Magic Business: How to Price Magic Services
Knowing how to price is an integral part of your magic business. Prices that are too high will result in no customers at all, and prices too low could result in you getting overwhelmed with orders. You need to find a balance so that you will get customers in the first place, be able to keep up with them, and make enough money for yourself.
***NOTE that this is written mainly for USD.
Purpose/Effects of Pricing:
Incur a profit,the most obvious reason. You want to make money for yourself.
Control/affect demand- Part of the economic law of Supply and Demand is that as price increases, demand decreases; as price decreases; demand increases- an inverse relationship.
Demand- Demand is the main force that will drive your prices. Again, prices too high mean no customers, and prices too low could mean becoming overwhelmed with orders. Try to set prices that balance demand and your ability to supply.
Quality -If your tarot readings, for example, are renown for being highly accurate, of course you will be able to price them higher than a beginner reader. People will pay more for things they believe are of higher quality.
Income- You need to make an income, of course. Once you get business regularly, try to have your lowest prices be about the equivalent of minimum wage in your area; you deserve it, of course.
Length/Time Invested- The longer a service takes/the more time to make a product, the more you should charge. Time IS money here, quite literally.
Cover cost of supplies: For spells, amulets, charms, spirit/entity vessels, and other services, you will have to charge enough to cover the cost of the supplies. You want a good margin of profit- meaning you want the revenue from selling to exceed what the cost of the supplies are, otherwise you’re not making any money to take home.
Signs your prices are too high:
People rarely if ever buy your product, even if you are high-quality, have tons of reviews, etc.
No matter how much you advertise, self-promote, etc, it seems like people don’t do more than glance over your items.
Your friends say they wouldn’t buy them even if they had the means.
You wouldn’t buy that service for (insert your price here).
People believe your services are fake or a scam.
Signs your prices are too low:
You are magically exhausting yourself to keep up with orders; they just keep pouring in no matter how many you do.
Some Example Bad Starting Prices: Imagine an absolute beginner charging these prices. They have no reputation, no reviews. Would you buy these services from them at these prices? Most likely not.
Single Question Pendulum reading: $15
Pre-Conjured Spirit: $200
Suggested Starting Prices: Note that these are only suggestions for starting prices; meaning you should only start with these, not stay with them. This is termed “penetration pricing”. These prices are low enough that people will be attracted to you even though you do not have much experience/reviews yet, but high enough that you should be able to turn a decent profit even though you are just starting.
Pre-Conjured Spirit/Entity: $15-30
Custom Conjure Spirit/Entity: $35-50
By Time it Takes to Do the Service:
Remember, these are just starting prices to enter the market, meaning prices ONLY for the purpose of building up reputation/a customer base in the long run. Obviously, raise your prices as the quality of your readings, your demand, and reviews/reputations increase. When raising prices, raise them very slowly; maybe 25-50 cents to a dollar at a time for very low-cost services, and a couple of bucks, maybe $3-5 for higher-cost services.
***NOTE that this is written mainly for USD.
Here are the other posts in this magic business series if you have not seen them yet and would like to read. These are all part of my #magic business series (all articles use that tag).
Things to Know Before Starting a Magic Business
How to Start an Online Magic Business
How to Market Yourself on Tumblr
How to Politely Refuse Service