Monday: Client (doctor's office - local immediate care) calls late in the day for a price on a pair of 24x12 signs. He needs them by Friday for use in the local Christmas parade. Employee tells him that prices start at $65 per pair. No discussion of layout or colors at this point. He faxes over a "suggested layout". It sucks. Naturally.
Tuesday Morning: Fax over work order and proposed layout for signature.
Wednesday Afternoon: Call to do follow-up. Have not received signed workorder. Told that doctor found someone cheaper and the mags would be in full color.
posted
I think $65 per pair is a very fair price. That is only $32.50 each, and that includes time with artwork, assembly, the magnet and hopefully only 1 color of vinyl.
I wonder what he paid in the end. ?
T
-------------------- Theresa N. Hoying Visual Concepts 130 South Lester Avenue Sidney, Ohio 45365 937.492.2110 Posts: 176 | From: Sidney, Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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OK, aside from the fact that neither the magnetics or full color are things I do on a regular basis, I could *almost* see just the production side of the mags costing $65..... Wholesale cost of the print is $28 at $7 per square (even less for someone that does their own printing) and Magnum magnetic material cost is $4. Still doesn't leave much room for profit after applying the print to the magnetic and it's certainly worth a whole lot more provided a really effective design.
but no way in hell am I going to charge any less than $120 to create full color artwork, and I'll try my best to squeeze them for $180. If they want to use photography it's going to cost them even more.
It's certainly cost-prohibitive for a set of magnetics, which is apparently why I don't do very many of them.
[ November 28, 2007, 02:52 PM: Message edited by: Mike Pipes ]
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
I remember saying this before and getting a lot of flack, but I've never sold a set of mags for less than $150. The same labor and materials go into a mag as go into doing the door (plus $4. for mag) with added benefit of being able to remove it.
-------------------- Terry Baird Baird Signs 3484 West Lake Rd. Canandaigua, NY 14424 Posts: 790 | From: Canandaigua, New York | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
BINGO!!! Terry, you got that exactly right! I currently have an order in house for a set of magnetics, two colors on yellow ground, part of a much larger job for a good client. I got no argument with a price of $300. Which is what I would have charged for lettering the same design on his truck.
-------------------- "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
Cam Bortz Finest Kind Signs Pondside Iron works 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988" Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Try to buy just a picture FRAME for a 12"x24" print for $ 65 bux - and that's just for ONE frame. Or call a plumber, electrician, roofer or handyman. !!!. They won't even come to your house for less than $ 90 bux - just to check things out. Good luck finding someone who will spend the time to make them a product that provide YEARS of advertising and contacts.
These signs are MAKING THEM MONEY.
If they can't invest at least $ 100 bux for quality signs as advertisements....
Enough........
this has been hashed over again-and-again...
$ 65 bux is less than one tank of gas.... $ 32.50 gets me a little more than 10 gallons of gas - or milk by the way. (Not counting the OVERHEAD it took to get that money in to my shop).
They're gonna make MORE MONEY with YOUR SIGNS than you are...
Our prices start at $ 150 bux a pair - simple layout - no artwork. Average is about $ 200.
It will only help everyone (including your client's) if you learn to say..."A pair of standard magnetics start at $ 120($ 150)...whatever.
When they come back with..."well I can get them from so-and-so for (too little)" either send them on their way or sell them that your signs will MAKE THE MONEY. If they don't go for it - their loss.
Sorry to sound so crass - I'm upset - Get some balls and raise your prices.
posted
Well, my wife stopped by earlier today and I told her about it. She knew one of the nurses there and called her to see if she knew what they paid.
Drum roll.............
$40 for a pair in full living color and laminated.
posted
Why waste your time with lowball prices? We have prices that usually keep us going. When Wal-Mart starts in the sign business will you worry about what they charge or will you offer something that they can't or won't do? Isn't there something more important than worrying about being the bottom feeder? Someone will always be there
-------------------- Jerry Starpoli Starpoli Signs... since 1952
845-795-2438 Posts: 446 | From: Milton, NY US | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
I charge $80 per set and dont do alot of them. for a good repeat customer I will go $50 perset. I have no problem with that...I DID SAY REPEAT CUSTOMER!
They do sell them around here for $30 a set. Im not interested. if thats what they want thats what they get. you know its not the cost but the value, the customers do no understand that.
