It can be, but the knotting time decides it: cord for a plant hanger costs about $4, and the knotting, about 47 minutes, costs far more. Priced for the time, hangers and wall hangings keep a modest margin; DIY kits keep the most, because the customer does the knotting. Keychains made in batches sell the hangers. Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price. In the example below, a plant hanger costs $21.95 to make and sell and goes for $43.00, a 49% margin. A month of four products brings $4,424 of sales and about $2,240 of gross profit.
The short version
- Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price; markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost.
- Count your time as a cost, even if you don't pay yourself yet.
- A plant hanger: $21.95, $43.00, 49%.
- Knotting time is most of the cost.
- DIY kits keep the most: the customer knots.
- Keychains made in batches bring people to the table.
- TaroStack costs each piece from what each batch used. More below.
A plant hanger, costed
Conestoga Knot Co., the made-up macrame maker in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I use in these examples, counts its time at $20 an hour:
| A cotton plant hanger | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cord, 30 m, and a ring | $4.46 |
| Tag and bag | $0.50 |
| Knotting, 47 minutes | $15.70 |
| Card fees, 3% of $43.00 | $1.29 |
| Cost | $21.95 |
Pricing a piece is in how to price macrame, and the year in macrame business plan.
Margins by channel
| Product | Sold where | Price | Cost | Gross profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant hanger | Markets and online | $43.00 | $21.95 | $21.05 | 49% |
| Wall hanging, 24 in | Online and commissions | $158.00 | $81.94 | $76.06 | 48.1% |
| Keychain | Markets, made in batches | $5.00 | $2.53 | $2.47 | 49.4% |
| DIY plant hanger kit | Online and workshops | $28.00 | $11.47 | $16.53 | 59% |
The wall hanging keeps 48.1%, with three hours in it; the keychain 49.4%; the kit 59%, with the knotting left to the buyer.
A month's numbers
A month for Conestoga Knot Co.:
| Product | Units | Sales | Gross profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant hanger, markets and online | 40 | $1,720 | $842 |
| Wall hanging, 24 in, online and commissions | 8 | $1,264 | $608 |
| Keychain, markets | 120 | $600 | $296 |
| DIY plant hanger kit, online and workshops | 30 | $840 | $496 |
| Month | $4,424 | $2,243 |
Plant hangers bring the most gross profit; the kits keep the most of each dollar and sell at workshops, where people learn the knots. Margin against markup is in markup vs margin.
Get the calculator
Download the macrame margin calculator. One sheet: one line for each product and channel, with its price, materials, packaging, labor and fee rate; the cost, gross profit, margin, markup and the price your target margin needs fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The calculator holds one knotting time. A new design that takes twice as long, cord bought by the spool at a better price, and a commission with changes change the month.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps cord, rings and dowels counted, and costs every batch.
Supplies in their units. Cord bought by the spool is used by the meter, and rings and dowels by the each.
Designs as recipes. Each piece is a recipe of its supplies, so a batch takes them off stock and is costed from what they cost, and good and rejected pieces are recorded.
Reordering. Supplies come up on a reorder list in days of cover, worked out from how fast they're used.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Supplies on hand | Count the shelf | Stock in its own units |
| What a batch cost | Prices you type | Costed from what you paid |
| Pieces re-knotted | Not counted | Good and rejected on each batch |
| When to reorder | When it's low | Reorder list in days of cover |
Recipes, units, costing and reorder lists are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.