[BobD]

I echo Mark's statements about posting an example. I think Mark can give you a good estimate of price.

I've seen his work (check out his gallery link) and know how busy his customers keep him, so I believe he's got his pricing right.

And I'm sorry you didn't like the whimsical yet genuine attempts by the other members to be helpful. That's just how we are on this board; for the most part, we're hobby carvers (with a few experts like Mark, Lora S. Irish, Thor, and a few others) who look at the message board not only as a source of information, but a way to communicate with friends from around the country. I know no one intended any ill will.

Best regards,
Bob Duncan
Technical Editor

[mark yundt]

Thanks Bob. Considering this is an open public forum,,I,, for some odd reason,,feel anyone has a right to post an answer or opinion to any question posted.I think the chances are rather slim to find someone in the same situation ,owning a frame shop and recently hiring a carver to be the only ones allowed to answer.If that's the case,,talk to other frame shops and see what they have done.Till then,,if you want a price on a carving,,show an example and find out what it's worth,,just as I cant' call a frame shop and ask "how much to frame a painting?" without giving them any details of size,frame style or any other pertinant info,,nor show them the painting,,and say I dont' want to pay alot. Alot relative to what? a 5"x7" or a 4 ft x 6ft???I'm carving a frame for a client now,,, it's $8,000.000,,,is that alot? Maybe it is,,maybe it isn't,,is this what FRAMESHOP is paying,,,and for what? $25,000.00 is alot for a 15 yr old YUGO,,but cheap for a new Lexus. Like anything,,, it's all relative.

[Thor]

I worked in a custom frame shop for 7 years and owned my own for many years after that. I know some clients never paid over the bare minimum for stock moldings, and others wanted french lines, or hand carved frames. We ordered them from specialty production studios, but they were hand carved. The client was presented with the quote, and if they didn't want to pay the price, then it wasn't ordered. We never tried to demean the cost of quality work. The frame shop simply passed along the custom pricing through the shop to the client. I don't understand what the problem is as long as the carver being used can give an upfront estimate on the work ahead of time.
Just my professional opinion as a framer for about 19 years.
Thor

[mark yundt]

Well there you go! Didn't matter what you thought,,,it's the client that matters..only they have the final say.Yea or Nay

[Ashbys]

Wow,

Your really not looking for an answer to what would be a fair wage to hire a full time carver. With your reply , the entire thread becomes one of argument. And to save anymore issue I am closing the thread.

Your first question gave the impression that you were looking to hire an employee to offset the work load and to replace outside contractors that you were forced to use.

Your following statement , says , you already have that employee and you feel your being robbed by him for the work your receiving from him. So to validate your point you want to find out what others are getting for the same work. So you can justify the wages you are paying him. That to me is just wrong.

If he is not worth the money , fire him , I am sure if he is good enough to do the work , that he can find another job , or even better , open up next to you and become your competition.