General pricing idea and materials

[wwpro 1]

Hi there

Just bought my Refine 33" and should be here next week, cannot wait

This is not going to be my main income source but if I play my cards in a smart way I think that I'll do pretty good.

About playing smart, I want to leverage my contacts (builders, realtors) that I've created with my window cleaning business, so I wanted to ask you about a couple of specific signs, to see if can give a ballpark on how much is the "going" rate, and what materials are better for those, you know, tips & tricks.

Here a couple of pics so you know what I'm talking about, and get used to my long posts  ;D

Thanks for all the help received so far

[wwpro 1]

I should've added that I already own the necessary tools for the woodwork or assembly, and I consider myself pretty handy in that area.

What I don't know if is better to use vinyl, or paint or better to stay away from that :0

[tlzimmerman 11]

Alot of that looks printed because of the gradients on some of the graphics.

I don't specialize in building the signs as I do mostly mail order decals, and it is pretty hard to judge the size of those.  I am going to guess the "standard pacific homes" sign to be 6 foot by 3 foot, and I will assume the black is painted not vinyl.  You would have 2 colors of vinyl I would probably be around $120 for that size ballpark, then if I was installing I would charge an install fee as well of $40 per hour minimum charge of $20 (which is what it would be because it would take me less than half an hour for the install). 

Now actually building the sign I have no clue how to even start pricing that.

[wwpro 1]

Thanks man for the input. I keep looking around me to see if there's a specific niche that I can market for in the future.

This one seems a nice one since I know few builders and realtors in the area.

[tlzimmerman 11]

Yeah that would be a great connection for steady recurring business.......especially if its on the top end of things.

[wwpro 1]

.especially if its on the top end of things.

That's the idea, try to replicate what I'm doing with my window cleaning biz, high end customers mostly.

Low volume, high profit. It's the ideal but nowadays nothing is so predictable, and I have to keep in mind that this is going to be a hobby/side business until further notice 

[midwaste 4]

Call up a local sign shop and get an idea of what they would charge for a sign like that.  Big $$$$$$$....

I would guess those first three to be in the area of at least $2K, based on my experience.  Probably more, including the time to set the posts and install everything. 

I would look at the aluminum covered panels (I think they call it aluma-core sometimes) for the substrates.  Harborsales.net is a good supplier of substrates similar to this.

[wwpro 1]

Thanks a lot Midwaste, pretty cool to know that.

I'd rather sub the digging and posts, but I'll check on the Aluma-core since I've seen it mentioned somewhere.

Have you done this kind of stuff ? You can Pm if you will.