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3rd parties

Geneva Olson

Geneva Olson

Expert Storyteller
I gotta ask you guys how you handle "3rd parties"? On occassion I get a request from someone who's acting as a print shop but doesn't actually have a printer. They will ask me for a price quote for decals so that they can mark them up and sell them to their clients.
I rarely ever get the deals and it usually comes with it's own set of challenges because I'm not speaking directly with the customer.

I want to know how you handle these customers? give them a price and move on? or work with them?
 
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garyroy

New Member
That's kind of thing is what FireSprint does. Sells to print brokers.
But FireSprint is a wholesale printer. I'm not and I don't think you are.
Print brokers, to me, are kind of a waste of time.
You decide. Selling to the end user is where the money is at for us.
 
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ikarasu

Active Member
One of my biggest customers is a print broker. She used to be a sales rep for a print company, then they shut down...and she started her own business where all she does is be a broker between her clients and someone else. So she had a leg up and already has a ton of clients... Not just stickers, but signage as well as banners / stickers / she even started to hire me to do kiosks.

The margins aren't as great as if you're doing it yourself... but then you're also not dealing with clients and handling all the artwork and other things, so it's kind of a win win. I have a certain SQFT price for her - She doesn't even ask me how much, or to quote on things anymore... just sends me art, asks when it'll be done, and pays the bill. I just checked and she's done 70k alone with me this year... and it's usually high margin stuff for me like decals / installs / coro signage that costs me nothing... I just print her stuff overnight and be done with it, so it's like a "bonus".

My work absorbed a sign shops production - They make ALL the signage for all the parking lots here...and they closed down their western office. We sell to them at a set SQFT price - It pisses me off when we get an order for a 2" Decal and its like a 50 cent order... we lose money on those, but theyv'e also done over 200K a year with us this year - Theyre happy...we're happy, and its led to us getting some other work ontop of the parking work.

I'm not saying drop your price so that its not worth it - But inquire if there will be other work, or if its just a one off. If you're sure theyre not selling to your clients and undercutting you... Then it can be a beneficial relationship. If they go after the same people you are though... obviously not worth it.

Treat them like a sales rep that you don't have to pay :roflmao: And don't drop your price in half... Give them 15-20% off regular price... Then they make some cash making the sale, and you aren't just trading hours for work.
 
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CanuckSigns

Active Member
It depends,90% of the print brokers I've dealt with are terrible, they expect you to work for nothing and woo you with stories about " if we can get this one I know we will get all the work for this massive.company"

Quote them a price you are comfortable with, based on the current job, not promises of future jobs and leave it at that.
 
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BigNate

New Member
going back a few years when I was offset printing and working for myself... We did lot's of work for brokers - it was standard to give them a 15% discount; this allowed them to make a 17.65% markup and live off of a 15% gross profit. There was a big catch - the jobs had to come in completely print-ready. The broker should be a professional and know what is needed to make the print work. If you find it is taking your time to deal with the broker, then they either should not be a broker, or you should be charging normal rates, or both.

If a salesman or saleswoman is earning commission only, 15% of gross sales can be quite reasonable - but YOUR salesperson knows your equipment and is expected to bring in a job that can run on your equipment without drama - a broker should be no different. Why not let a broker sell for you? maybe one you can see eye-to-eye with enough to do business, but enough "out-there" that their customer base is radically different from yours so as not to go after all the same customers?
 
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