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ok im about to letter my cousins van. its not my first ive lettered my vehicles and my fathers for free and my friends truck for a beer coosie lol.

my cousin wants me to charge him.

my vinyl will cost around $90 for a 24" X 50 yd roll. the best i could figure is that i would charge by square inch. there are 3600 sq/in in the this roll. my price on it will be $0.025 per sq/in. i bumped it to $.03 per sq/in.

my tape will cost around $70 for a 24"x 100yd roll. 7200 sq/in in this roll. and my price is $0.0097. i bumped it to $0.01 per sq/in

so in materials, i can make decals (materials only) for $0.04 per square inch. to cover my labor of designing it cutting it weeding it and installing it im going to charge $0.04 per sq/in.

bringing my overall rate to $0.08 per sq/in

will i be beating people out of money or will i be beating my self?

most of my work will most likly be for small business owners, plumbing, excavating, fences, wrecking etc...

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btw this was just for one color, for two colors i plan on charging $0.04 per sq/in per color plus $0.04 for my efforts.

ie.... red $.04 black $0.04 labor $.04

9x9 two color would cost a customer $9.72

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This is hilarious to me as this subject is violatable to some . Like what vinyl is best etc . Remember this . If you follow others in their business philosophy .. if they walk over the edge of a cliff , you will follow . Best to determine what suits you , your area & the level of competition . I don't figure materials in small jobs , as that is not a factor . What seems reasonable , gets sold & attracts more customers matters much more IMO . I get $50 for a set of truck door decals in 1 color . Under $4 for materials & a good profit for me as I have no overhead related to making signs . Knowing what the local prices are is an important criteria . If they shop the internet & especially e-bay , hardly anybody would compete with the prices that are available there . Most people would rather pay more & get local especially if given personal service . You can search this subject & get many opinions & also read some of the better " discussions " :)

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btw this was just for one color, for two colors i plan on charging $0.04 per sq/in per color plus $0.04 for my efforts.

ie.... red $.04 black $0.04 labor $.04

9x9 two color would cost a customer $9.72

I think I will hire you to do my orders, then I can sit on my butt and still make plenty of money.. :rolleyes: I could use a paid vacation.

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lol but would my idea work?

In a word, No.

Think of it this way --- you have a unique skill set, you've established all the tools required (including a computer, specialized software and a plotter) and your clients (whoever they may be, friends or otherwise) have a certain expectation that you will charge a fair market price for doing what amounts to a professional endeavor.

You are no less of a pro than an HVAC installer or a car mechanic.

Don't sell yourself short.

Figure that a 9"x9" decal takes the same DESIGN EFFORT in time and energy as a 48" x 96" sign.

Start from that point, and charge for your INTELLECTUAL EFFORT (knowing how to set up the cut).

I consider my ability in that sphere to be worth $90/hour as a matter of principle.

Any job I take on will be charged at 1/2-hr minimum of design/set-up time.

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I charge the most I can get for the local market and sometimes more then the going rate a lot depends on my perception of the customer and what pita it may turn into. But in any case i am going to make a good profit if I do the job. That is the same philosophy I use in any endeavor I ensue any more I did many jobs when I first started in the construction bussiness for meger wages and learned the hard way so now I make a good profit. By the way your price that you quoted for your vinyl looks like 651 or similar vinyl you should use a minimum of 751 on autos

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I do that with 1 time customers , but with regular customers I charge & give service in a manner that even if somebody " cuts my throat " price wise , I don't usually loose that customer . In the past in repeat situations , when I have found out I was being charged more than the going rate , I considered that not appreciating my business & would not let anybody doing that compete with prices then . I have several big customers now ( not decal business ) that I value ( especially in this economy ) & treat them as I would like to be treated . If you do that ... no matter which side you are on, it benifits in the long run !Starting out , some need the practice & can do things at or barely above cost , but after that nobody needs experience , just profit .

