What is it worth?

Recently I was asked to provide a quote for an elephant tribute. Not one of the animals I have made before, so I gave the customer a ball-park figure, not suprised in the slightest by the look on their face when I told them. It has since transpired the price I quoted was well under-priced. They left the shop, I knew they wouldn't be back and hoped whoever did get the order had made a good job of it and didn't find themselves out-of-pocket. 

A few weeks later I found myself with some extra white chrysanthemum - I always buy a little more than I need anyway to ensure I have enough, but had hit the wrong button on the order and ended up with almost double the amount I needed (menopause brain so I can't be moaned at for it!) - I knew there was only one thing for me to use it for. That's right; an elephant. I will not lie to you; I really enjoyed making it - I'm aware how insensitive that may sound to some of you - and was really pleased by the time I had it completed. It was only after I tallied up everything I'd used, I discovered it was better the customer had gone elsewhere! This is where you, dear reader, come in. I am often being told florists are 'ripping off' customers, or charge too much, I would dearly love to know what price you would charge a customer for the elephant I created, that I have shared below. For reference he is on a 24" x 24" square design board. 

 

You will see I have listed the exact amount of all products used in the creation. The prices listed are the wholesale costings - for those of you who don't know the difference between wholesale/retail, the wholesale price is the amount I pay, the retail is what I would sell at (also, wholesale doesn't include VAT, this is added on top of the purchase amount, whereas retail includes it). In reality the prices would be higher, for I only used sixty-three stems of chrysanthemum but have to buy the flowers in bunches of five-stems so I had sixty-five to pay for.

Product                            Cost                VAT            Total

Design Board                  £17.00          £3.40           £20.40

2 Cans Grey Paint           £8.95            £10.74         £21.40

1 Can Black Paint           £8.95            £10.74         £21.40

63 Stems Chrysant          £1.13            £1.36           £85.68

1 Eye                                   35p               35p                35p

2 Hours to make             £12.21          £24.42          £24.42

 

A total amount of £147.73 (£123.31 if I work for free!) 

 

How much is my time worth? The goverment says the minimum I could pay someone at the time of making the elephant is £11.44 - this is rising in April to £12.21 per hour so I have based the hourly rate for my time at the new level. I mean absolutely not disrespect to anyone who operates at till, sweeps floors or packs shelves to earn their money. Those are jobs which need to be done and the world would not survive without people getting up each morning to do them. I've done them myself. I've stacked shelves in a department store, kept an eye on thirty mini conveyor belts in a factory for a mind-numbing eight-hours daily. I've scrubbed floors on my hands-and-knees with a scrubbing brush and bucket of water (none of these machines you get with spinning pads that do the work for you). None of these jobs though require longer than a ten-minute training session; all of them paid above minimum wage. To become a florist I trained for two-years. Even now, some thirty-nine years later I am still learning on a daily basis. I have sat exams which seemed impassible, tough and extremely strict compared to more recent times when six-week evening classes can see you finish with a qualification. 

 

My level of skill/experience puts me on a par with other skilled tradespeople. A carpenter at my level can ask upwards of £50 per hour. A plumber (on average) is around £60/80 per hour. A mechanic at the same lever/experience can ask anywhere from £65/£125 per hour. People using the services of any of these tradespeople will pay the money because they need a job doing and that's what is expected. Yet a florist is expected to create something and not charge their time for doing so. 

 

I am sure some of you would quote only £150; I know this because of the amount of times I've had someone undercut me when I've priced up a bespoke tribute. It's not a bad return. Four tributes each day, charging £150 will earn you £106.76. That's £640 per week - oh how I dream of earning that kind of money. But, and it's a big BUT, you won't get four of that tribute each day. Most would be lucky to get a couple each month. Also, what if it takes them longer than it took me? A chat with a florist friend the other week opened my eyes to how fast I do work. We had made the exact same tribute; I took three hours to make mine, she took seven. Someone else may have taken two, whilst another nine. These timings all need to be taken into consideration when pricing up for a bespoke tribute. Sometimes I have no clue how long something may take. What I think (and charge) for what may be a two-hour job has taken me double that. 

 

Back to the elephant. I asked four other florist friends what they would charge. All came back with very similar prices, one a lot lower. this was because she had never made one before and said she would charge less to get the order and experience. 

 

Florist One quoted:    £385

Florist Two quoted:   £360

Florist Three quoted: £350

Florist Four quoted:   £265

 

I know how much I will be setting the price at when I add it to the website. For now though I will wait to see what prices everyone gets back to me with! 

 

Ooh; I forgot. I also used a brick of floral foam and some white spray paint for the tusk. This cost about £4.50. 

 

Email me:* sarah@farehamflorists.co.uk - I can't wait to see what you feel would be a fair price.