Clark,
As Michele mentioned, you will get to the point where you can pretty much guess a stitch count. Personally, I don't charge by stitch count, but rather by stitch time. I do my own digitizing so I can control the quality and know I have a good flow to the design. $1/minute is my charge since a design with few colors or stops (even with higher stitch count) will sew faster than one with lots of colors and changes. I do the same with digitizing. Those that have lots of areas that have to be connected or are very detailed, obviously cost more than one that is simple in nature. I don't charge by size(digitizing) since it takes the same amount of time to do a jacket back as it does to do a left chest(other than the test sewout). Once you have the original file, it only takes a few minutes to change sizes also. Prices are all over the map when it comes to embroidery since there is no real "standard" fee. It is all perceived value on how you market yourself and what the customers are willing to pay. I rarely do one of anything as I market my pricing to give them the best value at a quantity of at least six
