Pricing yarn can feel oddly dramatic.
One moment you are confidently typing in a number, and the next you are staring at the screen wondering whether anyone on earth would pay $18 for that skein. Then, naturally, you lower it to $12, panic that you have made a terrible mistake, raise it to $16, and spend the rest of the afternoon feeling slightly suspicious of your own judgment.
The good news is that there is a much easier way.
Pricing yarn does not have to be mysterious, stressful, or based entirely on vibes and whatever number popped into your head while making tea.
The simplest place to begin is with what the yarn originally cost.
Ask yourself:
If the yarn is new and unused with the label attached, a good starting point is:
For example:
$20 × 0.75 = $15
That gives you a sensible starting point without making buyers feel they have accidentally wandered into a very expensive museum exhibit.
Condition matters quite a lot.
Generally:
A full skein that has been wound into a cake is still quite sellable. Many buyers do not mind at all.
A partial skein can still be valuable too, especially if someone needs it to finish a project. There is always someone, somewhere, desperately hunting for exactly 73 yards of a discontinued shade of blue.
If a yarn has been discontinued, sold out, or is difficult to find, you may be able to price it higher.
Buyers looking for discontinued yarn are often trying to finish an older project or match yarn they already own.
That means:
If you have several matching skeins of a discontinued yarn, consider selling them together as a lot.
It is often easier to sell, and buyers are usually delighted to find enough for an entire project rather than spending three weeks hunting down six separate listings like a particularly woolly treasure hunt.
Before you settle on a price, look at what similar yarn has sold for recently.
You can check:
Pay attention to:
A listing that has been sitting untouched for six months at $40 is perhaps not the best example to follow.
Fiber Market Exchange takes a 10% fee from each sale, so be sure to factor that into your pricing.
For example, if you would like to receive about $18 after fees:
$18 ÷ 0.9 = $20
So you would list the yarn at about $20.
No one enjoys the moment of realizing they have successfully sold a lovely skein and somehow earned approximately enough to buy half a biscuit.
If you are selling multiple skeins together, buyers often expect a small discount.
For example:
Lots often sell more quickly because buyers appreciate getting everything together in one go.
And, if we are honest, it is rather satisfying to send one parcel instead of trying to keep track of four separate listings and where on earth you put them.
If your yarn does not sell immediately, that does not necessarily mean you priced it wrong.
Sometimes it simply takes time for the right buyer to come along.
If a listing has been sitting for a few weeks, you can always:
A small adjustment can make a big difference.
The best yarn prices are the ones that feel fair to both you and the buyer.
You do not need to price everything perfectly on the first try. Start with the original value, consider the condition, compare similar listings, and trust yourself.
You know your yarn better than anyone.
Well, possibly except the person who bought it in 2017 and still remembers exactly what they paid for it. But let us not invite that sort of energy into the room.
