tasly

REALLY struggling with pricing

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I know I just posted yesterday regarding pricing a car job, but I am REALLY struggling with pricing jobs.

Again, I downloaded the excel calculator on here.  I do know how to use it, but what I have a hard time with is what is reasonable for a shop hourly rate, artwork hourly rate, and misc. hourly rate. AND what to charge per letter.  For 14" letters, I came up with $3 per letter x 2 since it is layered.  The program came with a default of $60/hr for artwork.  I dropped that to $30.  

 

Example:

I vectorized the Pokemon word, 2 layered colors.  The final will be 14" tall x 38" wide.    I got $72.99  That seems soo high for a "sticker" for a kiddo's room, but it is what it is I guess.

 

What do you all think.  Oh, BTW, I did try the L x W x .07 as other suggested too.  Since it's layered, I got $74.48  

 

Do you NOT charge double for the second layer/color of the same??

 

 

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FYI, this is the word.  :)  I took out the shadowing, so the word is just 2 colors layered.

post-5849-0-32089700-1359607129_thumb.jp

 

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You dont have to charge the industry average to still make money. Most people charging those rates have store fronts and employees to pay and insurance to buy and all kinds of things. Those people know what they have to charge to keep the doors open and the employees happy.

 

If your working out of your home, you have very little over head so you can lower your prices. You should know what it costs you in material to make the sticker. So charge at least that. Then figure out a profit margin that you are comfortable charging. If you cant sleep at night knowing you charged 75 bucks for a kids wall sticker then dont charge that much. I know it didnt cost you more then 10 bucks to make it.  

 

That being said, I work out of my house every now and then. I advertise on craigslist when I want some cash to buy a new toy. And when I get a call, I price what I want to charge. If its some guy just starting out his new business, Ill cut him a good discount. If its some a-hole Ill raise the rates a bit. I dont charge for artwork but I take it into consideration.

 

If you want an answer on what to charge, Id be at like 40 or 50 for that sticker. If its for a friend, I tell them, you buy the roll of vinyl and Ill make whatever you want with that roll. Thats what im doing tomorrow for a friend, she wants a bunch of quotes for her sons room, she paid 20 bucks to buy the roll and that roll is hers. 

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Thanks for your input Coaster, I really appreciate it.  I don't want to undercut the shop guys who are trying to make a living either.  I too have to make some money and time is money so I don't want to "give" my time away either, KWIM?  I think I'll charge $50 and call it a day :) The materials cost less than $5 for 631 matte and I will basically use her payment to buy the two rolls since I don't yet have those colors...build my inventory :/

 

Thanks again!

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Coaster36 is right all the way around, I know a little bit about pricing with helping my mother with her tshirt business. She works out of the house and does some side jobs for friends however she makes the deal where they buy her a full roll and for doing the artwork and cutting my mom keeps the roll as payment/

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 .....will basically use her payment to buy the two rolls since I don't yet have those colors...build my inventory :/

 

Thanks again!

 

Thats how I did it when I first started. One day you will have a handful of rolls and the next thing you know you have more rolls than places to store them!

 

It took me awhile to find a pricing system that worked both for me and my customers. It was a trial by error but eventually you will get it ironned out!

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call around to the shops in town and see what they would charge. just because you don't have store front doesn't mean you need to charge less than the market in your area. if you do this how the markert dies. lowballers create low prices then the shop down the street gets hit with (well the guy working out of his garage was only gonna charge me 25% of that) this is how businesses colapse. do yourself and everyone else a favior go 10% under the shops in your area and keep the market healthy for everyone including you!!

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I really dont think some Joe working out of his garage is going to force a brick and mortar store out of business. If they do, then Joe is doing something the store guy was doing wrong. Lower the prices? Maybe but doubt it.

 

You dont really hear it much on this forum, not many have store fronts on here, most work out of their homes. But on other forums, when a business owner gets "well Joe working out of his garage can do it for less" the owner usually shows the customer the door and sends them down the street. For some reason they have no problem doing it. Maybe because they aren't threatened by some Joe working out of his garage. There are a lot of benefits to owning a store front. I think the benefits far out way the threat of "Joe". 

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look at the us economy and see how many jobs are sent to chine because of "JOE" doing it cheaper!! then think about it. if you charge the same as me we both win you just more than me becasue i have over head!! why would you take money out and just burn it in the street.

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 The chances of " Joe " & anybody  , or any 2 business charging the same are slim & none .... & Slim already left town ( ... after beating up Big Jim Walker :) ) . Does anybody think that the reason USCutter sells so many cutters & became as big & successful etc is that they charge the same as the other guys ?? ( especially when they started out )

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roger that is th problem blind people like you!! i will not stoop to your level it will only make me dumber.

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 If that is supposed to make me angry or insult me , you failed !!! I cracked up , thanks for the chuckle buddy . I am glad nothing made you dumber , mispelling " the " ( th above ) & spelling my name Rodger ( roger above ) as it is in my posts has you challenged more than enough as it is ... :lol:  :angel:  :bear: 

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I charge whatever I think I can get. The big sign shops around here won't fool with a small job like that...and that is my advantage. However, if it's been slow and I don't have any money in my pocket, nothing walks out the door. I've personally known 2 people in my life that went from nothing to being millionares...and they both told me the same things..a quick nickle is better than a slow dime anytime,and never let money walk out the door.

