then digitize the notes using Adobe illustrator (due to the extensive use of diagrams), followed by a email confirmation of price, terms, and specificaitons (which constitutes a contractual agreement)

From NC, furniture capital of the world at one time, and previously owned reupholstery shop late 90’s early 2000’s. My grandfather raised me up on this and owned the shop for 36 years. Economic issues in 2001 caused me to get out of business and move on to other venues. My passion is to open shop up once again and retire doing what I love. We’re saturated here with small upholstery shops, that price war against each other. Wondering if you would have any advice in consideration?

Thank you for titoring on much needed information . How much pipping should be charged for: single and double... ?? Thank you in advance

Could you show pictures of the pieces you're describing? Also, does the loveseat have a separate cushion?

What are your thoughts on adding a supply charge to jobs. For example 20% of labor price with a maximum of $45. I am look for a way to cover the increasing supply costs without changing labor prices.

If you see this, please say how many hours to do a sofa, +/-? Thanks!

Hi I would like to know how much you will price the upholstery of a lagoon 40 feet catamaran thank you

How can I start ur class am in Jamaica

Do you need an upholsterer? I'm here in the Philippines. I want to work

Where do you buy cheap foam from thanks

I want to commence a upholstery business ,,,how can I ,,is there any possibility?

Where u buy material, leather and tool. Iamlearning and most tool i check son some web look scam to me

Uk is a lot cheaper or at least I am