Need Pricing Help

[Kelly]

I'm not sure what to price my glycerin soap at. I know it depends on location and cost but I need a rough estimate where to start. I don't want to under or over price.

My bars are very simple. They are mostly "perfume" soaps created using M&P bases. I don't even color/dye them, trying to keep them as natural as possible.

TIA!

[eugenia]

Same as any other product, retail = cost x 3 or 4, depending on your market.

[Kelly]

Hmm yes I am aware of that. Let me try to rephrase... how much do others here price their M&P soaps at?

Retail = cost x 3/4 doesn't always work because there can be such variance in cost depending on where you buy your supplies from and whether or not one buys in bulk and of course as I orginally mentioned location.

I'd just like to know what pricing works for others who make M&P soaps and please feel free to post your websites (if that is allowed), I'd love to take a look at everyone's products!

[Carriegsxr6]

Usually I see most people price them at $1.25-$1.50 per ounce. So If you make your bars to weigh 4oz then they usually go for $5-$6.

[EmpressC]

I don't yet sell, so I can't answer your question. But it might help if you ask family and friends and even strangers how much they'd expect to pay for the product if they saw it in a store. Or maybe check out the retail stores in your area to see what the going rate is.

I have asked a lot of people who would be a part of my target market how much they'd expect to pay for my products. Surprisingly, their threshold is WAY higher than cost x 4!!! (Even for M&P soap.) So I don't necessarily plan to go with that pricing formula for my products. But then again, I haven't sold a thing yet. But I am getting requests for purchases now.

As soon as I get labels...

[Kelly]

Thanks guys.

EmpressC: My friends and family are very cheap, they definetly aren't my target market! They use Dove and Irish Spring. And their attitude has rubbed off on me, I wouldn't spend more than $2.00-2.50 on soap so that's why I am having such trouble pricing it.

[Angel91805]

Well, first we need to change your mindset!

Would you expect to pay the same price for a Hyundai as you would a Lexus?

Both M&P and CP/HP soaps are in the Lexus quality...while store bought detergent soaps are not.

Donna

[prairieannie]

Well, first we need to change your mindset!

Would you expect to pay the same price for a Hyundai as you would a Lexus?

Both M&P and CP/HP soaps are in the Lexus quality...while store bought detergent soaps are not.

Donna

Exxxxxxactly!

I price my MP soaps at $5.00/bar. My customers don't bat an eye! Initially I had to market them to some.. but that was easy because in my opinion there is barely anything to compare between hand poured soap and Dial. For $5.00 you get a luxuriously lathering, moisturizing and cleansing bar of soap with "these" ingredients in it. Plus, have you ever smelled anything so wonderful? Over here, you get... this. LOL. It was never too difficult to convince people. I have quite a following now of people who have fallen in love with Goat Milk Soap..

My bars are between 4 and 5oz usually.

[Carriegsxr6]

you need to teach them that with hand made sopas, they are paying for better quality ingrediants and better quality fragrances that can both be custom designed for their wants and needs.

[Kelly]

Irish Spring does smell good though! But I see what you are saying. It will be impossible to convince my stubborn family of this but hopefully, I will be able to build a following, as soon as I start believing in my products.

I guess I was looking at it the wrong way. I thought CP/HP soaps were above and beyond M&P in quality. I was thinking of CP/HP as the Lexus, M&P as the Hyundai, and normal store bough soaps at the Geo Metro's. People will always try to save a buck or two, even when buying something of quality, so I don't want to scare people off with outlandish pricing.

I don't want people to look at my soaps and say, "why would I spend x amount for that when I can get 2 bars of Ivory for $2?".

[Candybee]

My soaps start at $4 and go up from there. My customers often tell me how inexpensive they are!! Maybe thats why they buy them by the armload! LOL

This weekend I am trying out selling naked soaps along with nicely packaged soaps. Haven't completely decided on pricing for the naked ones yet. Suggestions are welcome!

[Angel91805]

Do this, Kelly:

Get the wrapper off a bar of whatever you/your family uses....and do a research on each ingredient and what it does for the skin.

Here's the one for Dove: (Wow...who knew Dove was made from tallow??)

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Coconut Acid, Sodium Tallowate, Water, Sodium Isethionate, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Palm Kernelate, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA, Trisodium Etidronate, BHT, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Sodium DodecylBenzene Sulfonate

Now...if we look at the ingredients in say....SFIC's Low Sweat White M&P Base:

Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower Oil, Glycerine, Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan Oleate (emulsifier) Soybean Protein (conditioner) and titanium dioxide (mineral whitener)

Even if they both have the same cleansing, lather, etc...Personally *I* would rather NOT have all those chemical sounding issues on my skin.

Donna

[debscent]

Your target market will also know the difference between Dove and hand made soap, you just have to get it into the right market. My niece does melt & pour in kid-friendly scents in bars that weigh approximately 2-3 ounces and charges $3.00 a bar or 2 for $5.00 and these are small, thin bars of soap made in a mold. She's only 9, but people don't bat an eye at that price, and heck she's making a nice little profit.

