john! 1 Posted January 26, 2009 Hey, well i haven't been charging to work up a design for jobs and it's really draining when you think about it. So, I'm going to start charging for designs because i have customers all the time who I'll make something for according to what they wanted and they will have me email them proofs 5-10 times before getting anything right and then STILL not go through with anything. I guess playing the nice guy isn't always a good thing because other shops are charging so why should i, ya know? Now the only dilemma is whats worth what. If someone wants a window banner should i charge a very small fee for that or how should i go about the smaller jobs. For jobs such as vehicle lettering i'm thinking $45 design charge and if someone wants lets say a coro sign design or window perf design charging $25 flat rate fee. Just so customers can't rip me off, i need a way to be 100% upfront about the charges and know that they are 100% serious and not just window shoppers. So would 50% upfront before any design work be too much to ask or how should i organize that? Any comments and suggestions are welcomed! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodger 527 Posted January 26, 2009 I think it depends on how much competition there is around you , your prices compared to the " established " shops & your service compared to theirs . Very important is how much work you have & how much you need the work . If just a hobby & you'r taking care of the bills with other things, you can stand your ground on prices . I am between Washington , DC & Baltimore & It has NEVER been this slow in every kind of work . That in itself will have people doing every type of work with just enough profit to pay the billls . that has been my experience Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fbomb 0 Posted January 26, 2009 For simple text and supplied art ready jobs I don't charge an art fee. But for certain customers (that I know are or will be finicky, I'll say the first 2 revisions are free, then $25/hr with a $10 min (say its a 15 min. revision). For art design I charge $25/hr. but the beauty of it is I can make up my hours...Sometimes I can bang something out in an hour and charge for 2 (if the work is worthy) and sometimes I shave hours b/c I don't want to smack a customer with a $150 charge (plus mark up) ...my $0.02 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GuysSign 4 Posted January 27, 2009 My design is $25/hr Production is $45/hr and my Installation is $95/hr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
