price of lye soap

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I make homeade lye soap...some with herbs and some scented...some for hunters and fishers...what price do you pay for lye soap in your area? some say my price of $1.50 per bar is too little...( herbed scented ect.. is 2.50 per bar )...any thoughts???

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), January 15, 2002

Answers

I pay 2.50 a bar for Plum Spice off of e-bay then the shipping. It is the best smelling soap I have ever had and it dose not send my sinuses going crazy like store bought soap.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), January 15, 2002.

depends on your area,, 75 cents a bar around here

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 15, 2002.

I make all kinds of scented soaps. My favorites are with herbs in them. I sell them for $2 per bar for a ~4 oz. bar. With no stuff in them they will smell, if you use lard, like bacon or pork fat when they cure. Those would be $1.50 with no problem. What you need to figure out is how much everything costs per batch. I can purchase a cube of lard (50#) for ~$30 in the area. Lye per can is ~$4.00 for the 16 oz. size. Then there are the scents, herbs, and colorants. Average out three or four batches. I make an 8# batch. It makes 25- 30 bars (depending if I break them or they cut strangely). Divide 25 into your cost. Add 30% profit margin (low-medium margin) and Voila! ~~~ You have your selling price.

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

We sell sheep's milk soap, 4.50 per bar Canadian and that's cheap! You should try to get at least 2.5 USD

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), January 15, 2002.

In stores (if you were to sell through them) they would price at least $4-5.00 for a standard 4oz. bar.

Are you doing this as a hobby (in other words, if you cover your material costs with maybe a little extra you're happy), or as a real business (in which case you need to figure in your hourly wage plus other overhead--licenses, stationery, etc.)?

Also, remember that no matter how much you think something should sell for, there is that annoying little term "how much the market will bear" which runs the gamut from yuppies with no time and lots of money to other locals in the area who will shake their head in amazement and say you want HOW much?!" (mostly because they know exactly what it takes to make something in time and money, and if the bought price is too high, but they still want it, they WILL make it instead).

If the other people telling you to raise your prices are other soapers, they don't want you undercutting their prices, plain and simple. If you are happy with what you're getting (and who's to say that you aren't more efficient at what you do than someone else?), then don't worry about what others say.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 15, 2002.



Hello Kristean, We sell our homemade lye soap on Ebay for $2.50 a bar, plus shipping.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.


I get $2.00 per small bar. I don't sell just one bar usually however, most are orders of at least 10 bars. I don't sell retail alot, so mine gets marked up to $3.50 to $4.00 and still sells. I have a couple gals who buy my soap just for their own use and gifts, so I still give them the same price. I figured I still make plenty on it. I keep the funny shaped bars or uneven cuts for my own families use, and the nicest ones for gifts. I think you could get more than $1.50 for sure!!! Mine are not fancy, but always scented lightly, wrapped in calico with a strand of raffia around the bar tied in a small bow.

-- Jenny (auntjenny@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

I spend a lot of time on soapmaking forums. Most soapmakers price their bars at $1/ounce. When all expenses are considered, it's still tough to make a profit at that price, though. I've been selling high quality goat milk soap for three years, and my business isn't much more than a tax write-off.

-- Sharon/WI (pinnow@inwave.com), January 15, 2002.

Hi - I sell mine for $3.00 for a 3.5oz bar. The stores around here (NE Ohio) sell them for $4.50 - $5.00 a bar.

-- kathy (kathy0801@msn.com), January 15, 2002.

I sell mine locally for 2.50 for a 4 to 5 ounce bar, naturally scented all coconut oil soap.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 17, 2002.


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