Pricing Problem

My sailboat is finished, and I really like it. It turned out to be bigger (1.05 x 1.25 m) than I expected, but that’s okay.

Now I’ve been asked how much something like this would cost if it were for sale. Well, I’m completely at a loss. I have to factor in the roughly 60 hours of work, too.

I’m not selling my ship. I’d just like to know how you would set a price and what criteria you’d use.
Thanks in advance.

Best regards, Marlies

I find it very difficult to set a price for this. You’d hardly be able to charge for the 60 hours of work if you wanted to sell it—otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to get rid of it.
The question is what someone would be willing to pay for it—so it’s a matter of negotiation.
Besides, I think a piece like this, lovingly crafted by hand, is priceless!

I agree with Ruth.

Unfortunately, it’s often (always?) impossible to tell from the finished piece how long it took to make.
That’s why I find it difficult to factor in the hours of work.

I’ve read about this formula a few times: the cost of materials multiplied by three.

But I’d also ask how much it’s worth to the person.

Given the insane amount of work involved, a “reasonable” price is indeed hard to determine and achieve. Still, I think that time should be compensated—it’s handmade, not machine-made, and that should be reflected in the price. I’ve never sold anything myself, so I find this question very interesting because I, too, have often thought about offering something for sale. That’s why the “material cost × 3” formula is an interesting approach. Still, if you spend hours crocheting with very inexpensive yarn, I’d think a “labor surcharge” would be entirely appropriate. 

Thank you very much for your answers.

“Material cost x 3” wouldn’t even be an option for this piece, because that wouldn’t even come to 40 €. I wouldn’t part with it for that much, even if I were to sell it.
(If anyone asks again, “Can’t you just paint the ship?”, I won’t be giving it away—it’ll stay with me.)

It’s generally difficult to set prices for handmade items.
At craft fairs, I’ve seen things that I sold for the cost of materials plus a 5 € “tip,” but which were priced at 45 € there.
But some people aren’t even willing to pay the cost of materials. At our fall bazaar, I offered a door wreath that generated a lot of interest. I’ve seen similar ones online for as much as 30 €, but for the customers, even 15 €—the cost of materials—was too much.

I don’t sell any of my things, even though I’m constantly asked about them. People don’t even want to pay 1 euro an hour, including materials. They wouldn’t even go to work for that themselves.

So I enjoy my creations myself, and I have wonderful people in my circle of friends who are absolutely crazy about them. That way, I always have a birthday or Christmas gift ready, and I get to see their beaming faces. The laughter in their eyes is worth every cent and every hour of work to me. ❤️