[Tall Blonde]

You know, I live in Solano County, 30 minutes from Napa (wine country). In Napa, people will pay $5 and up for a bar of soap. Even in different towns in my county, people will pay more for soap and stuff. But in the town I live in, $2.50 is the most they are willilng to pay. And since I'm such a crappy sales person, and haven't bothered infiltrating the higher end markets, I have to figure out how to make a bar of soap that's just as good, but doesn't cost me so much to produce. If I could get over my cowardice, I could go to the other areas, but there it is. Selling actually takes effort.

[MochaMama]

Exxxxxxactly!

I price my MP soaps at $5.00/bar. My customers don't bat an eye! Initially I had to market them to some.. but that was easy because in my opinion there is barely anything to compare between hand poured soap and Dial. For $5.00 you get a luxuriously lathering, moisturizing and cleansing bar of soap with "these" ingredients in it. Plus, have you ever smelled anything so wonderful? Over here, you get... this. LOL. It was never too difficult to convince people. I have quite a following now of people who have fallen in love with Goat Milk Soap..

My bars are between 4 and 5oz usually.

I know this is an old thread, but I needed to chime in on this. I gave some soaps (about 4 oz) from a mold, to a friend of mine, who loved it. Then we just started talking about price. I said, hey, I might start pricing them about 5 bucks, since I add stuff like dried herbs and shea butter. I was told that basically my melt/pour soaps were ok, but not worth that much. But, if someone made "real soap" using lye, etc, that was much more work, and thus worth that much more money. I was a little taken aback, because while certainly I don't claim to work with lye, I think that all the months I spent experimenting with different ingredients to find just the right mix, and pour the soaps in individual molds, unmold them etc. etc. should be worth a little more that 2 dollars per 4 oz bar.

But of course, by reading this thread and especially the comments by Angel and PrairieAnnie have shown me that handmade soap of ANY type is worth much more than a bar of Ivory or Dove, because of the simple fact that it is handmade.

It's funny ... I've read that Lush's soaps are melt/pour and many don't have a problem paying top dollar.

[Candybee]

MochaMama-- don't listen to your friend!

I sell my M&P soaps at market every week and my price range is $4 to $6. Four dollars for the 4 oz naked tray soaps and six for the packaged ones 4 oz and up.

Customers buy by the armload!

[Jadryga]

It's funny ... I've read that Lush's soaps are melt/pour and many don't have a problem paying top dollar.

Really?

[sassysoapsnsuch]

Wow this is an interesting thread and so needed right now!

Thanks girls I sell mine at different prices and mine are mp soaps with additives (from my kitchen). My bakery soaps sell for 4.00 each and i also offer specials of buy 3 of the same soaps get the 4th free. I just went into my 1st shoppe in Mo and can't wait to see how they went over. I did send samples to give our cause one thing i learned is if you use handmade soaps once you are hooked.

hugs

sandi

[Lifelace]

Really?

Hi there, yes Lush's soaps are definitely <<melt and pour>>. Here is what it says on their website:

Our handmade soaps are made with only 40-60% soap, leaving more room to add other goodies, not as drying and harsh as other commercial brands.

Yes they are handmade, all Lush's stuff is, doesn't mean it's not melt and pour!

Now this is the ingredient list for their signature Karma soap which is basically just orange semi clear MP:

Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Perfume, Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Orange Oil (Citrus dulcis), Lavendin Oil (Lavendula hybrida), Pine Oil (Pinus), Lemongrass Oil (Cymbopogan flexuosus), Elemi Oil (Canarium commune), Sodium Chloride, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), FD&C Red No. 4.

And that is 7.60$US for 3.5oz.

Mix half clear half opaque and get a good Karma dupe and you have the same thing (or close!).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing Lush in the least, I actually LOVE Lush and have got tons of soaps and bombs etc. from there but I quickly learned I could do the same thing on my own and not spend so much. You pay for the name really so of course I don't think little guys like us can charge this much but still....Although I do admit their soaps are all unique and fun and the look and exotic ingredients is what makes them sell.

You HAVE to change your mind set and learn to appreciate your soaps more, if you don't believe in them, other people won't either. Don't think about what your family would pay, they are not your market, they are not the ones who would buy soap at a farmer's market. They are happy just using the same old detergent bars from the grocery store. People who will buy your soaps know what they are buying and will be more than happy to pay more. And think about the work you put into this? Big companies make how many <<soaps>> per minute in their factories using inferior ingredients? Of course they can sell them for cheap and most people don't care and will keep on buying them just don't confuse those people with your target market!

Melany

[Jadryga]

Wow, thanks for the info!

Actually, I noticed some time back that Lush had surfactants in their soaps, but never really made the connection with MP for some reason or the other.