 

That being said..I am in a position that I can pick and chose what i do.Not everyone is.

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I thought John would get my reference to " Big Jim Walker " above .. anybody catch my humor ??

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<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Rodger" data-cid="298727" data-time="1359671494"><p>

<strong class='bbc'><span style='color: rgb(0,0,255)'><span style='font-size: 18px;'><span style='font-family: comic sans ms', cursive'>I thought John would get my reference to " Big Jim Walker " above .. anybody catch my humor ??</span></span></span></strong></p></blockquote>

I don't tug on supetmans cape

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Ding , ding .. we have a winner . Wonder how many others got it ( I bet some youngins don't get it even with Dan's input :) )

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I think Rodger ,Skeeter and myself are dating our selfs but like you Sketter I was a big Croce fan but then just about any genre of music from the 60s and 70s was good not like most of todays music . I was a big Motown fan also.

Dan

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I think I love you Dan,,  or just kinda like you a lot.  I LOVE Motown   I wore my 8-track of Jim Croce out .also  LOL 

 

You might kinda like me also,  My mother owned a drive-in restaurant from late 50's to early 60's,  She had a juke box.  And every time the 45 RPM records got changed, she got to keep the records.  The only thing I asked for, when she was failing and we moved her to a smaller house, was all those records.  I have a crap load of those 45's and a console record player to play them on. Tons of the records still have the original covers on them....  A lot of covers are worth more than the records. .Life is good. 

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<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="jfought" data-cid="298699" data-time="1359658230"><p>

look at the us economy and see how many jobs are sent to chine because of "JOE" doing it cheaper!! then think about it. if you charge the same as me we both win you just more than me becasue i have over head!! why would you take money out and just burn it in the street.</p></blockquote>

I belive the main reason that most jobs are outsourced to China and other countrys is American greed by the large American corps. And the hope to receive multi million dollar bonus for making even mote profit by laying off skilled American workers and outsourcing those jobs to someone that will work for almost nothing doing an inferior quality job. Look up the salary and the bonus amounts of some of the CEOs of the large corporations. Bonuses made by saving millions of dollars by outsourcing . It has nothing to do by the competition of other companys .

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<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Mz SKEETER" data-cid="298755" data-time="1359688578"><p>

I think I love you Dan,, or just kinda like you a lot. I LOVE Motown I wore my 8-track of Jim Croce out .also LOL <br />

<br />

You might kinda like me also, My mother owned a drive-in restaurant from late 50's to early 60's, She had a juke box. And every time the 45 RPM records got changed, she got to keep the records. The only thing I asked for, when she was failing and we moved her to a smaller house, was all those records. I have a crap load of those 45's and a console record player to play them on. Tons of the records still have the original covers on them.... A lot of covers are worth more than the records. .Life is good.</p></blockquote>

I have lps,45s , 8tracks and cassettes plus cos and digital recordings I can't really sing but almost any thing said can bring a song to my mind I have always loved music .

A funny story from my youth I was driving through our little town I had the convertible top down and Elvis playing on the 8 track full blast a cop flags me down and ask me if I have a broadcasting license dumbfounded I say no he says well turn the Damn music down then ....and I did until I rounded the next corner

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yes,I got the 78's also she had.. And 33's she picked up along the way..I listen to music every day. I can't sing a lick,  listen to the oldies, and classics on internet radio stations.

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"  I can't really sing but almost any thing said can bring a song to my mind I have always loved music ."

 

I am in the same boat Dan ... Me typing " Slim left town " started that song playing in my head . I loved all the music back then . I really wore out all the Grand Funk Railroad 8-tracks I had . I still like hard rock . I have been listening to a band named " HaleStorm " . the gal Liz Hale has the most amazing voice I have ever heard .. especially in the song " Love Bites " . Check it out if you have any taste for hard rock .

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I belive the main reason that most jobs are outsourced to China and other countrys is American greed by the large American corps. And the hope to receive multi million dollar bonus for making even mote profit by laying off skilled American workers and outsourcing those jobs to someone that will work for almost nothing doing an inferior quality job. Look up the salary and the bonus amounts of some of the CEOs of the large corporations. Bonuses made by saving millions of dollars by outsourcing . It has nothing to do by the competition of other companys .

 

 

Ding Ding Ding we have a winnna!!! 

 

Like John said, most shops wont touch most of the jobs we do. What shop is going to do 10 stickers for 75 cents a piece? This guy will! Ill do it all day too. And the guy keeps coming back. Sorry if im taking 7 bucks out of your pocket.

 

And I cant sleep at night charging the industry standard. 

 

 

Im a youngin, I have no clue what you old farts are talking about.

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That is not bad Rodger the vocals remind me some of Heart . Like I said if the music is good I like it. When my son was a teenager I even listened to so metal(could not keep from it he would be in his room upstairs with the door closed and sound like it was playing in the room with you )

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