I am trying to do a break down on actual cost so that I can see exactly what my profit on a rod is. How do you factor in something like thread, CP, epoxy, razor blades and things like that? Over time you do have to replace these things so I was thinking of adding in some amount to each rod, but the quantity of each used per rod is not always going to be the same. Ideas? Average cost?

Why not just tack on ten bucks per rod or something like that? That should be enough to cover all the incendentals used on a rod.

Thats what I do.

Mike
Mikes Custom Fly Rods

I have a $5 flat rate now for thread, epoxy, decal, etc., but I will be increasing that to $10 for next year. I go through a lot of denatured alcohol, paper towels, aluminum foil, Popsicle sticks for Rod Bond, blue tape, sandpaper, and on & on. These costs will kill you if you don't track them and work it into your rod builds.

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"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

I too tack on about 10.00- 12.00 dollars per rod for materials. But this does not include decals, for these I charge what the decals cost me.
Installation is covered in my labor charges to build the rod.

I add on $4-$8 as a miscellaneous charge, thread, epoxy, etc. depending upon the # of guides and epoxy thread coats.

Ray Zarychta
Glastonbury, CT

I add $10, it's a nice round figure.

jeremy

Maybe I am missing out ... but I charge enough for the finished rod that extraneous costs such as supplies, tools, shipping, etc. don't really matter to me. My final selling price is based on retail components +++ (labor, excise and state tax).

Of course, my "goal" as a rod builder is pretty simple ... my own "free" supply of tackle (rods, reels, line, lures, etc.), overhead expenses (licenses, insurance, etc.) an annual trip to Mecca (a.k.a. ICRBE) to see my colleagues plus all the new stuff and enough clear profit to keep the "revenue sharing" agencies happy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2010 07:58PM by Jim Gamble.

I have a very simple method. Retail cost of parts plus 50% for labor and incidentals. This works for me because I have wholesale pricing from some of the sponsors. Shipping is added later. I used to include shipping but costs have risen significantly on longer rods (balloon handling costs).

I hear what your saying, Jim. I can just tack the $5 or $10 on to my set rate I suppose. I just started doing it that way in my pricing spreadsheet and forgot about it.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

I haven't sold one yet but was planning on something like 5-7% of the selling price.

Thanks guys. This is what I was after. I think I am going to try ten dollars and then keep track of how many rods I can complete with some of the stuff and then refigure if I have to. Thanks again.

Add up all your supplies bought in a entire year and then look up the number of rods you built in that year and divide by that number for the average cost per rod for supplies ..

Bill,
If you plan on selling rods I think that you will find that your marginal varible costs per rod are very small compared to the fixed costs in heat, lights, square footage used in shop, auto mileage etc. all of which are cost to you and can be deducted on your taxes, income taxes not FET.

I think it's time to revisit pricing / costing for a fishing rod. Rod Maker had an excellent poll of rod builders and what they charged per rod and what they charged for repairs. These incidental costs thread (many rods per spool) epoxy (many rods per kit) are really insignificant in comparison to your labor costs. If you're "tacking on" (from above) $4 - $10 per rod for thread perhaps you should rethink your basic pricing instead of "incidentals"

Yes, these costs are much smaller than the labor costs. However, if my cost on a hook keeper is an insignificant 20 cents I still need to include that. Thread & epoxy are things that go into every rod - much like components. They are not labor. It may not really matter how you track it, but for me it is easy to have a labor rate (that might vary on length & number of wraps) and a list of components. But, when I look at my profit, it helps me chart what goes into the rod. The point, I think, is that builders need to charge enough for the build by keeping in mind that all these things - thread, glue, finish, shop space and equipment - are not free.

The outcome is a wash - the customer pays the price of the rod.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

I have been following this topic....

There were several ways that were suggested how to figure cost of thred, glue, color preserver, finish...or just a flat fee...
When I was building I figured the I was going to use 1 spool (50yds) of thread for under wraps, 1 spool (50yds) for over wrap and Diamond, yes I did have "extra" but only enough for maybe 1 or 2 more guides. For the finish that is going to depend on High build or lite build. But that is easy enough to figure...... How many cc do you mix to do a rod, (X) number of coats, (=) number of cc per rod. Bottle size (/) by cc per rod (=) number of rods per bottle. Cost of finish (/) by # of rods (=) cost per rod. You can figure that after just one rod. You can do the same math for the glue.

I was just a "kid" whenI built my last rod about 30 years ago. I started by building one for dad then he was showing them to the guys he worked with......ended up building about 50 or 60 rods while I was in High school. I figured parts +$15 for a "plain Jane" rod. If I did a diamond or chevron that was another $10. So I was selling my rods with a diamond for $45 to $50. Like I said I was in High school and $5 filled the tank and bought a pop... Minimum wage was $2.35

I saw several references to labor fees.
So now onto the question....
How much labor do you charge? is it X$ per hour or # of guides + Decorative wrap = X$. Do you figure it on a % basis ie component cost times 2 or 3 or?????
( I feel like I am asking a lady her age)

I do not want to either give my time away nor do I want to make a KILLING. I just want to be competitive with my pricing. I do not know of anyone in the area that is building rods so I I can not "shop the competition"


thanks in advance
tom

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tom in indy