How much do you charge for customs, or how much are you willing to pay?

[hlbmlp]

I am just curious.  I want to start selling some of my customs but i have no idea what to price them at.  I am reaalllly good at underpricing my work, so i need some help.  How much more for sculpting, would it depend on how much? and how much less would babies go for? I am curious!

[Tiella]

It is really hard to pinpoint an exact price as there are so many factors. Prices not only depend on quality of work and detail of work but also on the artists reputation. I would suggest having a look around the sales forum here and artist's journals on Deviant Art where they post their prices.

[Maniah]

I also underpriced myself till I sat down and made a list of how much it actually cost me to make a pony.

I suggest you look at what goes into a pony.. The base cost of the pony itself, the cost of the hair, the paint, any other supplies.. Then look at how much time it takes you to make her. How much is your time worth? Personally, my time is worth $20 on basic ponies. If one pony took 2 hours to make, that would be $10 an hour and not so bad.. Unfortunately, ponies often take at least twice that.

I don't look to actually make money through customizing, I just look for the hobby to pay for itself. If I can't sell any ponies, then I can't buy stuff to make more ponies. The fun for me is in making them.

That said, I will do a copy paste of my commission prices for you to compare by.

My Prices are as follows:
$30 Simple Pony
 

• Cutie mark of your choice on the flank. Eyes repainted if you prefer. Original body colors only. Made with current generation of ponies, or older ponies if I have any in stock. Older ponies may not be in as good condition, but every attempt will be made to make sure they are presentable. NO Rehair is offered at this price, so an older pony may not be a good choice as their hair tends to be ragged.

$35 G4 Friendship is Magic Pony
 

• Because the friendship is magic ponies are so small, and they use much less in terms of supplies, I had to create a separate category for them. You can have any base G4 pony. Repainted, original color, rehaired, whatever. No sculpting is included in this price.

$40 Complex Pony
 

• All of the above PLUS: Full rehair of up to two hair colors and full body repaint. Your cutie mark may cover more than just the flank of the pony.

$55 Fairy Winged Pony
 

• All of the above PLUS: Hand crafted fairy wings for the pony. Please note that shipping tends to be more expensive on this pony due to the careful packaging needed for the wings.

Extras
 

• Sculpting. Prices vary.
• Additional hair colors $5 each

Friendship is Magic ponies (g4) are smaller than a 3rd generation baby, for the basic $5 priced pony. The $13 pony is considerably larger and uses two or three times as much hair. If you want a custom from the Friendship is Magic ponies, your default will be the smaller pony. I can do the larger pony, but expect to add an additional $20 to your order to cover the additional costs of materials.

[Colorscapesart]

It's a very personal question.  It can be an art into itself.  As one develops experience and more of a reputation for quality work they can alter their strategy.  It's hard to view it as a firm answer.  Not all ponies are created equally.  What takes one artist a short amount of time can take another artist a lot of time.  As Tiella suggested, you might look around to get a feel for the market.  The Commission artist thread has a lot of information.

[SheRa-dude]

I'm drooling over Immortalpanda's Delft custom, but sadly enough, it's outside of my price range.
 
I'd say it depends on the financial situation first of all, and following that; the paint job and the originality. Can't really put a price on it though.

[ZettaMomo]

I just started selling my customs so I am trying to find a good price range for what I make. I make blind bag customs and I am looking for only $15-$20 for a repaint until I get a little bit better.
I saw someone on dA (who I also believe I have seen here) who sells her blind bag repaints for $30 and up depending on if you want sculpting or not.

I think your best place is to start looking around here, ebay, dA, Etsy, ect. and look at people who sell items similar to what you do. Take a price around that and work from there. It all depends on the quality and the amount of interest people have in what you do.

I would love to hear some advice from other members too, though! I am still trying to figure what would be a fair price for stuff I make and sell. xD

[jupiternwndrlnd]

i always underprice. My prices haven't gone up all the much since I started (which I really should change, cause in 8 years, there has been a lot of improvement)
but when i started out, babies were $15, and adults were $25.

the quality of work and details involved should help determine the price, but like its been said, it's not all that easy to price art.

[naylastar]

When I started out, my customs sold for £10 each and I've worked it up to about £25 now. The most expensive pony I've ever sold went for £32 last week on ebay. That's after a year's pretty much continuous practise. A few nights a week and my ponies have drastically improved. When I started, I would never have dreamed that I could do corset ponies, for example.

As for buying, I would pay whatever I thought the pony was worth to me. I just paid the equivalent to $80 for a commission and it's the most expensive I've ever bought but I know she's gonna be awesome. I bought another pony on ebay for £35 because she is absolutely gorgeous and I have a thing about gold and white. But there are others that other people love and would pay through the nose for that I wouldn't buy at all.

It's just a personal taste thing.

[Stormpony6]

When I started out, my customs sold for £10 each and I've worked it up to about £25 now. The most expensive pony I've ever sold went for £32 last week on ebay. That's after a year's pretty much continuous practise. A few nights a week and my ponies have drastically improved. When I started, I would never have dreamed that I could do corset ponies, for example.

As for buying, I would pay whatever I thought the pony was worth to me. I just paid the equivalent to $80 for a commission and it's the most expensive I've ever bought but I know she's gonna be awesome. I bought another pony on ebay for £35 because she is absolutely gorgeous and I have a thing about gold and white. But there are others that other people love and would pay through the nose for that I wouldn't buy at all.

It's just a personal taste thing.

i agree with naylastar, it is very much a personal thing, i have paid up to $160 for a pony (thanks CSA) because the pony was beyond awesome, yet i have balked at paying 20$ for a custom. it all depends on the custom itself and what you like. if a person likes your work they will consider if they are willing to pay the price

[mana-maiden]

Yeah depending on skill level and quality, as you start out you start your prices low then build them up depending on demand for your product, as well as gradually build up the prices as you improve.

Like CSA said, it's a very personal decision that ultimately you have to answer for yourself. Just get a feel for what you're doing, and this may sound backwards but don't pay any attention to what anyone else is doing. What they're charging and all that, is all built on their own stead; yours can be entirely different since you're a different person with your own style.

[creampuf]

My thoughts: http://www.squidoo.com/selling-custom-my-little-pony

[Maniah]

When it comes down to it, an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Maybe you could put up a price poll and some pictures and let people vote on what they would pay. Then you can get an idea of where you stand.