Pricing- Aussie m&p sellers

[Galavanting Gifts]

o.k., i'm in a predicament. I purchased some GM m&p soap base some time back, the base itself was cheap ($9.00/kilo) but it also contained SLS which I really wanted to get away from, it also took almost 4 weeks to reach me by post which I just didn't need.
I found another supplier whom was a bit more expensive, the GM soap base still contained SLS but I rushed in and didn't realise until I recieved the soap (only took a few days to get to me by post)
Both times I was able to keep my plain GM m&p down @ $3.50 for a 125g bar due to the low cost of the base price.
NOW, I have decided to purchase my GM base from Aussie soap supplies, however it is $17.00/kilo :shock: plus postage which pushes the cost way up for me even when I purchase in 6 kilo lots.
I worked out to purchase 6 kilos plus postage came to $106.00, if I sell the bars at $4.00/bar i'm only making $54 once the cost for soap + postage purchase, that is not including time (which isn't an issue because I love soaping so much) but i'm thinking of the electricity usage etc.
Sooooooo, the big question is: on average, how much should a 125g plain bar of non SLS GM soap be selling for in Australia? I really hate the idea of overpricing but I need to be realistic in my pricing.
My friend keeps telling me off for my underpricing so it is a BIG step for me to make a price change.
TIA for any advice

 

[OceanGirl-3]

No help bit bloody excy i make nothing :cry: , i want to try CP i guess that's cheaper then your get all the other fee :roll: .

Can't win

Be watching this thread

 

[dagmar88]

It's probably a bit of a dilemma... You should really have a larger profit margin, but you can't expect people to pay too much... From what I've seen on Etsy, you are a bit under the price, most range from 4.50 to 5.50 in the US)
Is there no cheaper base to be found anywhere? Or maybe would it be cheaper for you to add a little bit of goatsmilk powder to a clear base (no idea if a adding GM is even possible, or if clear base is cheaper)
Or maybe you could make 100 gram bars? Or place an order together with someone living near to you and split the postage?
Hope you'll find a way to cut your costs a little and keep it all profitable, or at least even.

 

[topcat]

GG - $4.00 AUD is very low really. I sell an 80gram bar (with added jojoba and essential oil) for $6.50.....now remember that the US dollar is higher than ours, so $5.00 USD is about, what?.....around $6.00 - $6.50 AUD at the moment I think. I also buy Aussie Soap's GM base in 6 kg lots. I also sell an approx 100gram plain GM base bar for $7.00. HTH!

Tanya

 

[Galavanting Gifts]

It's probably a bit of a dilemma... You should really have a larger profit margin, but you can't expect people to pay too much... From what I've seen on Etsy, you are a bit under the price, most range from 4.50 to 5.50 in the US)
Is there no cheaper base to be found anywhere? Or maybe would it be cheaper for you to add a little bit of goatsmilk powder to a clear base (no idea if a adding GM is even possible, or if clear base is cheaper)
Or maybe you could make 100 gram bars? Or place an order together with someone living near to you and split the postage?
Hope you'll find a way to cut your costs a little and keep it all profitable, or at least even.

I have found cheaper bases but they contain SLS which I wanted to get away from and the Aussie soap supplies have the most beautiful GM base, the smell and look are beautiful.
Nobody else I know near me makes soap (nowhere near as popular as in the US), I have a feeling one of the ladies i'm selling to is reselling them to friends and workmates at a higher price than what she's paying me.

GG - $4.00 AUD is very low really. I sell an 80gram bar (with added jojoba and essential oil) for $6.50.....now remember that the US dollar is higher than ours, so $5.00 USD is about, what?.....around $6.00 - $6.50 AUD at the moment I think. I also buy Aussie Soap's GM base in 6 kg lots. I also sell an approx 100gram plain GM base bar for $7.00. HTH!

Thanks for your guidence Tanya, that sheds some light on what I need to do, how do you find selling your soap for the prices askes? are people happy to pay the price or do they tend to shy away a bit?, I have almost made and packaged the soap order of 40 soaps so then all I need to do is price them. The packaging was more time consuming than the soap making lol.

 

[topcat]

People who appreciate and use handcrafted soap are happy to pay a reasonable price for it GG - those who balk at that are usually ones who are happy to buy the "6 for $1.50" packs of soap at the supermarket and that is fine - their choice. If you are really concerned about overpricing, perhaps you should increase your markup slowly? I have read here on the forum that your rule of thumb for pricing handmade/handcrafted items is your costs x 2 = wholsale; costs x 4 = retail. I usually work out my costs (including packaging etc but not including my time :wink: ) then multiply by 3 or 3.5 to get my retail. 4 times is just a bit too much in my market.

Tanya