Making a price easy to swallow is key for a client. Lets say that you have a client looking for 10 bars of 1095 high carbon round bar - 3/16" diameter. There are few suppliers of this and they generally stock it in coil. That said, there will be setup charges on the coiling line, set up charges on the cut to length and bar straighteners.

The total weight of the stock is only 12 lbs and when you add in all the set ups, you may well end up with a cost of $40-50/ lb! Try marking that up and selling the metal per pound. The customer is going to fall out of his chair.....$75.00 per pound for carbon steel???

Instead, take your total cost, marking it up then divide by the total number of bars, or better yet, by the total footage.

The buyer will be far happier to pay $7.50/ foot for the stock instead of $75.00/ lb.

Its all about appearances sometimes.


HOW you price can make all the difference.

Lets say a client wants some 12L14 in a .203" Diameter +/- .0005" tolerance.

If you add your metal cost plus the grinding from .25" and sell it per pound, the client will fall off their chair.....$28/ LB for 12l14?????

BUT IF YOU TAKE ALL COSTS AND DIVIDE BY THE TOTAL FOOTAGE AND QUOTE $3.50/ FOOT....WELL THAT SOUNDS REASONABLE