how much can I charge?

[allen levine]

getting a big demand for childrens adirondack chairs....not sure if people think me building them is gonna be a big win for them.....?.....but many want to pay.


using fence pickets, I can build a chair, screws and glue included for less then 8 dollars total.

using today as a time template....I guesstimate I can make approx one chair every 2 hours if I worked thru without long breaks.

personally, I believe anything less than 58 dollars is a waste of time, but I dont think Id get even though long island is considered affluent. People buy the plastic kids adirondack chairs for 10 bucks and are happy.

I do not offer painting.

any input from the group here , am I outta touch thinking I deserve min 25 dollars a hour for labor?

 

[Don Baer]

here are some good examples for you...
https://r.search.yahoo.com/cbclk2/d...DMgRydAMw?IG=0ad59397162e4d099d00000000505484

https://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-00083-Adirondack-Chair-Honey/dp/B004SNMJOA/ref=asc_df_B004SNMJOA?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80195681205652&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583795279255117&psc=1

based on those your $58 dollars is reasonable.

 

[Jonathan Shively]

$60.00 each if purchased single. $55.00 each for two or more. They are saving $5.00!!!

 

[Bill Arnold]

This quote from the Friday thread:
?went to home dep, got the online price on pt fence pickets of 2.38, made my day, I can make childrens adirondack chairs for under 7 dollars lumber cost......"

What's the liability when selling children's items made from PT wood if you don't seal them with paint or another product?

 

[Ryan Mooney]

Products marketed specifically for children have some non-trivial regulatory hoops you could inadvertently run afoul of. There are some exceptions to requiring sending samples to an actual testing lab which runs around $300+- test (I'm not actually sure if this is one of them, it might not be depending on the target age range..), but you still have to register as a small batch manufacturer and (at least) self certify that the product is safe.

More info:

Small Batch Manufacturers and Third Party Testing

www.cpsc.gov

 

[allen levine]

This quote from the Friday thread:
?went to home dep, got the online price on pt fence pickets of 2.38, made my day, I can make childrens adirondack chairs for under 7 dollars lumber cost......"

What's the liability when selling children's items made from PT wood if you don't seal them with paint or another product?

I sell them unfinished its up to the purchaser to finish them.

 

[Bill Arnold]

I sell them unfinished its up to the purchaser to finish them.

If they choose to leave them unfinished and a kid gets sick, then what?

 

[Jonathan Shively]

Do not sell them as a child's chair. Sell as an unfinished project.

 

[Leo Voisine]

Two hours labor @ $50.00 per hour is $100
Are you worth at least half of what an electrician would charge to change a circuit breaker?

Material @ $8 marked up 100% is $16
You did need to get the material - time?

Sounds to be like they should be priced about $125.00 each
Bargain at $116.00 each if buying 2.

It does NOT matter what you call it.
The lawyers would tear you apart in court.

I will NOT sell children's products - liability is just not worth some sue happy parents wanting vengeance on the chair builder when the kid gets poison ivy.

 

[Rennie Heuer]

I'll echo the liability concerns. I shy away from anything built for use by a child. The little bit of research I did into this subject a couple of years ago scared me. Cribs, changing tables, chairs, play gyms - all these and more are a lawsuit waiting to happen. I'd give them as gifts, but I'd be afraid to sell them.

 

[Frank Fusco]

I will NOT sell children's products - liability is just not worth some sue happy parents wanting vengeance on the chair builder when the kid gets poison ivy.

I agree with your reasoning. But, it is sad we have come to this. Back in the '70s when I had my retail stores in Indiana I offered baby furniture for sale. Big misteak. Almost daily I got notices from the Government that there was a safety recall on one of the items I had. I was not allowed to sell these until approved changes were made. These cribs, strollers, etc. spent more time in the back room than on the sales floor. I have more examples I could vent about but will just wind up with a repeat that our current situation is sad.

 

[Paul Douglass]

What a great world we now live in.

