Price Transparency: Flowers Part II

My clients would have a nervous breakdown if i quoted US$855 for 1 centerpiece. Incorrect pricing probably accounts for why my business is still struggling, despite delivering exceptional quality to my customers.

I thought I was pricing correctly when I marked up the flowers and containers but never seem to include the tapes, pins, glues and never add labour. West Coast is a very different wedding market then the East Coast – I don’t know many designers that would be able to charge like this…..although we have some very talented people here
Thank you for sharing!!

PB: I’d love to hear your thoughts on the designers who only charge a design fee, and sell the flowers to the client at wholesale cost. (see the comments in your original thread above)

Im grateful to you for pricing this arr out for all to see, but If there are people out there who continue to do this, those of us who actually do follow professional business standards will never be able to compete with them. IMO this is one of the main reasons clients dont trust us. That kind of designer make the rest of us look like we are out to rip clients off, when we are truly the ones who are being professional.

Care to address this? =)

Please explain this sort of reasoning. (if you can!)

Preston thank you so much for this topic and sharing your pricing. You don’t have to do it but it helps people like me who don’t know how to price for services and shortchange ourself because we are uncomfortable to ask for our true worth. You can’t run a business on good looks unfortunately so you have to get past being uncomfortable to run a business.

@ Delilah, I would guess that his prices may be flat for materials to account for the tax, shipping, storage, and staff required to order and maintain bulk supplies. Just a guess though.

Great information Preston! Thanks again.

I also struggle with pricing…..I can guesstimate on my proposal….but I have no clue what the actual cost will be until the week before or of the wedding when I actually place my flower order. Then there is always air freight charges which is an uncertain. Help!!!

Loraine, my clients would never pay that either! However, that’s what that centerpiece is worth! There are many options for different centerpieces to get this type of look at a lower price.

I should have guessed a higher markup for the NYC market… we only get abot 30 to 50 percent here. As for Delilah: those are wholesale prices. And the only floral shops that I now that get the kind of bulk discounts are the ones that sell FTD arrangements to the public, or shops that reuse their flowers for two or more different client events that may be happening within the same dates, not event/per order shops like PB’s and countless other event only production shops. You pay for quality.

Clients should know the worth of their choice. It is hard for many to realize as what takes to create their dreams. I am glad that Preston is talking about this on a open platform.

Sorry, but I’m shocked at the number of florists here who are willing to be their own sweat shop labor.

I’m a planner not a florist and most of my client would also not pay $850.00 per arrangement. What they would do~ is accept something in their price range that was inspired by this look but used less expensive flowers or permanent botanicals or that approximated the shape or on a smaller scale. If you’re going to be inspired, be inspired by the best.

I see it as my job to present options in their price range in all aspects of my planning. Great design can be achieved at many price points. Interpreting the highest level of design for your own local market and economy is what it’s about. Thanks goodness, you can’t buy taste or class.

Kudos to Preston for not only leading as a designer but as a business mentor.

Thank you Preston. I’m feeling validated. My guess yesterday was $850. I arrived at that number differently than you (a little less for labor, more markup on the product) but in the end it’s the same price. I also add a 15%-20% service charge to events to cover all the time it takes me to plan, deliver and setup the event. So maybe I’m charging more than you!

I am a bride and appreciate the break down of your pricing. I would not complain at 100% mark up i mean every other service does this, i easily pay over $100 at my favorite restaurant which i’m sure the mark up is more than 100% however you are paying for the quality of the product.

My career experience was to help small businesses determine a good profitability range – charge too much and you lose to your competition. Charge to little and you lose money. Just as you’ve broken down the cost of the centerpiece, the cost of the percentage of rent, storage etc. must be assigned a figure as well – to add a flat 100% markup may leave you charging too little on less expensive, simpler arrangements and too much on arrangements that are too costly. At the end of the day, I think a long list of satisfied clients will give the ultimate flexibility in how much can be charged because greater demand than supply will always provide a lovely well-earned return! I consider myself fortunate indeed to have seen your work first-hand and while I have no idea of the cost, I have no doubt you earned whatever you charged!

Everything, looks WONDERFUL ! I wanna know, how you put the green cymbidiums on the 12″x12″ 3″ Styrofoam Square, and then the glass base.

WONDERFUL JOB, and amazing colors !!

Thank you for all the info.

Best Regards from Costa Rica.

Preston,

THANK YOU! I appreciate your openness, honesty, and transparency. You advice has helped to grow my business in so many ways. I constanly struggle with how to price my services. Please continue to share with us. The above breakdown helps professionals & clients. This allows clients to see that a lot goes into creating a beautiful design for them. YES, I love what I do but I have a household to support. This is not just a hobby this is my career.

I don’t understand why are some of these “professionals” arguing and disproving this great information! Preston, I have to give you thumbs up that you are doing a wonderful job and every penny its worth it. It is unfain to us as designers if we think about it…. 1.We have to come up with a unique design -requires lots of hours and a few employees to help you brain storm, this costs $$$$.
2. Although may take advance of some bulk or specials sometimes on buying flowers, but it still adds up when you have to hire the best to help you and the business without disappointing.
People have been disproving of high art since many generations, but everyone wants to be treated like celebrities for a very small cost. Well, excuse me if the clients we have cant accept our talent and hard work, then we need to find the ones that do appreciate us! People that want the best, they will pay for it!!! Thank you again for being so open!!!

Preston! these flowers are fabulous! have you seen the new Vera Wang on Weddings app? I think you would love it!!

As a publisher of trade magazines for florists in the UK I would just like to say thank you to you for being both honest and realistic. Yes your work is probably in the higher price bracket than most but the same business principles apply and if it helps brides understand why wedding flowers cost more … because so much more work goes into creating the dream – then you have helped the industry and I for one appreciate that.

Thank you for posting this Preston. I’m guessing this is the cost of the centerpiece only and not your professional services or event design services?

I think so many people are desensitized to wedding and event design pricing, because they see such gorgeous work in magazines or on wedding shows; and most of the time, pricing is not mentioned. So people pick a picture from a magazine, and march in to see us and say I want this! And it’s like gently popping a balloon when you have to explain to them the cost, and that we may have to modify their vision based on their budget.

I found Delilah’s comments extremely naïve. No offense, but wake up and smell the overhead! Not to mention the cost of goods, labor, business insurance, payroll taxes, cost to maintain delivery vehicles, cost to clean and restock rental items, cost to retrieve rental items from and event and pay staff to strike the event, cost to keep you and your staff current on design practices, product knowledge, and technology….I could go on and on. I think his pricing is right on the money if not a little low. Again, I’m guessing there are other design fees that may come into play….either that or maybe he’s getting product for less than what I pay for it. Not to mention the loss that we take on product on a regular basis, or the fact that often there are hiccups along the way that cause our job to actually take longer than it does. All of this takes time and know-how, and that’s worth a lot.

Hey Preston,

I hope things are going well, I understand about your pricing and hopefully that is my goal. What do you do, when your client says I love your idea, but it is not in our budget, is there anything you can do to reduce it?

Thank you,
Anne Griggs, Floral and Event Design

We price with a 5 x’s mark up and 20 % design fee
At the end of our overview, with all items ordered, we have a 20% labor and setup charge