How to price your sewing work in Nigeria: a method, not a price list

For tailors and fashion designers in Nigeria · 9 minute read

Search for what to charge for sewing and you will find lists of naira prices. Different lists often disagree, and none of them knows your town, your cloth or your costs. This guide gives you something better: a method to build your own price.

Please read this first. Prices differ by city, by cloth, by skill and by customer, and they change every year as thread, zips, fabric and electricity change. So this guide gives you no price for any garment. Every naira figure below is a made-up example. You must fill in your own numbers.

Why most tailors undercharge

Most tailors do not undercharge because they are bad at business. They undercharge because they price by feeling, or by copying the shop next door. They look at the style, think of a number and hope the customer agrees. Then the outfit is finished, the hours are counted, and the pay is almost nothing.

The shop next door has different rent, different helpers and a different hourly need. Copying their number copies their problems too. A price you built yourself is easier to defend, and easier to explain to a customer.

Work out your real cost per garment

Write down what leaves your pocket for one outfit, even the small things.

• Fabric, if you buy it for the customer. Leave it out if they bring their own.
• Lining, zip, buttons, hooks, thread and interfacing.
• Electricity and generator fuel.
• Transport for buying materials or delivering.
• Rent. Share the monthly rent across the outfits you finish in a month.
• Helper or apprentice pay for hemming, buttons and pressing.

If you cannot say what your shop costs in a month, add rent, power and helper pay, then divide by the number of outfits you usually finish. That is the shop share for each outfit.

Time: count every hour

Time is the cost tailors forget, and it is the biggest one. Count everything: taking measurements, drafting, cutting, sewing, fittings, corrections, pressing, and the WhatsApp chats about the style. A plain gown, an agbada and a corset do not take the same number of hours, so count them separately.

Do not guess. Next time you sew, write the start and stop time each day. After two or three outfits of the same type you will have a real average. The number is often bigger than you expected, and that is exactly why you need it.

A simple pricing formula, with a worked example

First set the hourly rate you need. Work out what you must earn each month to live and run the shop, then divide it by the hours you can really work, not the hours you wish you had. Then use this:

Here is the formula on one gown. Every number is made up for this example only. Do not copy them as prices. The customer brings her own fabric.

The customer sees one clear total. You see where every naira comes from, so you know how much room you have if she asks for a discount.

Price by type of work

The formula stays the same. What changes is the hours and the risk. Work it out once for each type of job you do often.

• Plain outfits. Few pieces, little hand work. Your hours are steady, so your price is the easiest to fix.
• Designed outfits. Many panels, lace matching, structured bodices or delicate cloth take more hours and carry more risk of a mistake. Add the extra hours.
• Aso-ebi. A group order gives you volume but also many fittings, many chats and many people to chase. Price each piece separately, then decide if a group discount still leaves your margin. Never discount below your costs.
• Wedding and bridal. More fittings, more pressure, and no second chance. Count the fittings in your hours, and keep the margin larger.
• Alterations. Small jobs still cost you time to receive, fix, press and return. Price per item, and set a minimum so a tiny job does not cost you more than it earns.

Extras to charge for

• Rush fee. If the customer needs the outfit sooner than your normal time, you push other orders aside and work late. Decide your normal sewing time first. Then say: “My normal time is four weeks. For anything shorter, there is a rush fee.” A customer with a real deadline will pay. One without a deadline will give you more time. Agree the fee before you accept, never after.
• Fitting changes. Say how many fittings are included. Extra changes that come from the customer’s new idea, not your mistake, cost extra.
• Customer’s own fabric. You carry the risk when you cut cloth you did not buy and cannot replace. Some tailors price this in, and some ask the customer to confirm the yardage in writing. Pick your rule and apply it to everyone.
• Lining and notions you supply. List them as separate lines so the customer sees the cost.
• Fabric sourcing. If you shop for the customer, your time and transport cost money, so charge for them.

