Fillet Pricing

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Shayla

Shayla

WOW Framer
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Apr 5, 2008
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Washington State
Not sure what to call this, but that seems
good enough.

Here's something that comes to mind. You
might already do it, but I'll mention it anyway.
It won't apply so much to those who buy fillets
in length, but is important to remember with
chops.

Whether the fillet is going inside a mat window
or lining a frame, I usually order it at least
1 1/2 inches bigger each way. I suppose a person
could order it just a tad bigger and then sand it
to size, but our frame joiner finds it easier to
have a bit to cut off. Instead of spending time
specifying which direction I want the ends of
the fillet angled when cut, I just order it big
enough that I don't have to bother with saying
it when I order. We're very exacting with our
fillets, and she cuts and sands it to perfect size
once it's in.

For anyone else who gets them bigger, too,
it's good to remember to charge for that extra.
I base my charges on the size I actually order,
rather than the size it will be in the final frame.
It's included in the quote from the beginning, so
we don't feel like we're losing money by getting
in more than they're paying for.

For all I know, this might sound odd to some of
you. Who knows. But it's what I do, and it works
for us. Over the years, I also began charging, not
just for the footage of the fillet, but also a fee for
the time it takes to attach it to the mat or frame.
And we have a shipping and joining fee, so the fillet
gets one of those, too. There are some things we do
as framers that are easy to resent because they seem
like lost money, but if we charge enough for them, then
it's easier to design with them more often.

This is a bit of a ramble, but I wanted to bring it
up and see what anyone else might think about it.
 
Good suggestions, Shayla. In addition to the measuring/ordering/pricing considerations you mentioned, I have what I call a "fillet fit" charge, that includes the labor to trim, assemble, and install the fillet, to level it up with 1/8" AFFC, and to seal the back with Lineco frame sealing tape.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
It is an interesting concept. We sell the fillets like we sell our regular moulding, with the same markups. We mostly buy length too, and hopefully sell a fillet that we already have some of in the back.

Of course, the last couple fillets I've done were stacked into the frame as enhancers. Rick, would you still charge your "fillet fit" in this case?
 
Rick, that reminds me that a couple times this year,
I've added a charge for filling out around the fillet
with the artcare foamcore. In times gone by, most
fillets we ordered cost so little that we figured we'd
make up the difference with our per foot charge.
We have a rule in our shop that no matter how inexpensive
a fillet is for us, we never charge less than $7.00 per foot
for it. Even it it cost a dollar a foot, that took up shipping and
labor time. But now, so many fillets price out as expensive,
or moreso, than many wood frames, so the price only reflects
a regular markup and doesn't leave room for the extra time
and effort it takes.

We join our fillets with just glue, but do it in a vise
and let it set while the corners dry. Then there's the
time to attach it, let that dry, and so on. The only way
not to lose money, or feel like it's wasted time, is to
charge enough to make it worthwhile. I know that's
stating the obvious, but I still find situations where
I haven't been charging for some bit of the work or
other, and it's good to close those gaps. I do offer
value added bonuses, such as a free float between
mats when I want to, but in general, it's good to figure
in all those little costs and charge enough for them.
 
W.C.: In a case like that, I would price the fillet just like another frame, from chop, and add maybe ten dollars labor to the fitting charge on the overall job. That's assuming nothing "fancy" has to be done to make it work, like trimming down the flat part of the filet so it fits in a narrow rabbet, etc.
:cool: Rick
 
we charge the fillet just like another frame and add a fitting charge for the ancillary work involved..we stock lots of lenght fillet so can almost always find a good design fit.
 
I don't consider it a big deal to put a fillet in a frame in most cases but we do use an additional charge for putting one in a mat. As mentioned there is the leveling & tapeing not to mention often the use of a small spacer to make sure it doesn't rub on the glass. Wouldn't it be nice if all fillets were the same thickness (the part that goes under the mat that is. Is there a name for that part?) & that thickness actually matched exactly,say, foamboard or some material we use all the time?
 
We use the same mark up (based on chop price) for fillets as we do wood moulding.

If the fillet is to be used as a ‘lip’ for a frame, that is the total cost.

If the fillet is to be used in a mat, we include the additional cost of labor for assembling the fillet and its inclusion (foil tape and foam board) into the Fillet Mat (which is a bit more than our Reverse Bevel mat).

We use the FilletMaster (the greatest thing since cream filled cupcakes, IMO), but in all instances we order all chops (moulding and fillets) one half inch larger than we need and re-miter them as a matter of course. This additional 1/2” is built into the retail cost to the customer.
 
We charge for fillets like we charge for frames. I'll have to check to see if there's an automatic additional fitting charge in my POS like there is with a regular moulding, I'm not sure. However we do not tack on any other additional charges ourselves. We have plenty of scrap mats that we use to build up the backside. We don't sell enough fillets for it to really be an issue.

Cost is always an issue for customers, regarding fillets. Many like them, few want to pay for them. It's always been a stumbling block for us. Last year we sold something like 8 or 10 fillets all year.

I've made fillets a focus this year in my shop for my employees, and our sales of them are rising. We've rearranged our sales counter to better display them, and my employees offer them more often now. A week ago I went and bought about 50-100 feet of 6 different fillets, so that we'll have some in stock now. That said, we are still selling less than 1 fillet per week.
 
I don't charge separate line items for labor, filler material, etc. when doing fillets. It's just built into my fillet markup. For example, if I'm putting LJ 155CS inside a 16x20 mat opening, the charge is $95 and change.

For those of you that charge for the fillet, labor, foamboard, rabbet tape, etc., what would your all-in charge be for the same fillet, same size?
 
Have you ever timed your employee to see just how long it really takes? I think if you did time studies on some of these things like fillits and fabric covered mats, etc., you would change your pricing a lot.

Just stand back with a watch when your employee is not watching to get the real numbers.
 
PaulSF said:
... I'm putting LJ 155CS inside a 16x20 mat opening, the charge is $95 and change.

For those of you that charge for the fillet, labor, foamboard, rabbet tape, etc., what would your all-in charge be for the same fillet, same size?
Click to expand...

I'm at $98.57, Paul.
 
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