How to Price Handmade Products
Build a selling price from real costs instead of copying a competitor or doubling the supply receipt.
Start with total cost, not a vibe
Write down every input that is used up in one unit: materials, packaging, labels, inserts and a share of shipping supplies. If you buy in bulk, divide the pack price by usable units, not by the number printed on the bag if some are scrap.
Then add labor. Use an hourly rate you would pay another skilled maker to do the same job. Minutes of finishing count. If a candle takes twelve minutes to pour, wick, label and box, that is 0.2 hours.
Add overhead and waste
Overhead is the cost of being in business: tools that wear out, software, market booths, website fees, samples and studio utilities. Assign a dollar amount per item, even if it is small.
Waste is the print that failed, the jar that cracked, the first wick that tunneled. A 5–10% waste line is more honest than assuming every unit is sellable.
Price after fees, not before
Etsy, Shopify payments and card readers take a percentage of the selling price. If you add 50% on top of cost and then lose 10% to fees, you did not earn 50%. Set the price so the amount after fees still meets your target.
The Handmade Product Pricing Calculator applies fees to the selling price. That is the same direction the money actually moves.