price check please

[FatDad 2]

what would you guys charge for these?

20  Coroplast Sign  18" x 24"  1color/2side

20  10"x30" double H Wire-Stake 

im donating them to the school but want to include a invoice

[BannerJohn 1,324]

Don't know about your area but here the going price at a regular sign shop seems to be $20 for a single sign like that, $17 if 10 or more and that usually includes the stakes.

[darkdan 3]

Here's a nice little pricing calculator based on industry average.  Of course, it does have to be adjusted for your area:

http://www.thesignexpert.com/TheSignExpert.com/Sign_Business_Free_Sign_Price_Calculators.html

[BannerJohn 1,324]

Here's a nice little pricing calculator based on industry average.  Of course, it does have to be adjusted for your area:

http://www.thesignexpert.com/TheSignExpert.com/Sign_Business_Free_Sign_Price_Calculators.html

Boy, I wish I could get those prices. I can have a 2x4 coroplast full color digital printed done at my local supplier for $15 if I order 25.

But it all depends on your location. The best thing is to just pick up the phone and call a few shops. That will give you an idea.

[tory 0]

I'm trying to price my first banner, client stated they would like it to be 4x10 or larger. I looked at that calculator and it said 300. When looking on the forum I found the same size for 159 and a few other sites for closer to 100. What would be reasonable to charge for a one color 4x10 banner? Also, what size is a street banner usually? I appreciate any help you may have.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

4x10 here would be $150 or so. Might be higher in your area. $300 for a vinyl cut banner is a bit high since you can go to office Depot or Kinkos and get a full color digital printed photo quality for $400.

Considering the blank would cost you $30 or so, if you can do it in a few hours,anything you get over $150 would be good money.

I don't think there is standard size for a street banner. I have done them as big as 4x25 and as small as 2x8.

[tory 0]

Thanks a bunch BannerJohn, I appreciate your feedback. I was leaning on the $159 but wasn't sure after seeing such a fluctuation in prices. They have a few other jobs to bid too, so I didn't want to come in too high. And I don't know bout it taking a few hrs as this would be my first, but hopefully I can make a few dollars and learn a thing or 2. As for the streetbanner, he wanted his banner within that size so I just wanted to make sure I quoted the right size.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

charts and calculators are fine but what really matters is that you make a good profit based on what you consider your time to be worth. If you hold out for high prices you will sink pretty fast. The ONLY advantage someone has who is starting out is the ability to give a better deal than the other guy.  That is not to say that you shouldn't do a good job..you will have to prove your worth.

With the proliferation of places like Kinkos,Fast Signs,etc... it shouldn't be hard. They have people making banners who have less experience than you would believe.

The older,established signs hops, I have learned the hard way, mostly won't give a break on a small job and will take forever to do it. When I was BUYING banners instead of making them,the local guy wouldn't even talk to me I had to deal with his wife and the average turn-around for a simple 2x10 banner was 3 weeks.

[tory 0]

One thing I have in my favor is living in a small town. There is one other sign shop but her prices are way out there. So I fig if he got a price from her I should be ok Next time I'm in the city maybe I should wander into Fast Signs and check pricing. I'm a perfectionist by nature so as long as I take my time it has to be better than a teenager working at min wage right? Do you try to get them out within a day or so? He asked what the turnaround time would be......I thought wellllllll since this is a first how bout ASAP lol. Thank goodness he can't read minds.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

I usually tell people 2-3 days if they want next day, I charge a little more. Unless it's for a church or school or the Boy Scouts, a dog rescue group,etc...

I have never had anybody who wasn't willing to pay extra for a rush job. They usually know that they waited too late and are happy to pay.

[Blues 18]

what would you guys charge for these?

20  Coroplast Sign  18" x 24"  1color/2side

20  10"x30" double H Wire-Stake 

im donating them to the school but want to include a invoice

In my area 20 of them would cost $18.50 each for two sides one color with stakes.

[darkdan 3]

One thing I have in my favor is living in a small town. There is one other sign shop but her prices are way out there.

Keep your prices similar to them and you both will continue to prosper.  Get into an undercutting war and no one wins.

