AIBU to find prospective customer RUDE?

[Doodlesplodge17]

I have recently set up a Facebook page for the items I crochet. I have taken a few orders and had lots of enquiries. Three people who apparently 'love' my work with amigurumi and such really wanted items made but were completely shocked at what I wanted to charge. To break it down for you but not out myself with the item it would've cost ££8 in wool, safety eyes and stuffing - its large plus I asked £9 for my time £17 total including pretty organza bag and free delivery!
These people reckon I'm off my rocker to ask such absurd prices for my time etc. I found the exact same item on etsy (the pattern is free no copyright) and the seller is asking £27! I posted the link for it to my page and ended up blocking one of the people as they felt it was aimed at them when I broke the cost down and asked my page followers if I was being unreasonable 🤔😩
So please be kind wonderful mumsnetters at tell me I've not lost the plot?!? Or AIBU?!?

It seems perfectly reasonable to me. If they don't like the price they don't have to buy.

My friend crochets and struggles with pricing because people don't want to pay for your time. I'm sorry that one rude person has made you doubt yourself xx

There just might not be a market for it if it costs a lot to make.

Yanbu to put a realistic price on your work. But I think yabu to enter into discussions with potential customers about the price. I would just say the price is as stated.

People have no clue how long it takes to make stuff. They are used to mass produced goods that are low cost and assume that that is also a reasonable cost for what you offer. People who know handicraft appreciate the time and effort that goes into it. These people will not be the first you´ll meet you have this attitude. Ignore them, or block them if they hassle you.

Double your prices, change your target market.

Stick to your principles - takes ages to make stuff nicely.

And definitely do not negotiate or explain your pricing to anyone!! People are free to buy or not. Those are their options.

I think that's a fair amount but Facebook may not be the best place to find your customers. You definitely shouldn't get into discussions about pricing with them. An Etsy shop or a Folksy shop might work better for you.

Agree with above posters.

However I should also add (only because you haven't mentioned it) that you need to CE test your amigurami products. Legally you have to do this to sell them or you face a hefty fine. Using safety eyes isn't enough to cover you x

YANBU. They are just cheap.

Thanks for your replies.
Yes it can take hours to crochet things and this particular item takes around 6 - 7 hours.
After checking into CE testing I'm thinking that it's not even worth it. The things I make are more decorations to sit on beds, shelves etc but I don't think I'll bother after visiting direct.gov and looking at the requirements, that's a headache I don't need.

7 hours at minimum wage is £52.50 + materials @ £8 plus organza bag/packaging + diesel to deliver. You're talking at least £65 before you're breaking even. Is it seriously that enjoyable to make that you're happy to do it for such a loss?

CE marking is a huge headache. If it looks like a toy, can be used as a toy, then it needs testing. Even those blankets with the unicorn hood on need testing.

I stick to scarves, hats, gloves etc. Higher price tag for less time!

£17 total for a unique, custom, hand made item? And they're complaining?? Were those just made-up numbers to give an example? Am I misunderstanding something?

Not being unreasonable at all. I love crochet stuff. I paid £58.00 for a 1 metre diameter handmade kitchen rug from a woman in Poland on Etsy. That included postage, she explained to me it would take around 2-3 weeks to make. The rug arrived around 3-4 weeks later. I couldn't believe how cheap it was. Because I thought it's taken her 3 weeks to do it, and £58.00 including postage from Poland isn't much money for her time. Your too cheap if anything! £17.00 is a steal for any prospective buyer of one of your custom made items. This tells me they have little or no respect for your time spent in making them the item. So ungrateful. They want something for nothing. Go on Etsy, you will be valued and appreciated far better, as that's what Etsy is about, it's things you can't buy in everyday shops, custom made.

I craft.

I've started telling people how much stuff would cost eg. Just finished a baby blanket £50 worth of merino and 3months worth of my spare time = a huge amount of money.

So no, I won't make one for a random work colleagues niece.

There are so many crocheters about these days, i do wonder how many are actually registered, my friend makes stuff like flamingos, unicorns, dragons etc, but she's never had anything tested.
Her biggest issue is that she makes up her own patterns, and has her own FB page, and people tag their mates in her photos/posts that crochet saying "Make me one of these please!" which she considers stealing as she made the pattern herself, even though she doesn't have copyrights.

It took 7 hours, and you are asking for 17 pounds, including 8 pounds for materials and, what, 3-4 quid for postage (which of course is not free to you!) and another pound or so for the bag. That's paying yourself considerably less than a pound an hour . You must really love making them!!! And yes, clearly people who think 17 quid is a lot are being ridiculous.

I only use free patterns with no copyright. The pattern designer usually just asks for a tag or a post on their blog where I got the pattern from.
Yes I do enjoy crocheting and no there's really not much money in it to be made unless like pp suggested you charge a fortune for you time. Those were not made up figures and I'd be happy to provide a photo of the post from my page 😉
I have tried to be fair with pricing but I am beginning to wonder if I'm too fair. My latest request was for a baby blanket 36" x 50" and I quoted £45 all in. My husband went mental 😳 I just enjoy my craft! But with the wool cost at £20 I'm only making £25 for quite a lot of work, but still 🤗 Thank you all for you input and suggestions. I think I'll stick to more basic items anyway as I don't want this CE marlarky to worry about!

Actually, she automatically has copyright by creating the pattern herswlf. She might want to consider selling them on ravelry? Or etsy?

They are free on ravelry, Pinterest and her own blog. I have already stated what her blog says about her free patterns only requiring a tag or mention

If you're charging £9 for your time, that product should take you no more than an hour to make. On top of your making time you have to factor in time spent photographing, ordering supplies, listing online, social media... you're not charging enough, full stop.

Unfortunately some products are viable and some are not. I stopped selling knitted and crochet things when a custom order took me literally two solid weeks and I made £30 profit. I moved on to paper cutting and made at least £10 an hour for my time.

If you can learn to design your own patterns (quite easy once you've done a fair amount of amigurumi), you can write your own tutorials and sell them on etsy as downloads. Do the work once and sell it unlimited times - I sell paper cutting templates and once they're done they just sit there making money.