So, my wifes Boss - a woman I've known for 35+ years - asked me to make her 3 window boxes. Simple tray things to hold some plastic troughs.
She's happy to pay for quality, she didn't want pine, she wanted 'proper' wood - and they had to be painted white to match the front of her house.
I priced up some cedar (£240), and off the top of my head, because she's an old friend, I said I'd do them for £50 a box. In my head, £400 for 3 planters is pretty steep. I wouldn't pay that, but she seemed very happy.
By the time I'd finished (I even forgot to add in the time it'd take to paint them when I thought of what I'd charge ), I worked out I'd charged about £4 p/h (It doesn't bother me, I didn't do it to make a killing).
Out of curiosity, I wondered what a 'proper firm' would charge. I found a place that sold roughly the same size, but they used pine framing and just cedar cladding. Fairly gobsmacked to find the going rate..... £485 per box!!