How do I price curtain poles and tracks by length online?

How do I price curtain poles and tracks by length online?

Price curtain poles and tracks by the length the customer needs, not as fixed sizes. Either use length bands, the same way your supplier sells them, or a price per metre with a minimum charge. Then add the parts that change with the length, such as an extra bracket on a long pole or a bend on a bay window track. The customer types the length on the product page and sees the price straight away. On Shopify this needs a calculator app, because a variant cannot price a length typed in centimetres.

Bands or a price per metre

Use whichever matches how you buy and cut.

• Length bands. If your supplier sells poles in set lengths, price them the same way: up to 150 cm, up to 200 cm, and so on. A customer who needs 212 cm pays for the next band up, because that is the length you will cut it from.
• Price per metre. If you cut track to the centimetre from long lengths, charge per metre with a minimum, so a short track still covers the cutting and the fixings.

Always round up to the next band, never to the nearest one. Rounding to the nearest sells half your lengths below cost.

What changes with the length

The pole or track is only part of the price. Some parts are fixed, some go up with the length. Write down which is which before you set anything up.

• Brackets. A long pole needs a centre bracket. Use your supplier's rule for the length where it starts.
• Bends. A bay window track is priced per bend, on top of the length.
• Rings and gliders. More length means more of them. Include them in the price per metre, or add them per band.
• Finials and end stops. One pair whatever the length, so a fixed amount.
• Finish. A different colour or metal is often a higher band, not a fixed extra.

A worked example

These are example figures, so use your own.

A customer needs a 212 cm pole. That is the 250 cm band at £72, plus the centre bracket at £9, so £81. Another needs 3.4 metres of track with two bends for a bay. That is 3.4 x £18 = £61.20, plus two bends at £15, so £91.20.

Where it goes wrong

• The customer measures the window, not the pole. A pole or track usually runs past the window on both sides. Say on the page which length to type in, and how much to add each side by your own rule. A short measuring guide next to the size box saves most of the returns.
• The centre bracket is left out. If it is a separate product, people skip it and the pole sags. Add it by rule, not by choice.
• No upper limit. Set the longest length you can deliver. A longer size should be refused on the page, or sent to you as a question.
• The length is missing from the order. Place one test order and check that the length, the finish and every part are on it, because that is what gets cut.

What it costs

Curtain and Blind Calculator prices poles and tracks the same way it prices blinds. The customer types the length on your Shopify product page, sees the price from your own price list with the options added, and the length goes on the order. It is $99 a month on Shopify, about £79, with a 7-day free trial.

Next step

Install Curtain and Blind Calculator from the Shopify App Store, or ask us to set up your first product with your pole and track price list.

First published on the InterioApp blog.