[tory 0]

Darkdan I agree, that is how I price embroidery (competitive to others). Being new to vinyl, I don't know how to price and go by others suggestions. That is how I inadvertently found out how high her prices were. I def agree undercutting just hurts the industry on a whole and devalues our work in the customer's eyes. I don't have a storefront but I also don't price my work as a hobby. It takes me as long or longer than the guy in a shop, and I should get paid accordingly. I believe similar to Cody, that until everyone bands together industry wide in prices our customers will use it against us. I wanted to get to Fastsigns and check prices there. Then I would at least have something to go by. I heard there is a publication sign shops go by, but not sure where to get it or it's name. I'll figure it all out, as in embroidery, but for now am still gathering info and trying to learn like a sponge.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

If ,as a new business,with little experience and even less of a reputation,you chose to charge the same as the established shop,with experience and a reputation...I suggest you need to give them a reason to chose you over the other guy. Being helpful...offering fast turn-around...taking small jobs that the big guy won't...getting out and soliciting business.

I can tell you from experience that all things being equal,price-wise,they will go with experience most of the time.

[tory 0]

I understand BannerJohn, but I try not to let them know I'm a novice. Since vinyl is an addon to my embroidery business they just assume I have alwats done it. I'm sure they wonder to some extent but they have never asked. I try my best whether it be emb or vinyl to deliver nothing short of what I would accept myself. I'm not perfect but strive for it every time. I also make sure every order is hand delivered on time. Sometimes that can be quite the juggle. It usually means starting early in the morning and finishing late evening, esp during the busier times. But I have 2 in college, 1 in high school and a husband that likes to hunt. So that gives me the time to work, I like the whole process and always enjoyed so feel this is an extension of that with the perk of getting paid. I still enjoy making someone happy when you've delivered something they have ordered. Or seeing a shirt walking down the street and knowing it is one of mine. With all that said, sometimes you just can't win. I have a client now that was one of my first 4 yrs ago. She is always trying to talk me down in price, so she can mark them up and make more. Now she is inferring she can get it cheaper on the internet, and she can, but apparently the customer service, eating extra shipping when filling her last min add on orders, hand delivery, and paying attention to details means nothing. Maybe she will change her mind when her online orders have problems? I take customer service to an extreme, gets frustrating when not appreciated. Sorry didn't mean to write a book.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

Right now,the economy is in the toilet.For most people that means getting it as cheap as they can. Maybe after the election things will get better. Having lived through quite a few elections as a business operator, I have seen this many times. People are holding on to their money.

In your case,you already have an established business and a reputation. This is NOT the case for many on here trying to get started. When I first started, I did stuff for FREE just to get the word out there. And it paid off very well. I still,from time to time, do a freebie for a non-profit...and I always get paid back many times over.

Remember,you are not selling a  product,you are selling yourself.

More businesses (not just sign shops) go broke because of 'attitude' on the part of the owner. If someone walks into your shop and wants ONE decal, or ONE T-shirt,and you give them the impression that it's just not worth your time...well,they tell someone and then that someone tells someone and pretty soon you don't have a business.

As I have mentioned before...retailers all over the country who have tried the 'quality over price' game are feeling the pinch. Many are just closing the doors. Bottom line is money...always has been,always will be.

[nonabelle 5]

hey john, i totally agree with ya. i tried to work with people. u should price ur product so that u can cut some slack if u have too.

if they want one shirt lol they will get one shirt. hey a dollar is dollar which is only worth .59cents this days.

now i'm not saying price urself out business i'm just saying it's better to make something, rather than nothing.

[tory 0]

The economy is downright scary. I've talked to ppl that lived through the depression and have never seen it like this. We will all have to hang on and hopefully will be able to ride this out. I don't mind giving things to organizations/charities but I do mind being taken advantage of. It is always interesting that in this line of business ppl think they can tak you down but would never think to elsewhere. When it comes down to it personalized goods should have a higher value. I don't want to gouge ppl just want what is fair market value. Money is the bottom line, but I feel there will always be those looking for quality too. Those are the customers I'm lookin for  

[BannerJohn 1,324]

If you can afford to wait,that's fine. I can't. I have bills to pay and I like to eat. My time isn't worth a dime if all I'm doing is sitting waiting for the phone to ring. Cash flow is what keeps a business going. That's just a FACT.