 

[Paul Douglass]

I said what a great world, because any more I am afraid to even speak to some little child in a store... Afraid people will think I am a pervert. I had a friend that use to fuse glass to make plates and stuff.. He use to carry the left overs around to give to kids... they looked like smooth rocks. He had fun with it. Until some lady really got upset that he would give something to her child..And really in todays world, I do not blame her, or him.. He should have asked the lady first, and now days you just do not know what someone would hand your kid.. Very Sad.

 

[allen levine]

I dont have a fear of being sued
not naive, but whomever I choose to sell chair to will be friend or relative or relative or neighbor
while I get the concern, you guys must have had some real mutts for clients.

what isnt dangerous for a child.

any piece of furniture can knock out a kids eye,(when I was 2 and a half I walked into the corner of my fathers train table and nearly blinded myself. my father told me I didnt leave his side and slept in his bed for 3 months after the accident) or he climbs on it and falls off....any toy......a kid could choke on a stuffed animal......god forbid.......spitting on floor, god forbid.

I think after looking online at sites that 55-60 dollars is more than fair.....and for me, it would be more of doing someone a favor than a sale......but if I charge, I wont be asked so many favors. first the chairs, then hey, could use a tiki bar at the pool, or how bout a small table in the kitchen for the 2 year old. and so on.
Im not some great woodworker that has never been experienced here on long island.....my problem is elen has too many friends and they have friends and relatives....and when I give a set as a gift, 3 other people want to know if Id sell them some.

how many of you here who sell anything, arts and crafts festivals, furniture, anything pens, bowls, have liability insurance? Im betting very few.

 

[allen levine]

btw, when I first started making decent outdoor furniture back in 2007-08, noone Ive given any of it to, and trust me, Im talking over a 100 chairs and tables combined....maybe 150. noone has ever gotten sick nor hinted at Im responsible for some injury.

 

[allen levine]

Look at this picture of the pool party at my sons home sunday

every person or couple in this picture has something I built them
Some a lot more then others

the only complaints I get is when can they expect this or that when can they put their order in

 

[Ryan Mooney]

how many of you here who sell anything, arts and crafts festivals, furniture, anything pens, bowls, have liability insurance? Im betting very few.

There's a good reason I don't sell anything

I DID talk to my insurance agent and the premium increase to even just ensure that if there was a problem in the shop the (attached) house was still in fact covered (in case of say a fire..) was more than I figured I'd have any reasonable chance of netting in any given year so it was very much not worth it for me (plus not having a lot of time anyway..). I wouldn't sell a paper cup without full liability coverage in todays world personally, and maybe I'm overly paranoid but I also don't really let hardly anyone in my shop either (with a couple of small trusted exceptions).

 

[Darren Wright]

Like you Allen I’d sell them to family/friends, but cash only.

My wife works in insurance, so everything I do is covered in some way, and probably for her benefit.

 

[Rennie Heuer]

how many of you here who sell anything, arts and crafts festivals, furniture, anything pens, bowls, have liability insurance? Im betting very few.

$1 million. Seemed like a lot when I took the policy 20 years ago. Might have to think about increasing it.

 

[John Bartley]

I dont have a fear of being sued
not naive, but whomever I choose to sell chair to will be friend or relative or relative or neighbor
while I get the concern, you guys must have had some real mutts for clients.

I don't think the problem is that the clients are "mutts" to begin with. The issue is that friends, family and good clients turn into something completely different when certain events occur ..... such as a child being injured by a wooden chair falling apart underneath them and paralysing them (or whatever). What nobody noticed was your 300lb uncle standing on that child's chair to hang party decorations a half hour earlier. Not your fault, but it's you that gets sued.

A good example of how "Jekyl and Hyde" family members can be is .... remembering how fun estate divisions are after a death ....

I'm not saying "don't do it". I'm saying that you should think it through carefully. I worked for myself all my life. I bought insurance and I also refused to do any jobs that brought unnecessary risk to the business.