I make items for a store in my town, and the owner gave us this formula to use (she keeps 35% of the sale price- minimum monthly payment to her is $50)
Cost + Labor = Item Cost
Item Cost x 2 = Wholesale Price
Wholesale x 2 = Retail Price
There's no way I can price my sewing at that level and expect to sell something. To me it's much more reasonable to figure
Cost + Labor = Item cost
Item cost + 35%= Minimum Retail Price
Minimum + whatever extra the market will bear = bonus for me!
Her commission covers all the advertising and overhead for the store. I don't have any personal overhead except for tags to put on my items, and something in reserve to cover the minimum if needed. A decent "wage" for myself and cost of materials is all I need to come out ahead, assuming enough sells to cover the minimum fee. I don't need to mark up the price to cover any overhead, and why do I need a "business profit" above and beyond my wage? Yes, it would look very nice on paper if I did, and be very nice for my bank account, but it's not necessary, and pricing myself out of the market just because a formula tells me to is silly.