Can Anyone Give Me A Pricing Suggestion

I'm wondering just how decorative these albums would be. . . fabric, metal, what kind of added decorations, and how many photos would each hold? I worked in a card and gift shop for a couple years, and the going rate for metal minis is about 13, then 20, and maybe 30. . .

If the albums are extremely nice, say, for weddings, you could probably expect 50 dollars for the largest, then maybe 35 and 20 or so.

And if they're acid free and perhaps nice enough for scrapbookers, you can expect that higher range as well.

Basically, as far as I'm concerned, if the album is nice enough that I'll keep it forever, I'd be willing to pay 40-50 for a large one, 25-35 for medium, and 15-25 for a small one. . .

Hope that helps!

onyxelle...welcome to A2K!

Okay..so heres the questions to be able to respond more clearly to your question:

What is the decorative part of the album? Is this a cover, something you make to give the album its customizing?
Are these those albums with the slip in photo pages?

Being a photographer and doing custom albums (high end) I can tell you people usually want it all for the least....hey, dont blame them..if I could get it all for free..heck..Id go for it.
However, the amount of time that goes into customizing something of this nature really doesnt pay you all that much for your 'artistic' time and effort (until you can get a backlog of supplies on hand, good suppliers with excellent pricing, and excellent supplies as well).
Dont get me wrong, if you can offer something different and interesting thats custom designed for someone, heck, they will come....its just about yes, pricing, and individuality.
In this day and age...well, around here there are so many craft stores and such that the smaller decorative albums might not do well...we have Christmas Tree Shops after all. I however do know a woman who contracted with them doing custom artistic picture frames and did well once she was able to get off her feet...so theres a great deal of different ways you can go.
More info is definately needed though to help you out with some possible pricing.

Hmm. . . I forgot to mention that these are the mass-produced variety. . . especially if you make them extremely custom- ie, let the customers choose specific elements, you could expect them to be willing to pay, hmm, I'd say 30% or so more.

I've seen some customers pretty focused on albums who'd pay anything for one that was "just right". You've found a good niche for a business :-) good luck!

onyxelle, First of all, WELCOME to A2K. As for pricing custom made photo albums, I don't have a clue. I think a good way to price your albums is to compare what you are offering against what is available in the stores for photo albums, then add a mark up for your creativity. That will at least provide you with a "base" price sort of thing. Good luck in your buseinss venture. c.i.

Yeah, the wedding/baby thing is a good way to go high priced...people are usually willing to pay, or willing to purchase for someone else on the high end of the scale...especially if its just what they want.

YOU GUYS/GIRLS ARE ALL GREAT.

I was thinking yes, very customized, but not mass produced, as I'm mom, wife, and working :-) right now. I would sit with the buyer and let them tell me exactly what they want, and I normally have done wedding and baby photo albums. In fact, I just recently did one for my stepdaughter who got married and hers included a keepsake pocket in the back. they're the acid-free photo albums and the designing goes as deep as the customer wants. I guess I'll have 'stock' type pricing, and then whatever a person wants above and beyond the normal, I'd charge extra for.

Sounds like a plan. . . and for that amount of customability, you could probably charge the higher end even of the card store type designer albums. . . I'd just head out to a Hallmark or so near by and see what they're charging, then make a few dollars (I dunno, 5-10) more than that your base (after all, they are custom) and establish a price chart for certain add ons. . .

If you are actually sitting down with a client and custom-designing the album, you could charge a small consultation fee. It might give the venture an air of exclusivity. Don't sell yourself short.

Thanks to you all. I'm going to make a 'stock' christmas album this evening and I'll post a link to a picture for you all to see in a few days.