[darkdan 3]

Once you start down the cheap price road it's HARD to come back.

Everyone EXPECTS you to be cheap.  So then it's impossible to raise the price back up.

Plus, when you're doing it cheap and you screw something up you're less likely to make it right.  Having a higher price allows you to practice more and not have poor work leaving the shop.

[tory 0]

BannerJohn I understand your viewpoint, I was just expressing where I'm comin from. And actually you make a very good point. My income supplements my husband's income. That is much different than having to live off what I bring in. If I did have to be the main bread winner then, like you, I would do whatever I had to to put food on the table. And it might come to that since he works for the automotive company  :-. I can't wait for the phone for the phone to ring, as much as I despise selling/cold calling that is exactly how I get customers. But as much as I like being my own boss, I'd go work for someone else before I let it get to a point where I'm working for nothing. Nonabelle stated it nicely too, sometimes I just can't express myself correctly in writing.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

BannerJohn I understand your viewpoint, I was just expressing where I'm comin from. And actually you make a very good point. My income supplements my husband's income. That is much different than having to live off what I bring in. If I did have to be the main bread winner then, like you, I would do whatever I had to to put food on the table. And it might come to that since he works for the automotive company  :-. I can't wait for the phone for the phone to ring, as much as I despise selling/cold calling that is exactly how I get customers. But as much as I like being my own boss, I'd go work for someone else before I let it get to a point where I'm working for nothing. Nonabelle stated it nicely too, sometimes I just can't express myself correctly in writing.

you hit the nail on the head. When you are depending on what you do to put food on the table and pay the bills,you do what you have to do.

In spite of what dark Dan thinks (must be lonely at the top) you can't fight the competition by offering the same thing they do. Anybody with a lick of sense knows that.

But Dark Dan doesn't think much of the rest of us anyway. He has insulted a great many of us in other posts,and he does so in this post by his use of the word 'cheap'.

My prices are not cheap. My prices are slightly less than the big guys, and I give BETTER value for the money than they do.

I don't know about you,but I don't consider $30 an hour (average) working for nothing. And that's what I make if I charge $60 for a banner that the other shops charge $75 for.

The difference is, I'm doing 3 banners for every one that they are doing. Now,who is making the most money here?

When I get ready to retire, I'll raise my prices to the levels of the big guys and let the market put me out of business.

[darkdan 3]

And because there's someone out there doing it cheaper the guy trying to feed his family with $75 banners is now starving.

And what happens when someone comes in at a $55 value and now you're starving?  And then you have to do it cheaper still and then they're starving.  And now, you're DEVALUED yourself and your products by chasing after the cheap customers.

There will always be someone cheaper, but you're much better off building your business model on quality products and quality customer service and let the other guy have the cheap customers.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

And because there's someone out there doing it cheaper the guy trying to feed his family with $75 banners is now starving.

And what happens when someone comes in at a $55 value and now you're starving?  And then you have to do it cheaper still and then they're starving.  And now, you're DEVALUED yourself and your products by chasing after the cheap customers.

There will always be someone cheaper, but you're much better off building your business model on quality products and quality customer service and let the other guy have the cheap customers.

no,that guy doing it for $75 is up in his cherry picker installing a $10,000 sign that he will make a $7000 profit on.

Yes,it is good to build your business on quality products and customer service BUT YOU GOTTA GET THEM IN THE DOOR FIRST.

Logic does not enter into your thinking.

[Benr98 40]

I have sold things for less than the 'big guys' I feel my products are atleast just as good as 'the big guys' if not better.

I take every project as if I am doing it for myself.  I never sacrafice quality for a few $$.

I may be cheaper than some...but that doesn't mean I do shoddy work!

I'm thinking of all those that want to advertise or have a sign for an event, that is in hard times right now....don't those people still deserve a quality product without being taken over the coals??