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$30 a mug? :o

Thinking i need to move some of the computer crap outta here and bring the cutter back to the shop and get advertising - dayum thing is sitting at the house collecting dust.

Can't complain though, lettered the store and truck and that alone paid for the cutter and material

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The thing that most matters to me is the number at the bottom line.....And sometimes bigger orders have to be priced so lean they are not worth it...And in some markets there are only so many orders to go around so if you price too low you are just leaving money on the table..

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That sounds to me like a recipe for a short longevity instead of a long one . In any business person's eye .. I would think $10 profit on 200 orders with the same expense/labor per order would be better than $200 on 1 order . Bottom line in example 1 = $2,000 , in example # 2 = $200 . realistic volume improvement in example #1 is good .. in example # 2 .. VERY doubtful ....

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You guy's are to much, hey Roxy, put up a pic of yourself on here!!!!! We can't see you through this forum lol :thumbsup:

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Roger I have been self employed for over 35 years.....Sorry to hear I am doing it wrong!!!!!

unruffle them feathers & listen to me .. I have been self employed 35 years also ( 1976 ) . I watch succesful busines like USC . You think they got where they are by overpricing things or giving prices that draws more volume ? ( hint : the answer is " giving prices that draws volume " :) )

BTW , I did not say or allude to you doing it wrong.... i actually said if home runs are what you want .. price it like you want , but IF you want more volume as the OP wants , price it so that will happen . That is what this thread is about .. pricing to get mo business !!!

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quote name='roxanneupnorth' timestamp='1302131777' post='247412']

But you said 6.00 to 10.00 each and I said 2.25 to 3.75......

Yes you did say that .. but the context was YOU telling ME to charge that based on if I could do 20-30 mugs in an hour & telling me " good luck " after that part :huh:? CORRECT :huh: read the following quote slowly ... ;)

" quote name='roxanneupnorth' timestamp='1302111693' post='247360']

Roger you are right.....I got a little off track....

As far as a price, I would try for 65.00 to 75.00 an hour so after materials and wear and tear on equipment you should have 40.00 to 50.00 an hour left....Remember pick up and delivery time!!! Remember unpacking and re-packing time!!! Could you do 20 to 30 an hour?....If so maybe charge somewhere between 2.25 to 3.75 per name......Good luck....

Your pricing if i read it CORRECT , is

I would be quoting about 50.00 for the 1st piece and 10.00 to 15.00 for additional pieces based on quantity and style....1 side imprint only.....Personalization and 2nd side are extra.....

Sand carving is a premium product and should be priced as such....If they want the look of an "etch" but not the price you should quote them on screen printed product.....

As an example.....The Nordic mug is a good seller for me..... 36 sand carved would be 505.00.... 36 printed would be 288.00 (and can be 1 or 2 sides)

I reread that several times VERY slowly & didn't see how you are charging " 2.75 to 3.75 per name " :huh: haha please show me if i am wrong :D

I enjoy debating some things as long as a realistic perspective is the goal .. but just to debate & " win " the conversation is futile ( AHHH 7 of 9 !!! :) ) . It seems you have slipped into the latter part of that last sentence . The advice the OP actually & specifically asked for , is how to price mugs he is making . Since you say you have never sandblasted a mug , only resell what others have made , I don't take your advice as relevant to the actually question asked . I think the government pays $275 for a regular claw hammer & somebody actually makes that sale in volumes , but I would not advise anybody to price a claw hammer they are trying to sell at that price .

If you are so sure of the loyalty of your customer paying you $150 more than what your supplier charged you , post the info & see if somebody here doesn't get their next order :huh:?

You can have the last word , as I don't think you are seeking a realistic perspective or realistic advice anymore . I will be glad to exchange opinions on the next subject though :) Thanks for the chuckles :thumbsup:

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75.00 an hour divided by 20 = 3.75.....

65.00 an hour divided by 30 = 2.166666

I rounded off 2.1666 to 2.25 because it sounded better and came up with a range.....

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75.00 an hour divided by 20 = 3.75.....

65.00 an hour divided by 30 = 2.166666

I rounded off 2.1666 to 2.25 because it sounded better and came up with a range.....

