How to price polymer clay earrings
Updated
A fair price pays for four things: your materials, your time, your overhead, and the fees where you sell. Then it adds some profit for the business.
How much should I charge for polymer clay earrings?
Enough to cover your materials, your time, your overhead and the fees, plus profit. For the dangle earrings below, that's at least $9.64 a pair on Etsy. The stud earrings come to $4.79 a pair. Your own numbers will differ, so use the calculator above.
The pricing formula
- Add up what the materials for one pair cost.
- Work out your time for one pair: hours for a batch × your hourly rate ÷ pairs.
- Add your overhead for one pair: your oven, tools, electricity. Divide a month of it by the pairs you make in a month.
- Price = (all costs + fixed fees) ÷ (1 − percentage fees − profit).
Percentage fees are taken from the final price. That's why the last step divides, instead of adding the fees on top.
A worked example: dangle earrings
One batch makes 12 pairs in 3 hours. The clay, ear wires, jump rings and cards come to $0.84 a pair. Time at $20 an hour comes to $5.00 a pair. Overhead of $30 a month, shared by 60 pairs a month, adds $0.50 a pair.
Sold on Etsy with 20% profit on top, the price comes to $9.64 a pair. Etsy's fees on that are $1.37, and $1.93 is left as profit.
Studs vs dangles
Studs use fewer findings and go faster, so they cost less to make. The stud example makes 20 pairs in 2 hours. Materials come to $0.62 a pair, and your time to $2.00. The price comes to $4.79 a pair, against $9.64 for the dangles.
Making earrings from wire instead? Read how to price handmade earrings, with ear wire prices and a worked example.
Pricing for Etsy vs craft fairs
Fees change the price. The same dangle earrings come to $9.64 a pair on Etsy. At a market with a card reader, they come to $8.40.
Etsy takes 6.5% + 3% + $0.25 an order + $0.20 per item sold. A card reader like Square takes 2.6% + $0.15 an order. If you want one price everywhere, set it for the place with the highest fees.
| Part of the price | Dangles on Etsy | Studs on Etsy | Dangles at a market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $0.84 | $0.62 | $0.84 |
| Your time | $5.00 | $2.00 | $5.00 |
| Overhead | $0.50 | $0.30 | $0.50 |
| Fees | $1.37 | $0.91 | $0.37 |
| Profit | $1.93 | $0.96 | $1.69 |
| Price a pair | $9.64 | $4.79 | $8.40 |
Your time is the biggest cost
In the example, materials cost $0.84 a pair. Time costs $5.00 a pair. Pricing from materials alone leaves out most of the real cost.
Why "double it twice" can go wrong
Keystone pricing is costs × 2 for wholesale, then × 2 again for retail. For the example, that's $12.69 wholesale and $25.38 retail. It works only if your costs include your time. If they don't, doubling a small number still gives a small number.
Common pricing mistakes
- Leaving out your own time.
- Forgetting small findings, earring cards and bags.
- Forgetting the fees where you sell.
- Not counting pairs that break or don't sell.
- Copying other sellers' prices without knowing your own costs.
- Keeping old prices after your supplies cost more.
Common questions
- What hourly rate should I use?
- Use what you'd pay someone else to make your earrings. Craftybase suggests $20 to $30 an hour as a fair starting rate for skilled work in most US markets.
- Are polymer clay earrings profitable?
- They can be, if the price covers your time. In the dangle example, you're paid $20 an hour, and $1.93 a pair is left as profit on top.
- Should I count time for photos and listings?
- Yes, if you do them for each batch. Add that time to the batch time. Costs like your oven go in your overhead.
- What counts as overhead?
- Business costs that aren't for one pair: your oven, cutters, blades, electricity and your website. Add up a usual month and divide by the pairs you make in a month. Cards and bags go in materials, because each pair uses its own.
- What about pairs that break?
- Enter how many pairs you can sell under More settings. The good pairs then carry the cost of the whole batch.
- Can I use it for resin, beaded or other earrings?
- Yes, for any earrings you make in batches. Enter your own materials in pieces, blocks, ounces or grams.
- Which Etsy fees are counted?
- The transaction fee, payment processing, listing fee, charged again for each item sold. Etsy also charges its processing fee on shipping and tax, and some sales pay an Offsite Ads fee. Those aren't counted here.
Where the example prices come from
Each example uses the regular price of one pack on a US supplier's site, checked on October 3, 2026. Prices change. The time, the overhead and the pairs are made up for the example.
- Sculpey Premo polymer clay, 2 oz (every color is the same price) (Polymer Clay Superstore)
- Stainless steel French ear hooks, 25 mm, 144 pieces (Beadaholique)
- Silver plated open jump rings, 4 mm, 100 pieces (Beadaholique)
- Hanging earring cards, white 2 × 2 in, 100 cards (Jewelry Supply)
- Surgical steel posts with 8 mm glue-on pad, 12 pairs (24 posts) (Beadaholique)
- Surgical steel earring backs, 50 pairs (100 backs) (Beadaholique)
The $20 to $30 an hour range is from Craftybase's guide to setting an hourly rate, read on October 3, 2026.
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