Pricing Questions?

[D4kustomz 3]

Ok here what i need to know

** (1) Magnets im selling 2 24x15 one color / one clip art (pre-made) for $35

            Reason i ask i called a local to me shop and they told me $92

            I like to be Fair so i turn to you all to hear your thoughts

** (2) 3x10 banner .. Ok this happen Sunday .. I came up with a banner no pics 2 lines

            7 words about 36" tall and 8 1/2 ft long  was the writing , I had to goto the site

            to install this on a trailer about 8 ft tall . I bought $45 worth of supply's to install

            this thing for him .. Took a little over 2 1/2 hours to install this over his stand..

            He walked half way across the parking lot to see if he could see it. Well yes he

            could as well as the next 3 states heh . Anyway i gave him a price of 223.60

            He flipped out.. ended up having to drop about $80 to make him Happy ..

            Question to you all do you think that was to much.. ??

      Thanx all again i need to vent and to see if im under or over charging

    Will have pics up soon 

[Guest fivestar]

I don't know what you install charges are, but I sold a 3' x 20' uninstalled for 150.00 with text and one easy graphic.  Now granted this was to a friend of mine, so I would of been at around 200.00 to 250.00 for "Joe Blow".  Personally I don't think you was too high on the banner, next time let them know what your hourly install rate is. 

Magnets I have never done, but I think yours is too cheap from what I have seen them go for.

[UpNorthPromo 3]

As long as your on the subject of pricing does anyone use the official signwriters pricing guide offered in many catalogs? If anyone does how does it compare to prices you quote?

[TonyTomahawk 0]

For banners we charge $7.60 a square foot and have not had any complaints.

I bought the sign price book when we first started doing signs and I wish I could charge those prices. Most of the prices are at least double what we can get.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

Agree on a price BEFORE you do a job. get a deposit (50% is what I ask). Hand them the invoice,if they complain, take the banner down and head home with it. If you start letting your customers talk you down, you'll get a reputation.

Magnetic signs...your prices are decent if you have a cheap source of magnetic sheeting. My COST for a 12x24 magnet is around $4 plus 30(or less) minutes of my time.

BUT you have to keep your prices in line with the competition. I sell cheap online because everone else does. Locally, I sell about 20% under the big guys.

I was in another business for 35 years and I was the lowest guy in town. BUT I was busy when the others were sitting on their hands,and word-of -mouth was the only advertising I ever did.

If you are making a good living....that's all that counts. I've seen 2 local sign shops go out of business here in the last 6 months..fact was,they priced themselves out of the market. Walmart didn't get to be the nation's #1 retailer by selling high.

[TaterNuts 3]

The banner reminds me of a sign that I seen at a tattoo shop... It said... If you know someone that can do it cheaper, Go get it done by them, and when you come back for us to fix it, We'll chage you double.

I agree with Banner John... Agree on a price before you do the work... Like he said, Youll get a reputation...

Your magnets are way to cheap, I charge about $60 for a set of magnets that size, without any clip art, text only...

Make a profit... You may have alot lower overhead then the big guys, but there is nothing wrong putting a bit extra cash in yoru pocket.  Pricing about 20% below the big guys will keep you busy... Youll be busy making money...  Dont go too cheap, The big guys may use that as a tactic when they find out "claiming" that you are using inferior products compared to those, even when you buy your supplies at the same place!

The area you are in really determines the price of your products so it is difficult to say weather you are too cheap, or too expensive...  If you are the only guy that cuts vinyl in a 90 mile radius from where you live, then chances are, Vinyl will be expensive, but if you live where I live and have 4 sign shops in a seven mile radius, then It may be too cheap...

I walk right up into a sign shop and see what they will do and what they will not do... Some shops charge a set-up fee, others do not... I use scenarios like "i need a sign for a baby shower, how much will it cost me to have you design one for me"...  Shop around, then price accordingly... I never charge a setup fee, however if the customer is being too difficult and going thru my clip art catalogs and want 20 diffrent designs and hes only going to choose one, I just explain to them that I have other customers work to do, and more then likely they decided pretty much immedietly... 

I would of rolled up the banner and took it home with me... The customer probably knew that he could try to negotiate the price with you... Next time, stand your ground and explain that you are barely made a profit and that He is already getting a good deal,, These situations can be difficult, but would the other sign guy come down on the price, or come down on the banner?

[jerseysignandgraphics 0]

signcraft sign priceing guide is very helpfull

[latitude42 5]

I'm new to the vinyl business, but have been in the marine canvas and screen printing business for a while.

1) I always give a price up front.

2) I ALWAYS get 50% up front.

3) If the customer does not like my prices, they will complain about the work when it is done to get you to knock your price (almost 100% of the time).

    therefore, my price is my price, take it or leave it.

4) I ALWAYS get the customer to sign a work order with the terms on the work order.

5) I NEVER let the customer leave with the product unless I have payment in hand (even if the product is attached to their vehicle). Your payment will be very last in line, behind money for movie rentals and pizza delivery. Get paid as soon as you are done!!!

6) I always do the very best job I can and do as much as possible to make the customer happy without lowering my price.

I now have a reputation of being VERY good at what I do, but I am not the cheapest in town. Those who want cheap can go try to squeeze someone else, I deserve to get paid for what I do, ... And so do you!

Just my 2cents.

