FAIR PRICING

CUSTOM PIGMENTS| HAND CRAFTED|100% NATURAL

Do you ever look at the price tag on a handmade item and wonder why handmade products are so expensive?

When I am selling to our customers I sometimes hear “Wow, you’re just like Victoria Secret or MAC etc. or, I could get it at the beauty supply for half that price.”   I don’t take offence, because I know I thought the same thing before I started FalonFabrini , my now handmade cosmetics boutique. 

This is on my mind to share because I am preparing to launch our newly rebranded website and I am releasing luxury beauty cosmetics for adults and their minis. This line of custom cosmetics is for those who value self-care and 100% natural products. Our products are not “cheap”, they are hand-made carefully with ethical labor (one woman show at the moment) and quality cosmetic grade -eco friendly materials. 

So why was I nervous about my prices?

Because I know people often experience what I call, “small business price shock” when they see handmade prices and I’d never want our valued customers to think I was trying to take advantage of them.

A handmade product costs more than its compettitors at big department stores such as Target or Walmart or even beauty supply shops. The big box stores manufacture in overseas sweatshops, where people, often children, are paid pennies an hour in dangerous working conditions.

Given the low prices (and frequent sales) that big box stores advertise, we’ve been conditioned to expect low prices on everything. FalonFabrini in spite of this reality , still tries to be competitive with bigger brands prices, making that much less of a profit.

Here is a very simplified look at what’s included in the price of a handmade product:

  • Cost of materials used to make the product.
  • Labor – any time spent designing, making, and then marketing the product – whether it’s the business owner or an employee.
  • Packaging materials (bubble mailers, boxes, glass containers, tubes, labels etc).
  • Overhead (all other business costs – including the cost of equipment, accounting, insurance, utilities, rent, advertising, etc)
  • Profit

Profit? Yes. A business that does not make enough profit will go out of business.

Profit may seem like a word shoppers don’t want to hear. 

It implies CEO’s living their best life on yachts and constant vacays etc. If not ran correctly majority of small business owners will not live this luxury.

Profit is what remains after all business expenses are covered and all employees are paid. Profit often times goes into the bank where it’s saved until I need to buy new inventory, equipment etc., take training courses, or grow and strengthen my business in other ways. It’s my businesses’ emergency fund.

At the end of the year the owner may pay themselves a bonus. That does come out of profit, and it’s no different than an employee at a big company getting a bonus for an annual job well done.

My goal with FalonFabrini LLC is to grow the business and create opportunities for others.  If I was to charge by the hour of how long it actually takes me, one person, to formulate and package each order, we would be out of business because that price would be outrageous. A talented social media manager can make anywhere from $15-$20 an hour in the US, and my prices reflect that. A similar employee at a factory in China would make pennies. A talented brand manager can salary at $80,000 + a year and so forth.

I can’t compete with sweatshop/beauty supply prices, and I don’t want to.

Next time you see a handmade product with a price that surprises you, hopefully this will help you understand what’s behind that price tag. I encourage you to support small businesses year round. 

we appreciate your interest in shopping with us and supporting us. we will continue to do all we can to provide a quality product that works and a luxury experience for all.