So .. is that YOUR price or what you suggest ME to charge based on ME doing 20 or 30 per hour :huh: same lame arguement Roxy ( I knew i would respond & not do the "let you have the last word " .. but I will if you don't misrepresent :) ) reread YOUR pricing post a little slower ........ :)

edit ; thinking about it a little more :o ... your calculations are based on " what you would like to charge an hour " & " asking me IF I could do 20 or 30 mugs an hour " :huh:? I am no Mr Spock on Star Trek , but I cannot find 1 bit of logical calculation in that ... If that is YOUR price .. I will order some mugs from you right away :huh:? What say you ? HEHEHAHA

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Roger I am not suggesting you do anything.....My suggestion was to the OP....I asked if he thought he could do 20 to 30 an hour.....Then I suggested 65.00 to 75.00 an hour for his effort was a decent range and after costs that would leave 40.00 to 50.00 per hour....Most small businesses would be happy to net that....If he is slower or faster than that or wants to make more or less money he can adjust as he saw fit....

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Roxy... what kind of price scale are you using to come to the conclusion of $50.00 bucks a glass.... :huh:

I would be quoting about 50.00 for the 1st piece

Man, that thing better have 14k gold laced studs on it hehehehe

Rodger, your going to loose!!! Just give up and run away like I do eheheheheh

Gezzz, I'm going to take a tylonol and lay down ................... ;)

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Sorry I confused you......I said 50.00 for the 1st mug only and it goes down from there......And if someone thinks it is worth doing a single item for less than that have at it.....I like to get paid well for the time I put into a job and selling for less hardly seems worth it to me......It start my signs, decals and t-shirts at 35.00 minimum and sell enough to keep my Tylenol well stocked....

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Sorry I confused you......I said 50.00 for the 1st mug only and it goes down from there......And if someone thinks it is worth doing a single item for less than that have at it.....I like to get paid well for the time I put into a job and selling for less hardly seems worth it to me......It start my signs, decals and t-shirts at 35.00 minimum and sell enough to keep my Tylenol well stocked....

Who's "IT" that started you up in signs. Is that someone I know Roxy? Really, the only "IT" I know of was from the adams family tv series hehehee

sell enough to keep my Tylenol well stocked....

So.... you have to take them to after reading your post as well? heehehheeheh

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It can go either way, myself I go with being cheaper, just like everyone else, people search for the cheaper price (thats what keeps walmart and the like in business)

I keep my prices low, it gets me more business, referrals, customers and repeat business compared to having a few good paying clients.

A corporate customer got sold, within the next year or two they'll probably no longer be a customer, it's a large chunk of cash, but by having a large quantity of smaller customers, I should be able to keep the doors open even if the economy gets worse, actually the worse the economy, the better my business, and when the economy improves, i can adjust my pricing.

I look at it this way, for each customer i scare away with my pricing, I lose all their future business and all the referrals they would have given

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Wow. I disagree with most here. Etching is time consuming (costly) manufacturing process. At 6 dollars a mug I would go broke. Production rates of these would be what less than 6 a hour total? Thirty six dollars a hour minus materials and thats bustin ass. If I'm not profiting 55 or more per hour it does not come thru my shop. when i do feel like etching I get 20 a mug for basic things and more if its a pain.

Order 10 its still 20. Want 100? Go somewhere else.

Volume on this process does not make it faster or more profitable. Maybe if you liquid etch. But even then it is still a process.

6 bucks your giving your work away. But most of you dont use this as your main income so you dont have to weigh all the costs. You just figure "I got 3 dollars in it so i will sell for 6". Thats bad buisness in my book and does nothing but bring the perceived value of the trade down in the tubes.

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It can go either way, myself I go with being cheaper, just like everyone else, people search for the cheaper price (thats what keeps walmart and the like in business)

I keep my prices low, it gets me more business, referrals, customers and repeat business compared to having a few good paying clients.

A corporate customer got sold, within the next year or two they'll probably no longer be a customer, it's a large chunk of cash, but by having a large quantity of smaller customers, I should be able to keep the doors open even if the economy gets worse, actually the worse the economy, the better my business, and when the economy improves, i can adjust my pricing.

I look at it this way, for each customer i scare away with my pricing, I lose all their future business and all the referrals they would have given

:thumbsup:

It's a thing in this economy...What would you rather have 200 customers that you make a dollar on or one customer you make 200 on?...Thats the way I run my business is 200 customer for a buck..

Guys we are not privey to the availability of stuff in her country..Might be no one able to get or do what she does and she gets a premium due to a niche..If her customer import it costs more..I am not defending or agreeing with the outrageous prices I am reading but If the market bears the price ?? all I would say is sign me up!!!

I would love to get 50 a glass..But talk like that is crazy talk and leads to bankruptcy here in Missouri!!