[haumana 1,220]

Those are great policies Latitude. I think I need to start drawing up contracts (and work orders) with that info. Any chance I could plagiarizer some verbiage from you? (If so, could you PM some of the text you use).

I ran into that same problem with a client I was designing a website for. The basic terms were agreed upon a handshake and faith. To say the least I ended up  cutting my price way down, and pulled the entire site until some kind of agreement was made and partially paid for. I've learned my lesson and never again will I agree to anything that has to do with the web design side of my business. Damn cheapskates!

[rynecoop 0]

Had this happen to me with a buddy at work made him some 3 colorflags that were a good size, and told him $20 before I made them, he agreed, but I didn't make him sign anything, then I show up the next day with the decals and he only wanted to pay $5, ya I could have sold them to him, and made a little $, but instead I told him I would rather throw them in the garbage, then I walked away and didn't sell them to him. I knew I would get a bad rep if I sold them to him for $5 becasue he would tell everyone to only offer 25% of what I say after I make them.  then the next week he wanted to give me $20 for them, and I told him that they were now $40 each for him wasting my time.  he didn't want to pay that much so I put them on my car and parked next to him at work, and when we left I took them off and trew them in the garbage in front of him.  ever since that I always get 50% up front, and have never had anyone try to haggle with me.

ok first things first, ALWAYS AGREE ON A PRICE UP FRONT!!!!!!! ALWAYS GET 50% DEPOSIT, if this guy can talk you down $140, then he will brag to his friends and then they will call you and do the same thing.  I do the same a Latitude, make up an estimate, and they have to aprove the design and the price by signing the form. has all the same terms as latitude, but I have a few extra.  basically you cover you a$$ with the form that they sign, making them responsiable for the $ and you responsiable for nothing.  if you did the banner for $80 and it took you 2 1/2 hours thats only $32 an hour, now minus your exspensise for the install and you have $14 an hour, now minus material cost, and your gas to get over there and I am sure you made next to nothing.  You could have probablly made more flippin' burgers at McDonalds.  I dont mean to sound mean if I do, but I am just trying to make it where you can really understand. 

As for your prices I think you are way to low!  You are actually hurting the sign industry if you price that low, to be totally honest with you, when I do a job, For example I did 7 trucks for a detail shop, just 2 doors on each and the tail gate, very simple design just text!  Took me about 4 1/2 hours to install everything.  after takeing out the $ that I spent on supplies (vinyl, install supplies, gas to get there, lunch, etc.) and figureing 10 hours of total time for the job (that includes install, driving, design, cutting weeding, everything) I made over $120 an hour, and actuallity it only really took about 61/2 to 7 hours for everything so that would be over $170 an hour.  so you are WAY TOO LOW!!!!!  I am not saying you should charge what I do , but I let them know they are paying for a service, and I will provide it better than anyone!  and at these price's I am still lower then the local big guys, by about 20%

Oh ya and also a good selling point is to tell them that there sign will cost this much per day if it last's 5 years For example

if they pay $200 for for a sign it would be $200 devided by 5 year's that $40 a year, devided by 12 months that's $3.33 a day, devided by 30 days would be $0.11 a day, and I think anyone would agree that 11 cents a day is cheap for advertising.

also when I take the estimate, I print it up about $200-$700 more (for big jobs) then what I would actually charge, then I cross it out, and Tell them that I am giving them a discount either becasue they are a first time customer or a reapeat customer, and they think they are getting a great deal off the bat!  this always sells jobs for me, they dont even bother with getting quotes for the other guys, when I tell them this, they automatically think that I am doing it for next to nothing, when in actuallity I am make over $100 an hour.  It is alwyas a deal to the customer if they are happy, and you are always friendly.  THIS TECHNICE WORKS EVERY TIME! try it and see what I am saying!  its not all about how cheap you are it is about how good of a salesman you are.

Sorry for the really long post, but this subject really gets me going, if you price to low, and only make $5 off a job you dont just hurt yourself you hurt everyon in the sign biz!

[tservice 3]

It's a shame that someone has to get half up front because a persons word is not worth anything any more.

[gogetemgraphix 1]

my very first job i learned to charge a deposit. i had a guy ask me if i had certain colors and i said yes, gave me his info and asked how much i would charge him. i gave him a price quote...this was the first week. the second week he changed his mind and wanted to know what i would charge then....he designed his own checkered wavy banner and wanted me to try to convert it, so i worked on that for a week, then he changed colors and wanted a color i didn't have so i told him he had to pay for it. so he gives me 100, i order the vinyl and start on his #'s for his racecar 2 colors, electric blue and fluorescent orange, meanwhile i had sent him alternate checkered flags, didn't hear from him for another week and his #'s are done. then he calls me and tells me he ordered another checkered banner similar to the one he designed from another place and said i was still going to do his lettering.....never heard anymore from him and 8 months down the road i see him and he says i owe him. what do i owe him? i still have his #'s and he doesn't want them, all the time spent and vinyl used... what do you think?

lue anne

[BannerJohn 1,324]

you don't owe him a damn thing.

[gogetemgraphix 1]

thanks! that's what i thought but being new at this, at that time and still i wasn't all that sure.

thanks again

lue anne

[BannerJohn 1,324]

if he bugs you about it,make out a bill,mark it PAID IN FULL and hand it to him along with whatever work you already did. Then spit on his shoes.

[haumana 1,220]

... Then spit on his shoes.

Nice touch!