-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
posted
I can top all that! We have a company here who advertises 2ftx2ft Coroplast signs, full color, photos and all for $7.99 ea, but you have to buy at least 8....now that means they are doing a full color 4x8 for less than $64.00, They have one of those $60,000.00 printers that can print on coroplast. Now they also advertise that they can do 4x8's full color for$199.00...Amazing. With this price they have to pay commission to their salespeople as well. This companys owner owns a local Buy and Sell magazine, and is doing quite well with it, I guess he's making way too much money and need to write some of it off... it's possible.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Terry is right about lettering 12 X 24 Mag signs relative to a same size vehicle door. Same stuff and amont of labor on a vehicle door, but with out the mag mterial. Direct vehicle lettering is generally once or twice the cost of what a mag sign is. Thats a glitch I have been at odds with over the years. We have somewhat offset that difference lately by printing directly on vinyl instead of cut weed and tape, and apply the whole mess to the mag. We have of lately become competitive with the ogers of our industry with our 72" UV cure flatbed printer. Our job site, banner and real estate signs are now more profitable. Then there is the new real estate ace who still wants it for less because he has a lot of connections and promisses you more work, in which case we tell them that they may prefer our price code "B" which is "1% of the sale of their parcel", up front...... They usually get stupid with accusations after that, and we just smile, and either swipe their credit card for our first price, or just point to the door.
posted
IMHO, I think part of the problem is that the "new'er" shops were never really exposed to what signmaking was like prior to vinyl. They have no perspective. These days, its seems that many of them simply see it as nothing more than a commodity who's value is boiled down to little more than time & materials.
I remember during our cleanup after Hurricane Floyd finding invoices dating back to 1979 for a pair of 24x12 mags for $45. My father had handlettered it and shaded the main copy. Translate that to 2007 and it comes to $135.00.
quote:Originally posted by Glenn Taylor: IMHO, I think part of the problem is that the "new'er" shops were never really exposed to what signmaking was like prior to vinyl. They have no perspective. These days, its seems that many of them simply see it as nothing more than a commodity who's value is boiled down to little more than time & materials.
I remember during our cleanup after Hurricane Floyd finding invoices dating back to 1979 for a pair of 24x12 mags for $45. My father had handlettered it and shaded the main copy. Translate that to 2007 and it comes to $135.00.
.
This is nothing new. I used to do magnetics as a regular part of business. Truck lettering on the easel. They started at $110 a pair in '85. Then the plotters came out....magnetics went away. Once a staple of business soon became "crap work" for the low ballers to fight over. A shame. The printers are now taking it a step further. Rediculous, yes, but, too much damage done already for me to care about.
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
posted
Here's a mindblower-my g/f works for a mechanical engineering company (HVAC etc.) and handles the billing. She copied me an invoice for some magnetic signs they had made to see if they were getting a good price. Well, I almost crapped in my hat! Two 12X30 white magnetic signs for a truck in 5 colors, cut vinyl (not printed)-$26.85!!!!!! WTF?! I looked up the prices of the materials needed for the job from my supplier and the cost was almost $20.
-------------------- Kenny Lund Phenomenon Designs Farmingdale, NJ Posts: 72 | From: Farmingdale, New Jersey | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
I'm with Nevman on this one. Lady came in and asked hoew much for mags. 12 x 24 = $100 - $140 depending on "VARIABLES" like if I gotta clean up a logo, or import / export the logo, if you want outlines, drop shadows. She looks at me and says, I am gonna go around the corner to your competitor...what if he only tells me $80???? I look at her and say, "Well, then you are going to then make a choice". That is all. These magnetics are suppose to and, going to make you money. They will advertise your business 24 hours a day if you leave them on. While you are sleeping you can be making a sale. You and your husband are in NEW business together in hopes of making...say....$80,000 net combined or so right?? Why scoff at a $40 difference on something that will make you money. It takes money to make money. How come, it seems like people scoff at the one trade that makes them money, helps people find their place and, is constantly "working" for them? Do they scoff at the carpet layers, drywallers, electricians, painters before rewarding them any business????
posted
I used to do mags in house , but I have a guy up the street who will print them for me for $25 a set. So I email the file over to him, pick them up the next day and charge anywhere from $100 to $300 a set depending on "variables".
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3484 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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Terry, you got that exactly right! I currently have an order in house for a set of magnetics, two colors on yellow ground, part of a much larger job for a good client. I got no argument with a price of $300. Which is what I would have charged for lettering the same design on his truck. ![[I Don t Know]](graemlins/dunno.gif)
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