Deposit and payment terms

Many tailors ask for a deposit before they cut, and some ask for the fabric too. Once cloth is cut it cannot go back, and you have already spent your time. A deposit shows the customer is serious and covers your materials if they change their mind.

There is no single standard amount, and we will not invent one. Choose a rule that suits your work, for example enough to cover your materials plus part of the labour, and apply it to everybody. A rule is easier to explain than a separate deal with each person. For rush jobs, some tailors ask for a larger deposit, because the slot you give up is harder to fill.

Write the terms on the price list and on the receipt: the total, the deposit, the balance, the due date and “balance before collection”.

Copy-and-paste tailor price list

Once you have worked out your numbers, put them in a simple list and send it before the customer asks. The blanks are yours to fill. We have left them empty on purpose, because only you know your costs. The shop name and customer in our examples are made up.

ADUNNI COUTURE: PRICE LIST
Last updated: [date]
Prices depend on style, cloth and size.
The client brings the fabric unless we agree otherwise.

SEWING (starting prices)
Plain gown: from ₦______
Designed gown: from ₦______
Aso-ebi outfit, per piece: ₦______
Wedding / bridal: from ₦______
Senator / kaftan: from ₦______
Agbada: from ₦______
Trouser / skirt: from ₦______
Alterations, per item: from ₦______

EXTRAS
Lining: ₦______
Hand work / embroidery, per hour: ₦______
Rush fee (needed in under ___ weeks): ₦______
Fabric sourcing: ₦______

TERMS
Normal sewing time: ___ weeks
Deposit before cutting: ______
Balance before collection.
Fittings included: ___
Extra fittings: ₦______

The word “from” leaves room for extras. Review the list every few months, because your costs move.

What to do when a customer says “last price”

Bargaining is normal, and most customers are not trying to cheat you. You do not have to refuse and you do not have to give in. Your worked-out number tells you where your floor is. If you reduce the price, reduce something real, such as a simpler style or no lining. Replies you can adapt:

• Thank you, [Name]. This price already covers the lining and fittings. I can lower it if we simplify the style. Should I suggest an option?
• I understand, [Name]. This is already my fair price for this outfit. If you want a lower amount, I can remove the hand work and the price will come down.

When and how to raise your prices

• Check your costs first. If thread, zips, fabric or power cost you more than when you set your list, your price must move too.
• Raise for new customers first. Move old customers up later.
• Give notice. Tell regular customers a few weeks ahead: “From next month, my prices are going up a little.”
• Give a reason they can see. Cost of materials, better finishing, shorter turnaround.
• Go in small steps. A small rise twice a year is easier to accept than one big jump.

Some customers will leave. Those who only came for the lowest price were costing you money.

Put the agreed price on the receipt

A price is only settled when it is written down. Once you and the customer agree, write the total, deposit, balance, due date and style on the receipt, and give it to them the same day. Then nobody says “I thought it was less.” Our guide on how to write a receipt for tailors shows the layout. If a balance does come late, our payment reminder messages give you the words.

Questions tailors ask about pricing

How much should I charge to sew an outfit?

There is no honest single answer, because it depends on your costs, hours and city. Use the formula above: materials, shop share, hours at your hourly rate, margin and extras. The result is your price for that type of outfit.

How do I charge by the hour?

Divide the monthly income you need by the hours you can really work. Multiply that rate by the hours an outfit takes, but quote the customer one total for the garment, not an hourly figure.

How much should I charge for alterations?

Price per item and set a minimum. Count the time to receive, fix, press and return the item, not only the stitching.

How do I price when the customer brings the fabric?

Leave out the cost of cloth but keep every other line. Because you cannot replace their cloth, think about asking them to confirm the yardage, and include the risk in your margin.

Should I charge for fittings or a redo?

State how many fittings are included. Extra changes that come from the customer’s new idea can cost extra. A redo caused by your own mistake is on you.

How should I price a wedding outfit?

Use the same formula, but count every fitting in your hours and keep a larger margin. Take a deposit before cutting and write the collection date on the receipt.