How much would you pay for a Homemade Scrunchie?

May 2, 2009 10:52 AM

Poll-Filter: How much would you pay for this? (Example 2)

I hope to sell these homemade crocheted scrunchies/hair ties at an upcoming fair (I don't have to pay anything for the table). I'm having difficulties deciding on a final price though.

Cost of Materials (estimated):

25 (Ouchless) Elastic Hair Ties: $6.00
1 Ball of Yarn: $3.00

I can probably get 6 scrunchies out of each ball. If my math is right, that means each scrunchie takes about 75 cents to make.

But I'm also interested in how much is "too much" - If you seen a bunch of these in different colors laid out before you - What is the number that is too high for you to consider reasonable?

posted by royalsong to work & money (25 answers total)

How long does it take you to make one?
posted by box at 10:55 AM on May 2, 2009

How long does it take you to make one?

15-20 mins? Not long.
posted by royalsong at 10:57 AM on May 2, 2009

Somewhere in the neighborhood of $6.
posted by dreadpiratesully at 10:59 AM on May 2, 2009

A few thoughts:

- By itself these aren't worth much. Perhaps a $1.00?
- Sold at a fair, by the creator, as a handmade object, and suddenly they may seem worth more... perhaps $3.00 each?
- It's a very limited market (women with long hair who are seeking to jazz up their scrunchy collection.) So that hurts their individual sell-ability. So, you should price them with a "buy more than one" discount. Say, one for $3, two for $5, or buy three, get one free... That way you maximize your marketability to each (possibly rare) individual customer.
posted by wfrgms at 10:59 AM on May 2, 2009

And by $6 I meant that's the "too much" value - anything less than that would at least seem reasonable.
posted by dreadpiratesully at 11:01 AM on May 2, 2009

I'd balk at $5, but you'd probably have me at $4.
posted by meerkatty at 11:02 AM on May 2, 2009

You'd get me with something like $4 each, 3 for $10.
posted by not that girl at 11:16 AM on May 2, 2009

I wouldn't pay more than $3.
posted by firei at 11:18 AM on May 2, 2009

I've seen them at local craft fairs (central Kansas) for $2.00 each. I don't think I'd pay more than that because, realistically, scrunchies (even interesting ones) are not a hard-to-find item.
posted by amyms at 11:21 AM on May 2, 2009

The quantity discount idea is very good.

I'm not in the market for scrunchies, but maybe four to six bucks? At something like a fair, I'd say that five bucks is around the impulse-item threshold, and that's probably where you want to be. Maybe something like six apiece, two for ten, five for twenty.

(20 minutes at minimum wage is about two bucks, which, depending on how you look at it, might raise the value of the scrunchie significantly.)
posted by box at 11:22 AM on May 2, 2009

I willingly pay $5CN for much nicer scrunchies. Yours, to be honest, don't look all that useful. They seem more decorative than functional (I have long hair; those wouldn't restrain it).

I'm not critting your crochet work; it's fine. I'd say they're worth a couple of bucks as a "home-made" hair decoration. Sold at 10 for 6 dollars, you'd probably find buyers.
posted by reflecked at 11:24 AM on May 2, 2009

$2 max.
posted by sickinthehead at 11:32 AM on May 2, 2009

$3 each maybe. If I thought the money was going to charity, maybe a little more.
You could try $4 each, and offer a $10 for 3 deal.

My hair is huge and while I do use scrunchies for tying up my hair when I sleep, my concern would be whether this scrunchie would stretch enough to get it all. Definitely seed a few in the hair of women near your table, or wear several in your hair in a Mindy Cohn style to grab people's attention, and then maybe all your hair in a single scrunchie at the nape of your neck to show how well they stretch.
Also, have a mirror at your table.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:36 AM on May 2, 2009

Big Bang Theory, 2x18 | The Work Song Nanocluster, performed quite an insightful analysis of the economics of handmade hair accessories. You might find it useful and entertaining to see that... I found a copy on this Chinese site but perhaps there's a better copy somewhere: http://6.cn/watch/11050964.html
posted by Morbuto at 11:38 AM on May 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I would assume you were trying to clear out your yarn bag, so, not much. If they were in pretty/nifty colours, made in cotton rather than acrylic, $4, max.
posted by kmennie at 11:48 AM on May 2, 2009

Figure 20 minutes to make one. That's three an hour.

3 sold at $3 each = $9.00

sans

3 x .75 = $2.25 in materials

You're profit would be $6.75 for an hour of labor, or about minimum wage in many places.

Of course, if you enjoy making these, your labor has an added intangible value.
posted by wfrgms at 11:56 AM on May 2, 2009

People don't actually wear those anymore, do they? Scrunchies are fairly 90's and it's been a LONG time since I knew anyone who would put one of those in her hair. I wouldn't buy one for me, but I'd say you'll be lucky if you get more than $2 for them.
posted by Lullen at 12:03 PM on May 2, 2009

I think people still wear decorative hair ties.

My gut feeling is in line with other posters', I think: $1-$2 seems reasonable; with the "craft fair markup" maybe $3-$4; but at $5 I'd give it a miss.
posted by hattifattener at 12:10 PM on May 2, 2009

Maybe $3 each, 2 for $5?
posted by platinum at 12:31 PM on May 2, 2009

I think if you used nicer yarns, you might be able to charge a respectable amount (maybe $5 or so). My first thought upon seeing yours is that you used the cheap-o Red Heart worsted, and that makes them look, well, kind of tacky. I know enough about crocheting to see that the workmanship is good and you've got a really creative design, but the yarn just makes it kind of bleh.

The odds are stacked against scrunchies already, so I think you need to do something really special in order for the product to sell well. Try some nicer, more interesting yarns -- maybe combine an eyelash yarn with your worsted, or do the whole thing in chenille?
posted by pluckemin at 1:09 PM on May 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

$4
posted by DieHipsterDie at 1:13 PM on May 2, 2009

I'm a guy with short hair, so I probably wouldn't buy these. But a similar size / type item I might impulse buy at a craft show for $3-$4.
posted by losvedir at 6:30 PM on May 2, 2009

I'd pay $3 for one, $5 for two. But I'd prefer solid colours.
posted by deborah at 7:42 PM on May 2, 2009

On Etsy, crocheted scrunchies seem to go for $3 to $5.

My hair is too fine for scrunchies, but I'd probably pay that for a homemade barrette or similar (more if it was crocheted with cotton floss like you see in doilies, or something else interesting, or if it had interesting beads crocheted in it).
posted by Houstonian at 8:07 PM on May 2, 2009

How much you'll get for them could well depend on packaging. If they're all just sitting loose in a bin or piled one on top of the other you'll get less than if each one is individually labeled, perhaps with a cardboard label that loops through the center, you'll likely draw a little more money, since they'll seem more like an individual product.

I'd say $1-2 in the former case and $3-5 in the latter, depending on the quality of the yarn. If it's as cheap as $3 a ball suggests, though, you'd be looking at the low end of that range. That said, I knit and crochet, so I tend to look at these things with a more critical eye than other people might.

If I were looking to make something like this, I'd probably use Butterfly Super 10 cotton or similar. The shiny, mercerized cotton will show stitch definition nicely and look slicker than a fuzzier yarn.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:09 PM on May 2, 2009