# pricing per 1000 stitches



## stubs (Apr 9, 2007)

i know it depends on your area that you live in ,but with the increases in cost of supplies,garments the last few years i would think that standard price per 1000 stitches would have increase ,i have been seeing 1.25 per 1ooo stitches and i am not talking about sending out to have emboidery done ,they have the space ,machines that's why they can price cheaper prices i am talking about the small business shops,the in home businesses i have a single head 12 needle machine. is there a new standard we all have to make profits .


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## Liberty (Jul 18, 2006)

"New Standard" as compared to what? We use a sliding scale where the larger the design, the lower the incremental price per K but we've been at $1.25 to $1.50 for the onesy jobs for a long time.

Realistically, the cost of supplies used is relatively insignificant. Except in cases where the stitch count is very low and you're using backing and topping, your consumables costs should be well under $.05 per 1000.

And the cost of the garment is irrelevent. That markup is independant the decoration costs.

I'm more concerned with the increase in labor costs. 

Some of the increases in expenses in recent years have been offset by greater machine efficiencies. Not only do the new machines sew faster but non productive functions like trims and color changes have gotten much faster.


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## imeccentric (May 13, 2007)

Iris,
I know areas are different, but I haven't seen anyone, other than a home shop, who doesn't charge at least $2/ thousand around here and it's closer to 3. Personally, I charge $1/minute per machine. If a machine can't make me $60/ hour, it isn't worth being in business. A standard design cap from the mall runs around $35 with no customization. For small orders I can put a custom logo on one for that. If they order six of the same design, I usually digitize their logos for free and charge the same so I seldom get anything less than six. If all they are interested in is price, I don't worry about them. They won't be permanent customers anyway. Don't be afraid to charge what you want or need.

*Common Pricing Mistakes:*
$ *Prices are based on competitors prices.*
$ *Prices determined by “seat of the pants”.*
$ *Prices are based on “FEAR”.*
$ *Prices are not based on business costs.*
$ *Prices are never updated.*
$ *Prices are same for wholesale and retail.*
$ *Prices are not written (no price sheets).*
The full article, by Jimmy Lamb is on the Hirsch site: 

Embroidery Cost Analysis & Pricing


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## veedub3 (Mar 29, 2007)

Liberty said:


> "New Standard" as compared to what? We use a sliding scale where the larger the design, the lower the incremental price per K but we've been at $1.25 to $1.50 for the onesy jobs for a long time


I am glad to hear this as this guy that wants my contract embroidery work wants to charge $3.00 per 1000 stitches. He says this is the going rate and I had no idea but it sounded high to me.

I do a lot of Greek work and I have been ordering the custom appliques out of China but a few instances time would not permit it so I had to rely on a local embroiderer. I stopped in his store yesterday with the design and the price seemed crazy high to me.

Thanks for the info. I no that everyone has their price but at least now I no that $3.00 per 1000 stitches is on the high side and I will keep looking.

Katrina


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

imeccentric said:


> Iris,
> I know areas are different, but I haven't seen anyone, other than a home shop, who doesn't charge at least $2/ thousand around here and it's closer to 3. Personally, I charge $1/minute per machine. If a machine can't make me $60/ hour, it isn't worth being in business. A standard design cap from the mall runs around $35 with no customization. For small orders I can put a custom logo on one for that. If they order six of the same design, I usually digitize their logos for free and charge the same so I seldom get anything less than six. If all they are interested in is price, I don't worry about them. They won't be permanent customers anyway. Don't be afraid to charge what you want or need.
> 
> *Common Pricing Mistakes:*
> ...


Excellent reply. Jimmy Lamb's cost analysis and pricing is great information.


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## thutch15 (Sep 8, 2008)

Wow I just charge $.50 per 1000 for my last job (first job)...I must have been way to low.


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## GLembroidery (Aug 11, 2009)

I used to work in a shop that charged $1.00/1000. They had a 4 head Tajima, 2 Amayas, and 2 old 6 color Melcos from the 80's.


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## AndTees (Jul 6, 2009)

You can get to a predictable number for your area and circumstances:

Assume a single head machine (most expensive to run).
I estimated an hourly equipment cost (price of machine / 6000 hours or about 3 years of operation) plus a burdened hourly labor rate... $17.00 works for me.

Then I figured a production rate per 1000 stitches - 25K per hour is a nice conservative number that is realistic.

I added supplies at $.05 per 1000 and design/digitizing costs ($.10 for me based on short runs).

For me I ended up with a *cost *of $.89 per thousand.
I mark this up by 5% for collections/supervision, 10% for sales and marketing and 20% for overhead & profit... = 35%.
$.89 + (($.89 / .65) * .35) = $1.35 retail per 1000.

You may get to your numbers a little different, but at least by having a method you can audit your actual results against the predictions and adjust it until it's more accurate.


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## veedub3 (Mar 29, 2007)

This is good information to no, something I can go by when talking to the local shops. I stopped by two others yesterday and one was $2.25 per 1000, and the other was $2.00 per 1000. Both shops were in the more exclusive neighborhoods so I am going to check one more shop in the hood and then I will at least have something to compare locally.

Katrina


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## Flint54 (Oct 16, 2008)

AndTees said:


> You can get to a predictable number for your area and circumstances:
> 
> Assume a single head machine (most expensive to run).
> I estimated an hourly equipment cost (price of machine / 6000 hours or about 3 years of operation) plus a burdened hourly labor rate... $17.00 works for me.
> ...



Good breakdown to figure your needs, Thank you. I would also like to add to this in that this cost per 1000 stitches in most cases is variable depending upon the quantity of items ordered. This quantity would need to be set by you to reflect your business needs.

Our breaks are as follows, 1 - 35 items, 36 - 83 items, 84 - 144 items, 145 - 216 items, 217 - 288 and 289 + items.

1-35 full cost per 1000 stitches then 5% discount on embroidery at each segment. This is a set discount up front and pertains only to the cost per 1000 stitches.


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