Price of benches ?

[sardine]

What would you pay for a bench like this made from construction grade timber, some of it recycled it's strong and well made, pocket hole jointed and all screw holes filled and sanded?

This is a greenhouse potting bench, copied from a £300 one seen online, I want £100 for it but I probably wont get it.

I've made a few pieces like this but I'm not getting a price that makes it worth while.

 

[jerrytug]

Yes if it was
1) the size I wanted, and
2) in bits not put together.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

What would you pay for a bench like this made from construction grade timber, some of it recycled it's strong and well made, pocket hole jointed and all screw holes filled and sanded?

This is a greenhouse potting bench, copied from a £300 one seen online, I want £100 for it but I probably wont get it.

I've made a few pieces like this but I'm not getting a price that makes it worth while. View attachment 293218

Mugs game I'm afraid.

By the time you factor in labour and materials the costs high enough that people won't buy

 

[Miranda]

I only put aluminium staging in our aluminium greenhouses having had wooden houses and staging before. It’s the longevity angle that concerns me about wood in a greenhouse environment from past experience and you have to be careful
About some of the wood treatments which may come into contact with plants, particularly food plants.

I suspect there is a market out there for benches such as you suggest but it might be a bit niche or naive.

 

[jerrytug]

They are made on machines out of cheap wood, and 1000's sold on ebay, and it is hard to match the volume if making by hand. Maybe offer custom sizes and designs which it is not economic for big operators to faff with?

 

[8ob]

I like it, not sure how one would go about marketing it. Perhaps make a few samples and leave them in garden centres on sale or return

Bob

 

[jerrytug]

I was looking at garden furniture online, to find an outlet for a friend who is a tree surgeon, and he makes garden tables etc from big trees he cuts up. Nice strong hardwood artisan stuff.
Garden furniture available online is very expensive and badly made, was my conclusion.

 

[jerrytug]

I like it, not sure how one would go about marketing it. Perhaps make a few samples and leave them in garden centres on sale or return

Bob

We are also looking in to that, but for them it is like hosting a competitor, because they all sell pricey n nasty furniture as well as the compost and trowels.

 

[Miranda]

Wooden garden furniture …. Totally different thing. Yes. Good grade stuff demands a premium but you are unlikely to pile it high at B and Q!!!

our bench/table has done us 20 years untouched to date and it is only the rusting out screws which are now letting it down. We would buy another one tomorrow but the saw mill no longer exists.

longevity brings about its own challenge though in terms of marketing. You get to sell one customer one not to be repeated item. ….

 

[Wildefalcon]

Would there be a market for rustic, but well built office furniture? With so many office types working from home then there must be some demand.

 

[Mikes]

Being assembled probably puts people off as few have the means to take it home after buying it. Flat-pack option might help.

 

[James1979]

It’ll take time but you need to develop a reputation for making good stuff and the price will reflect that. People will pay it.

Your strong point will be that you can tweak the design to accommodate people’s needs. Bit wider, higher upstand, that sort of thing.

The other thing you need to consider is volume. I make good stuff (I think ) but at a decent price. I’d rather make one thing at x profit than three things at 1/3 x profit and work three times as hard.

 

[James1979]

Being assembled probably puts people off as few have the means to take it home after buying it. Flat-pack option might help.

This

could you offer a delivery / assembly option? It’s stuff like that which will sell yours. The extra stuff the diy houses can’t do

 

[Screwdriver]

As a business I think you're on a hiding to nothing. Looks a bit pricey at £100 but almost half of that is going to be material (lot of wood goes into a bench!), plus the wire mesh and the fixings. Then of course your time and tools on top of that - plus delivery!

I don't think you can compete on price and even with volume production, knocking out a dozen at a time, I suspect you'll be taking one step forwards, two steps back on profit.

It is a nice looking bench though so you can compete on quality for low volume, bespoke garden equipment. I am no gardener but I'll bet the user would like a different feature for potting tomatoes vs. geraniums, Bonsai etc. Storage drawers, special hangers, tool storage (and supply) clip-on pot hangers or French cleat/peg-board rear panel, if I were you I'd concentrate on accessorising and targeting task specific features.

Then I'd be wanting more like £250 and upselling optional extras.

 

[MysterG]

I'd think that sort of quality has a very limited market.
Does it really need fancy joints and filled screws etc.. ?

There also is the odd relationship between price and quality. Some people won't buy it unless it does cost £300.

Personally I knocked one up out of 3 pallets...

 

[James1979]

There’s truth to that. Mate in England knocked up a fire pit from box section at the start of furlough for extra money. He tried selling them at a decent price, a swanky shop too them on and said he charges too little.

He’s charging £300 for something anyone on here can knock up in half hour. They are mainly sold to second homer’s as artisan or some such crap

 

[Agroshield]

...Flat-pack option might help.

A good flat pack item needs a completely different design to an assembled item. It will need different fixings, different joints and a set of instructions.

Look at the masters of flat pack, Ikea, and how their stuff is packaged, joined together and how their instructions are written.

When someone with no skill buys his table, and fails to put it together properly or nicely, they are not going to acknowledge that the problem is their own; they will blame the seller/maker.

 

[bricol]

To answer the question -I wouldn't pay anything for it - I'd make one myself. In-fact, I did, for my mum. From aluminium widney dorlic (?) extrusion left over from my dads business.

And I'd guess the first place those who won't make one look is ebay, Amazon and then diy stores.

 

[My Old Landy]

To answer the question -I wouldn't pay anything for it - I'd make one myself. In-fact, I did, for my mum. From aluminium widney dorlic (?) extrusion left over from my dads business.

And I'd guess the first place those who won't make one look is ebay, Amazon and then diy stores.

We are in a minority in the greater world. It is why we congregate on here. None of my daughters partners are practical. It is a shame but in 20 years or so there will be very few who do things like that at home.

 

[zx9]

Wooden garden furniture …. Totally different thing. Yes. Good grade stuff demands a premium but you are unlikely to pile it high at B and Q!!!

our bench/table has done us 20 years untouched to date and it is only the rusting out screws which are now letting it down. We would buy another one tomorrow but the saw mill no longer exists.

longevity brings about its own challenge though in terms of marketing. You get to sell one customer one not to be repeated item. ….

^^^^^ Yes and no. If you can sell one quality bench to one person and they really enthuse to their mates when they are next round for a BBQ you will soon be supplying benches for the entire golf club comity or village council you just need to crack that first sale to a local influencer.(modern parlance but they have been at it long before social media)