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I Agree with the OP SA . It takes less than 15 seconds of blasting to etch a mug ( 2 sides ). Less than a minute ( total ) to apply & remove the decal . designing the decal can take some time .. especially if you are deciding on the artwork,style etc ... but cutting a decal out & weeding it does not take long ( unless it is a hard to weed design , which I wold not do .. I have not seeen anybody do those so-far ) . A basic etched mug for a bar like this thread is talking about , should not take more than 2 minutes total on the average ... not including naps , coffee braaks chasing the wife around etc :) . The total investment I have in making etched mugs are $600 for the cutter , $200 for the blast cabinent , $50 for the blast media & $100 for the compressor Add $20 for a 15" roll of vinyl if you are not using left over stuff ( whichI do & I alredy had the compressor ) for a total of $970 . ! of the cheapest costs to start up a busines that makes decals & etched stuff .

I bet there is NO chance the OP will get any contracts if he priced the contract with " retail " pricing ( ex $20 ) . IMO & experience ... he might sell 1 or a few mugs for the novelty . I can see where 1 mug would have to sell for $50 if you did not actually do any of the work .. if you outsourced 1 mug , it would be hard to almost double the actual cost of that 1 mug & not charge alot .

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There are a few pricing discussions going on here....

1 - How much would a bar owner pay to put names on mugs for his "Mug Club"?.....I doubt it would be anywhere close to 6.00.....This type of client would want a much lower price....So one has to figure out how many can be made in an hour....Is my range of 20 to 30 piece an hour on target or does it need adjustment?...You can see my math above to see how I arrived at 2.25 to 3.75 each...Figure out how many you can do per hour....Figure out what your costs are.....Decide how much you want to net per hour after costs......Then you can do your own math....

2 - How much can you get for single piece orders?....I do not do this kind of work but if I did I would be 50.00 and up for the 1st piece and most folks would run for for cover....I used to have a 15.00 minimum charge but kept pushing it up...For most things I do now, I am at 50.00 as a starting point..With the time it takes to get an order, do the work and invoice and collect the money how realistic is it to do a job for less than 50.00?....May be at a kiosk at the mall but not me working from home....

3 - How much can you get for 10 or 15 mugs for a safety dinner or event celebration?....I do a couple orders a month like this...And earlier in this thread I told you I got 333.00 for my most recent order of 11 mugs..If there were a local shop that did this I might not get orders like this...So competition has a bearing on price....

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Wow. I disagree with most here. Etching is time consuming (costly) manufacturing process. At 6 dollars a mug I would go broke. Production rates of these would be what less than 6 a hour total? Thirty six dollars a hour minus materials and thats bustin ass. If I'm not profiting 55 or more per hour it does not come thru my shop. when i do feel like etching I get 20 a mug for basic things and more if its a pain.

Order 10 its still 20. Want 100? Go somewhere else.

Volume on this process does not make it faster or more profitable. Maybe if you liquid etch. But even then it is still a process.

6 bucks your giving your work away. But most of you dont use this as your main income so you dont have to weigh all the costs. You just figure "I got 3 dollars in it so i will sell for 6". Thats bad buisness in my book and does nothing but bring the perceived value of the trade down in the tubes.

I'm with you. There's no way I can produce 20 mugs an hour. Perhaps 6 or 10 at the most. I obviously put my foot in my mouth with my initial answer here.

I'm normally selling mugs for $15, provided it's my design or a very simple customer design. I am getting requests for personalized mugs that require significant design time. I've been struggling with those. Customers tell me, "Just put this on it and make it look like that." Before you know it, you're at an hour into one mug. I've been forced to tell those customers that it's $15 for the mug and additional design fees.

Lately I've been doing a lot of personalized mugs for groomsmen gifts. For just a first name on a mug, I've been getting $12 each and I drop to $10 with a quantity of 10 or more (no further discounts). With these, I can do about 10 an hour which makes a nice profit margin.

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But I should be honest. I hate blasting with a passion. He he. But also like someone else posted I have no competition around me for price. If it was that tight of a market around me where i had to drop pricing that much i wouldn't do it just for the reason it wouldn't be worth the aggravation to me.

But keep in mind this is all my opinion and the general business guidelines i can make for MY marketing area, not yours.

200 customers for a dollar is not a good business model for me. But sometimes it has to be done and I know we have all done it. But I wont do blasting mugs, If I have to work for 4 hours to profit 50 bucks there is no way i would take that on. Time better spent to me by door knocking and generating new clients or strengthening relationships with current ones on more profitable projects.

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