Cost/Price of a bonsai

[Cajunrider]

So I started to add up my cost for collecting trees.
Avg 50 miles driving per tree $.60/mile
Pot & soil $10 per tree for small $20+ large
2 hr of my time per small tree 3 hr for large
Even at the cheapest handy man labor of $20/hr I am at $80-100 per tree I collect before it even shows a bud.
My accountant told me there is a definite uptick in my expenses since April 2022. To that I said: “Yes ma’am!”

So what do your numbers look like?
No wonder bonsai peeps don’t tell their real cost to their family hahaha.

 

[Adamski77]

I think it would heavily depend on what’s alternative usage of your time… labor part can be extremely expensive

 

[Scorpius]

I don't keep track of how much I spend. I don't want to know.

 

[sorce]

Money is evil and time is man-made, the devil keeps those concerns in our hearts.

The joy, like that which @rockm posted studies on is priceless.

But here is your real problem....

My accountant told me there is a definite uptick in my expenses since April 2022. To that I said: “Yes ma’am!”

That's a joke of course.

But so are female accountants.

Nah that's a joke too!

It's sexist Wednesday.

Sorce

 

[Dogestoevsky]

Average trip to the nursery: $80
Average cost of therapy: $80
So far, the trees are the only ones yielding long term results

 

[johng]

I spent 8 days collecting bald cypress this summer... Collected in the morning and potted up in the afternoons... 150 mile round trip x 8...1200 miles. containers and soil for 65 trees. at least 60 hours of my time... It is not cheap, but I love doing it!

 

[rockm]

I've worked with one professional collector who drove 5 1/2 hours to dig two dozen trees over in an adjacent state. Had to drive back after digging those trees. Straight through, or pay to stay in a motel. I doubt they made much money from the trip, but they sure enjoyed "hunting" those trees.

 

[Srt8madness]

I've worked with one professional collector who drove 5 1/2 hours to dig two dozen trees over in an adjacent state. Had to drive back after digging those trees. Straight through, or pay to stay in a motel. I doubt they made much money from the trip, but they sure enjoyed "hunting" those trees.

If he sold them he should have made some money, but that's a hard living.

 

[rockm]

If he sold them he should have made some money, but that's a hard living.

He sold them all within a day or two.

 

[Srt8madness]

He sold them all within a day or two.

Well, a big ? Is cost of soil. But say net of soil he banked $150/tree, $500 gas/hotel/food, that's $3600 for two days work, or $1800/day. 12 hour days, Yada Yada. Split with an assistant that's still $75/hour. Not FU money but not nothing.
But like I said, that's hard work to make a living.

 

[Cajunrider]

I think it would heavily depend on what’s alternative usage of your time… labor part can be extremely expensive

If I apply my company charge, I can't afford my own trees, not by a long long shot.

 

[BrianBay9]

Back when I used to collect in the Rockies, my best day netted 11 trees. I kept three and sold 8 for an average of $200 each = $1600. Expenses = gas, food (no hotel) time, plus soil, pots, a year of care before selling. I made no money. I did it for the fun, and the three trees I kept. Oh., and the $1600 went to the Rotary Club - part of the deal I made with the land owner for permission to collect.

 

[Cajunrider]

Well, a big ? Is cost of soil. But say net of soil he banked $150/tree, $500 gas/hotel/food, that's $3600 for two days work, or $1800/day. 12 hour days, Yada Yada. Split with an assistant that's still $75/hour. Not FU money but not nothing.
But like I said, that's hard work to make a living.

Yep. One gotta do it out of love. I have the bug bites, cuts, and dirty clothes as proof.

 

[Cajunrider]

Back when I used to collect in the Rockies, my best day netted 11 trees. I kept three and sold 8 for an average of $200 each = $1600. Expenses = gas, food (no hotel) time, plus soil, pots, a year of care before selling. I made no money. I did it for the fun, and the three trees I kept.

I am doing the same thing with my Crataegus aestivalis. I don't think I'll make money after a year of caring for them before I sell. The plus for me is that next time I search the internet for Mayhaw bonsai, there might be more hits. It would be cool to see more Mayhaw bonsai from others for sure.

 

[Wattsy]

I don’t even look at cost most of my stuff is starter material I’ve dug a few yew and hawthorn I just love my garden the price of this is immaterial to the joy it brings me and my family I want my garden to be another room almost in my house if that makes sense weather permitting I’ll happily spend most of my free time in the garden most houses in the uk are small and being outside makes so much sense it’s good for the soul

 

[Bonsai Nut]

If you want to make money in bonsai, you have to be able to control / manage your costs. You do that by reducing risk and variability. Collecting trees is 100% risk and variability To make money in bonsai you really need to have a nursery. It is the difference between panning for gold nuggets in the mountain, versus owning a commercial gold mine.

 

[Cajunrider]

If you want to make money in bonsai, you have to be able to control / manage your costs. You do that by reducing risk and variability. Collecting trees is 100% risk and variability To make money in bonsai you really need to have a nursery. It is the difference between panning for gold nuggets in the mountain, versus owning a commercial gold mine.

I have zero desire to make money in bonsai. I just want to be able to stretch my money a little so I get to keep more & better trees.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I have zero desire to make money in bonsai. I just want to be able to stretch my money a little so I get to keep more & better trees.

Heck, just go to Home Depot, buy up some nursery plants, and then resell them on Facebook Auctions I've seen quite a few that go for quite a significant mark-up

 

[Cajunrider]

Heck, just go to Home Depot, buy up some nursery plants, and then resell them on Facebook Auctions I've seen quite a few that go for quite a significant mark-up

Hmmm...
TyTy nursery sell 6-7ft Mayhaw for $109. All my collected Mayhaw are much much bigger than that.
Add my $100 cost for collection and development as prebonsai. All my collected Mayhaw starts at $200 at the minimum huh.

 

[rockm]

If you want to make money in bonsai, you have to be able to control / manage your costs. You do that by reducing risk and variability. Collecting trees is 100% risk and variability To make money in bonsai you really need to have a nursery. It is the difference between panning for gold nuggets in the mountain, versus owning a commercial gold mine.

Even the bonsai nursery business is a hard trip. To make money, you not only have to sell trees, you have to have return visits (soil, tools. expertise, pots, "Stuff") to turn a decent meager profit. If you are a decent bonsai nursery, you also offer services for clients, from repotting, to designing consulting and other stuff including boarding of trees. Along with that comes a lot of overhead that can crush you if things go a bit wrong. For instance, if you have a "cold" greenhouse alongside a tropical one, you have heating costs in the winter. The gas/electricity to do that can fluctuate in supply and price. A cold winter can triple or quadruple that cost and eat up all your slim profit for the year. If you lose trees when the heat goes off, you can lose your inventory. A hailstorm in the summer can be a nightmare...smashing greenhouse glass and trees.

Customers can also be drain as well as a blessing--beginners in particular. They have questions, A LOT of questions and blame --A LOT of blame ...You sell a $50 beginner juniper and get hammered with phone call after phone call about care/problems. You can also get demands for refunds after said tree is killed by inexperienced care. At some point, after patiently answering those questions, showing how to care for the tree and other finer points for free, and a replacement tree at no charge--that $50 tree becomes a $500 tree at cost to your time and resources. It's not the fault of the beginner. It's just how it works.

And that's if you're just doing business IRL. If you have an online presence, multiply all those problems and add in shipping and packing costs...