As for the unique skill set mentioned above .. that is not accurate IMO . Most every family has at least 1 computer & does not have to buy a computer , only a cutter & materials . $500 or less will buy a cutter & enough materials to get a nice set-up . $2K will get a very nice set-up . Anybody who can turn on a computer & click a mouse can design & cut decals , especially with an easy software like SignBlazer ( SO E-Z even a caveman or Rodger can do it :) ) . The Vinyl cutting market is FLOODED especially if surfing e-bay . The start up cost to make decals is MUCH less than HVAC contracting or a mechanic shop . Make your own decisions as you will endure the gain or loss . Technology never sleeps & the cost of vinyl cutters are low enough that anybody can afford to buy 1 for a hobby . I like watching others step off the cliff instead of following :) . I have watched that in every type of business I have ever been in . Watching & talking to the owner of Hechingers have that type of attitude when Home Depot started up gave me deep convictions about business philosophys . That guy would not adapt & his busness went the way of the dinosaurs .

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The quality of my work and my fairness to my customers let's me price above the market rate because they know the quality of my work beforehand. The customers that cone off as maybe hard to get along with gets the higher price. My repeat customers very seldom ask for a price they just tell me what they want done it in signs what they want on it and leave it up to me and I have never had a ill response when I present the invoice.

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As for the unique skill set mentioned above .. that is not accurate IMO . Most every family has at least 1 computer & does not have to buy a computer , only a cutter & materials . $500 or less will buy a cutter & enough materials to get a nice set-up . $2K will get a very nice set-up . Anybody who can turn on a computer & click a mouse can design & cut decals , especially with an easy software like SignBlazer ( SO E-Z even a caveman or Rodger can do it :) ) . The Vinyl cutting market is FLOODED especially if surfing e-bay . The start up cost to make decals is MUCH less than HVAC contracting or a mechanic shop . Make your own decisions as you will endure the gain or loss . Technology never sleeps & the cost of vinyl cutters are low enough that anybody can afford to buy 1 for a hobby .

The average Joe is not going to buy a cutter, and get into the whole rigamarole of making cut-vinyl decals.

After all is said and done however, you are correct, technology never sleeps, and already we see that PRINTING has overtaken cutting as a way of producing signs and decals.

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The average Joe is not going to buy a cutter, and get into the whole rigamarole of making cut-vinyl decals.

After all is said and done however, you are correct, technology never sleeps, and already we see that PRINTING has overtaken cutting as a way of producing signs and decals.

I personally know about 5 average Joes who did & this forum is filled with them . It does seem that printing is overtaking cut decals & as printers get cheaper , that will increase greatly . From what I have read on here , printing does not have the outdoor lifespan cut vinyl does , that & a couple other things will always keep a demand for cut decals IMO . I have a buddy who bought a vinyl cutting kit 30+ years ago .... cost him $7K + . What I bought 4 years ago for $600 is far superior to what he got . A person can get a cutter & material for $2-3 hundred . That is what many on here have done . The 4 1/2 years I have been reading this forum , it is mostly " average Joe's " buying entry level cutters to make their own decals or start a side busness .. that paves the way to go full time in the business . The cheap cost to get into this business is why the market is as competitive & flooded . Same way with the T-Shirt stuff . That is with buying things new , buying used even makes it cheaper to get into . I have let many people watch me & then use my cutter . Seems they had less problems getting up to speed designing/cutting decals than I do trying to get to sleep :) . Your price advice might be good for an established , well customer based , store front company , but to someone like the OP , it isn't IMO . Charging a minimum of $45 to design plus whatever you charge to make the decal is not geared for where he is at right now . Frank , the owner of Feller's started out the same way according to what I have read on his site . :):thumbsup:

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ok, well i cut my cousin 2 decals, 4ft long, i used the vinyl calculator that i found on here got a price for materials and times it by 10 and he said that was pretty good.

my decals ended up being $56.90 each. i made enough off of him to buy another roll of vinyl.... and im gonna use it since i am using 651. now im going to go and check out my vinyl options and what i should be using.

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ok, well i cut my cousin 2 decals, 4ft long, i used the vinyl calculator that i found on here got a price for materials and times it by 10 and he said that was pretty good.

my decals ended up being $56.90 each. i made enough off of him to buy another roll of vinyl.... and im gonna use it since i am using 651. now im going to go and check out my vinyl options and what i should be using.

If he was happy and you were happy...then that's all that matters. It's really nobody else's business. You did well.

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