How to Price a Painted Door Hanger (So You Actually Make Money)

We cut blanks for hundreds of door-hanger sellers, and when orders slow down for one of them, it's almost never the painting — it's the pricing. So here's the math, from the supply side of the table. No fluff, just the numbers we watch our best customers use.

Start with what a piece actually costs

A finished 18" door hanger typically carries:

• The blank: $5–7 for an 18" round in 1/4" at pack pricing, $10–12 for a true 1/2" premium round.
• Paint & sealer: $3–5 per piece realistically, once you spread bottles across pieces.
• Ribbon, wreath hanger, backer: $2–4 — and if you staple bows on, staple-proof backers keep the front clean.
• Total materials: roughly $12–18.

The formula that keeps sellers in business

Materials × 2, then add your hourly rate × hours painted. A $15-materials piece that takes 2 hours at even $15/hour prices out at $60. And look at that — $45–$75 is exactly where successful door hangers sell at markets and on Etsy. The formula isn't magic; it's just honest.

The three mistakes that eat your profit

1. Paying retail for blanks. If you're buying rounds one at a time at a craft store, your materials cost doubles before you open a paint bottle. Pack pricing exists for exactly this reason — our daily bundles and bulk packs drop the per-blank price 10–35%.

2. Not charging for your time. "I enjoy painting, so I only charge materials" is how a business becomes an expensive hobby. Your time has a rate. Charge it.

3. Competing on price instead of flatness. The seller who charges $35 with a warping big-box blank loses the repeat customer. The seller who charges $65 on a true 1/2" round that sits flat on the door in July humidity gets the referral. Quality of the blank is part of your brand, not just ours.

A worked example

Buy the 10-pack of 18" rounds at $6.30/blank. Materials per piece ≈ $14. Two hours painting at $15/hr. Price: $14 × 2 + $30 = $58. Sell all ten: $580 revenue, ≈ $140 materials, $300 for your time, $140 real profit on top. That's a business.

Questions about which blanks fit your price point? Email order@borowood.com — you'll get the person who cuts them.

— Hunter, Borowood · Cut fresh in Statesboro, Georgia