Jewellery Pricing Calculator
Calculate the minimum and suggested selling price for handmade jewellery including materials, labour, packaging, marketplace fees and postage.
Materials
Labour & Costs
Marketplace Fees
Markup
Typical: 40-100%
Suggested Selling Price
£51.58
28.6% profit margin
Cost Breakdown
Pricing Options
Absolute Minimum
£40.53
Covers costs only
Suggested (40% markup)
£51.58
Profit: £14.74
Profit at £51.58
Profit per Item
£14.74
Profit Margin
28.6%
Pricing Tips
- Check competitor prices for validation
- Fees shown are estimates only
- Consider time to photograph and list
- Popular items can support higher markups
How to Price Handmade Jewellery Without Underselling Yourself
Add up your materials, your time at a real hourly rate, packaging and postage, then layer marketplace fees on top before applying a markup. The classic mistake is pricing at materials plus a small fee, forgetting that an hour spent stringing beads is an hour you cannot get back. A pair of earrings using £4 of beads, 30 minutes of stringing at £18/hour, 75p packaging and an Etsy fee of 12.5% costs you about £15 once postage is included. Selling them for £8 might feel reasonable next to high street brands, but you are paying yourself less than the kettle on your hob.
The calculator splits costs into materials, labour, packaging, postage and platform fees, then shows a minimum break-even price plus a suggested price with your chosen markup. Use 40% as a starting markup if you sell on Etsy or Folksy and want headroom for sales and discount codes; closer to 100% if you sell direct through Instagram and need to absorb the cost of the customer service yourself. Anything below 40% rarely survives a busy month with broken clasps to replace and refunds to issue.
Marketplace Fees and Postage Reality Check
| Platform | Listing Fee | Transaction Fee | Effective Cost on £25 Sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy UK | £0.16 per listing | 6.5% + 4% payment | ~£3.30 |
| Folksy | £0.20 per listing | 6% commission | ~£1.70 |
| eBay | Free up to 1000 | 12.9% final value | ~£3.20 |
| Own website (Shopify) | Subscription | 1.5% + 25p Stripe | ~£0.65 |
| Instagram + bank transfer | Nil | Nil (your time) | £0 |
Material Costs That Sellers Forget to Track
Findings get expensive faster than people expect. Sterling silver headpins are cheap individually, but if you make 30 pairs of earrings a month you will get through a £15 pack in two weeks. Gold-fill wire (which is sold by the foot, around £2.20 per foot at current prices) blows through budgets quietly because you cut more than the design needs. Track these as separate line items rather than rolling them into a vague 'materials' figure, otherwise you will keep wondering why your numbers look fine on paper and your bank balance disagrees.
Hidden costs to add to packaging: tissue paper, branded stickers, gift boxes for orders over £30, return postage labels, and the time spent printing dispatch notes. A 75p packaging line item is realistic for a small earring order; a fully branded gift-boxed necklace with ribbon and a thank-you card is closer to £2.50. The [art pricing calculator](/art-pricing-calculator) handles a similar breakdown for paintings and prints if you sell mixed work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hourly rate should I pay myself for handmade jewellery?
Most UK handmade sellers use £15 to £25 per hour for assembly time once they have the basic skills. Below £12 (around the National Living Wage) you are effectively paying yourself less than a supermarket job for skilled craft work. Above £30 starts to feel hard to justify against high street brands unless you sell at craft fairs or galleries where buyers expect higher prices. Rate your time honestly: design time, photography and listing time count too, and most sellers underestimate listing time by half.
How much markup should I add for handmade jewellery?
A 40% markup over total costs is the floor for sustainable selling on Etsy or Folksy, where you need room for sales and the occasional refund. 60-100% is typical for direct sales through your own site or Instagram, where you carry no platform fee but spend more on marketing. Higher-end pieces using gold-fill or sterling silver often sit at 200% or more because materials are only a fraction of perceived value. Check what comparable sellers charge in your style and adjust from there.
Should I include packaging in the price or charge separately?
Include it. Buyers compare 'price plus shipping' against other listings and a transparent total wins more sales than a low headline price plus £4 postage. Build packaging (around 75p to £2.50 depending on whether you use a gift box) into the item price, then offer free or low-cost shipping. Small parcel postage in the UK is currently £4.19 for second class signed-for via Royal Mail, which most sellers absorb for orders over £25.
Why does Etsy charge so much in fees?
Etsy currently takes 6.5% transaction fee plus 4% payment processing on UK sales, which lands at roughly 12.5% once you add VAT and the listing fee. They argue this covers traffic and the marketplace infrastructure. For most sellers it is worth it because the alternative (driving traffic to your own site) costs more in ads. The break-even point is usually around £2,000 monthly turnover; below that, Etsy is cheaper, above that, Shopify with paid ads can be more profitable.
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