How do I price a laser cut ornament?

Add plywood share, machine time, packaging, fees and your labor, then add your target profit and divide by one minus the fee share. Compare with similar listings.

Should I charge for my time?

Yes. Handling, sanding, packing and messages are real work. If you do not count your time, you are paying to make your own products.

How do I charge for personalization?

Add a separate charge that covers proofing, editing the file and the extra cut. Do not hide it in the base price.

How many ornaments fit on one sheet?

For our reindeer ornament, 18 fit on a 600 x 400 mm sheet in a simple grid, 9 on a 300 x 400 mm sheet. Nesting may fit more.

How often should I review my prices?

At least once a season. Update your sheet price, time per batch and shipping costs, and recalculate.

How to Price Laser Cut Products (With Worked Example)

There is a particular silence at a market stall when someone picks up your ornament, turns it over, and asks the price. You say a number, and in that half-second you find out whether you priced from fear or from facts. This guide shows how to price laser cut products so the number you say is one you can defend.

All prices below are example numbers to show the method. Replace every one with your own costs.

Step 1: Work out the cost of one piece

Start with what a single finished piece costs you. Use our reindeer ornament as the example: 90 x 124 mm, 3 mm plywood, 18 pieces fit on a 600 x 400 mm sheet in a simple grid. Estimated cut time is 1 min 48 s on a 10 W diode, 44 s on a 40 W CO2 and 22 s on a 100 W CO2.

Cost item	How to calculate	Example (40 W CO2)
Plywood	Sheet price / 18 pieces	Example sheet 12.00 / 18 = 0.67
Machine time	Cut time in hours x your hourly machine rate	44 s = 0.012 h x 4.00 = 0.05
Cord or ribbon	Actual cost per piece	0.05
Packaging	Bag, card, envelope, label	0.40
Handling labor	Minutes for sanding, checking, packing x your hourly wage	4 min at 15.00/h = 1.00
Total cost	Add up	2.17

The machine rate is your own estimate: what the laser, tube or diode module, filters, electricity and repairs cost you per working hour. If you do not know it yet, start with a low guess and revise after a few months.

Step 2: Add profit and fees

Platform and payment fees are usually a percentage of the sale, so they come out of the price after the customer pays. That is why you divide instead of just adding.

Price = (cost + profit you want) / (1 - fee share)

With the total cost 2.17, example profit 2.00 and an example combined fee share of 12 % (check your own platform):

(2.17 + 2.00) / 0.88 = 4.74

You might round that to 4.95. If you pay for postage out of the price, add it before dividing.

Pro tip: do the sum for three prices (low, middle, high) and write them on one sheet. You will see how little room a bargain price leaves.

Step 3: Compare the same piece on different lasers

Machine time matters more than people think. The same ornament costs very different amounts of machine time on different lasers.

Laser	Time per ornament	Time for 18 pieces (one sheet)	Machine cost at example 4.00/h
10 W diode	1 min 48 s	about 32 min	about 0.12 per piece
40 W CO2	44 s	about 13 min	about 0.05 per piece
100 W CO2	22 s	about 7 min	about 0.02 per piece

Machine time is small per piece in this example, but it becomes the main cost when pieces are large or heavily engraved. Engraving adds time not included in the cut estimates above. If you run a diode laser, you can still sell profitably, but your hourly output limits how many pieces you can make. Do not assume the machine cost is the same across lasers; the table uses one rate only to show the effect of time.

Step 4: Check the market, then decide

Cost-plus gives you a floor. The market gives you a ceiling. Look at similar items listed by other shops: material, size, quality of photos, whether personalization is offered. Then position yourself.

Your situation	Pricing approach
Plain stock design, many sellers	Price near the market; compete on photos, packaging and speed
Personalized with name or date	Add a clear personalization charge, since it needs proofing and manual work
Sets (3, 6, 12 pieces)	Lower price per piece than singles, but a higher order value
Unique or original design	You can price above market if the quality shows
Markets and fairs	Round numbers, easy change, bundle deals

Step 5: Price personalization and sets properly

Personalization is more than text on a piece. You have to check spelling, edit the file, maybe wait for a reply from the customer and run a separate cut. Charge for that time, not just for the plywood. For sets, remember that handling and packaging do not shrink in proportion: a set of six is not six times the packing time, but it is more than one.

Step 6: Do not forget hidden costs

Failed cuts and test pieces. Add a small percentage to every batch.
Returns and replacements. Some pieces will break in the post.
Software, photography, storage. Spread across the pieces you expect to sell in a year.
Your time on messages. Customers ask questions; that time is real.

Common mistake: pricing by copying the cheapest listing. The cheapest seller may use a faster laser, a different material, or may not count their own time. If you match their price without matching their costs, you work for free.

Step 7: Review your prices every season

Prices that worked last year may not work now. Plywood costs change, fees change, and you get faster. Once a quarter, pull your real numbers (sheet price, time per batch, shipping paid) and redo the sums. See also how much it costs to make a laser cut ornament and is a small laser business profitable.

A worked scenario: a set of six

Let us put the method to work on something people really buy: a set of six ornaments in one envelope. Use the same example numbers as above, all placeholders.

Item	Single ornament	Set of six
Plywood	0.67	4.02
Machine time (40 W CO2)	0.05	0.30
Cord	0.05	0.30
Packaging	0.40	0.60 (one envelope, one card)
Handling labor	1.00	3.00 (one pack-up for six)
Total cost	2.17	8.22

Six singles would cost 13.02 to make and pack, but the set costs 8.22, because packing and handling are shared. That gap is your room to offer a nicer price per piece and still earn more per order. Plug the set cost into the same formula: (8.22 + 3.00) / 0.88 = 12.75. Compare that with six singles at 4.74 each, which would be 28.44. You could price the set well below six singles and still make profit, which is exactly why sets sell.

Pro tip: keep a small table like this for every product. After a few months you will know at a glance which items earn and which merely keep you busy.

Pricing mistakes that keep makers poor

Most pricing problems are not maths problems. They are feelings. Makers worry that the price is too high, that friends will say "I could make that", or that the shop next door is cheaper. A price based on your real costs is a calm place to stand: you know why the number is what it is, and you can raise it, lower it or offer a discount without guessing.

Next step

Take your best-selling item, fill in the cost table with your real numbers, and calculate the price with the formula. If your current price is lower than the result, you have found an easy win.