Rhinestone Tumbler Pricing: How to Price Bling Tumblers by Stone Count and Time
How to price rhinestone bling tumblers: count stones, cost glue and blank, time the placing, then see why full bling tumblers need high prices or faster designs.
In this guide
Full bling tumblers are beautiful, and they take a long time. Thousands of stones are placed one at a time around a curved cup. Many sellers price them from what they see on Etsy and end up paying themselves a few dollars an hour. This guide shows the honest cost of partial, half and full bling tumblers, and how to price them so the work pays.
- Bling tumbler price = blank + stones + glue + packaging + placing time + overhead, then profit and fees.
- A partial bling band with 400 stones costs about $31.10 to make and sells for about $44.
- A full bling 20 oz tumbler with about 3,500 stones takes around 8 hours. At $18 an hour it prices at about $263.
- If buyers in your market won't pay that, sell partial designs, use bigger stones, or offer full bling as a premium custom order.
Why full bling tumblers are so often underpriced
Stones are cheap, so the materials on a full bling tumbler might be $30. The time is the real cost. At a typical pace of several hundred stones an hour, 3,500 stones take most of a working day.
A $90 full bling tumbler that takes 8 hours pays well under $10 an hour after supplies and fees. That is why many bling makers burn out. Pricing from time shows you which designs are worth offering.
The steps
1. Count stones by coverage
Estimate stones by area or use your template. A band or name might be 300 to 600 stones. Half coverage on a 20 oz skinny can be about 1,200 to 1,800. Full coverage can be 3,000 to 4,000 depending on size.
2. Cost the stones and glue
Use your cost per stone by size. Add glue such as E6000 or epoxy, plus tape and any sealer.
3. Add the blank and packaging
Price the tumbler blank with lid and straw, and a sturdy box, since stones can pop off in shipping.
4. Time your placing rate
Time 15 minutes of placing and count the stones. That gives stones per hour. Divide your stone count by that rate.
5. Add overhead, profit and fees
Use about 8% overhead, 25% profit and divide by 0.90 for online fees.
Worked example: partial, half and full bling
$18 an hour, 8% overhead, 25% profit and 10% fees. Placing time is about 400 to 450 stones per hour.
| Partial band (400 stones) | Half bling (1,500 stones) | Full bling 20 oz (3,500 stones) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tumbler blank | $6.50 | $6.50 | $6.50 |
| Stones at about $0.006 each | $2.40 | $9.00 | $21.00 |
| Glue and sealer | $0.40 | $1.00 | $2.00 |
| Box and padding | $1.50 | $1.50 | $1.50 |
| Labor at $18.00/hr | 1 hr = $18.00 | 3.5 hr = $63.00 | 8 hr = $144.00 |
| Overhead (8%) | $2.30 | $6.48 | $14.00 |
| Cost to make | $31.10 | $87.48 | $189.00 |
| Plus 25% profit | $38.88 | $109.35 | $236.25 |
| Cover 10% selling fees (divide by 0.90) | $43.20 | $121.50 | $262.50 |
| Suggested price | $44 | $122 | $263 |
Full bling is priced high because it takes a full day. Many listings show full bling tumblers well below this. Those sellers are paying themselves much less than $18 an hour. Partial bling sells at prices most buyers expect and pays the same rate.
What a lower price really pays you
| Price you charge | Full bling: pay per hour after supplies and fees |
|---|---|
| $90 | $5.94/hr |
| $120 | $9.31/hr |
| $150 | $12.69/hr |
| $200 | $18.31/hr |
| $263 | $25.40/hr |
This is what is left per hour for the full bling example after supplies, overhead and 10% fees, with no profit. It shows why a "going rate" can be a trap for slow designs.
What you keep on each sales channel
The same partial bling tumbler at $44.00 leaves different money in your pocket depending on where it sells. This uses the $31.10 cost to make from the example above, with Etsy's current transaction, processing and listing fees and Square's in-person card rate. Shipping, sales tax and ads are left out.
| Where it sells | Buyer pays | Fees | You keep | Profit over cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy (6.5% + 3% + $0.25 + $0.20 listing) | $44.00 | $4.63 | $39.37 | $8.27 |
| Your own website (about 2.9% + $0.30) | $44.00 | $1.58 | $42.42 | $11.32 |
| Craft fair, card reader (2.6% + $0.15) | $44.00 | $1.29 | $42.71 | $11.60 |
| Craft fair, cash | $44.00 | $0.00 | $44.00 | $12.90 |
| Wholesale to a shop (50% of retail) | $22.00 | $0.00 | $22.00 | -$9.10 |
On Etsy, fees take about 11% of a $44.00 sale. If a sale comes through Etsy Offsite Ads, add another 15% (12% for shops over $10,000 a year), so build that into your price if you're enrolled. Wholesale at half of retail loses $9.10 per piece here. Either raise retail, lower your cost, or set a separate wholesale price with a case minimum.
Bling tumbler pricing checklist
- Stone count estimated by coverage.
- Cost per stone and glue.
- Blank, lid, straw and box.
- Your real stones-per-hour rate.
- Overhead, profit and fees.
- A full bling price that pays your rate, or a premium custom-only listing.
- Partial designs offered at reachable prices.
Price hand-placed bling work
Type your stone count, placing rate, blank and glue into the peach cells. The calculator shows your cost, hourly pay and suggested price.
Get the Hand-Placed Bling CalculatorCalculators that help
- Stone cost by size: Cost stones for each size you use. Use the Rhinestone Stone Count & Cost by Size Calculator – Cost per Stone, per Design & Bags.
- Bling product line: Compare prices across all your bling products. Use the Rhinestone Bling Product Line Pricing Calculator – Tees, Tumblers, Hats & Totes.
- Tumbler sizes: Price each tumbler size and style. Use the Tumbler Size & Style Pricing Calculator – 12, 20, 30 & 40 oz Side by Side.
- Profit check: Check the margin on any price. Use the Rhinestone Price & Profit Margin Checker – Real Profit, Markup & Break-Even.
Common questions
How much should I charge for a full bling tumbler?
Price from your time. In this guide a full bling 20 oz tumbler takes about 8 hours and prices at about $263 at $18 an hour. Many listings are much lower, which means the maker earns far less per hour.
How many rhinestones go on a 20 oz tumbler?
Full coverage on a 20 oz skinny often uses about 3,000 to 4,000 stones, depending on stone size and spacing. Bigger stones mean fewer stones and less time.
How long does it take to bling a tumbler?
At about 400 to 450 stones an hour, full coverage can take 7 to 9 hours. Time yourself to get your own rate.
What glue is best for rhinestone tumblers?
Many makers use E6000 or a thin layer of epoxy. Cost the glue per tumbler and allow cure time.
How can I make bling tumblers more profitable?
Offer partial designs, use larger stones for fills, batch similar designs, and sell full bling as a premium custom order.
Should I charge more for color patterns?
Yes. Patterns with several colors take longer to place than a single color.
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