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A con Artist Customer

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midnightmadman

New Member
What should I do: This is a neighbor lady(supposed to be good friend of wife)
This customer has been conning me and I'm trying to hold my ground.
From the start they said they had a couple quotes for X amount and would like to give me the work if I match it. (Price is just about on target)
I match the price. They are 18x24 corro with full color prints applied and cut into 4 even sections with stakes.
Over the last year they have asked for extra stakes and I have given them to them... then last week they asked for about 10 of them, so I gave them a price and they said... ohh that too much I can get them at lowes for less....

Today she emailed me that she went to another sign shop and got a price to make the corro signs for $8 less.. and said they would rather I did them.. could I match it..
What they are doing is driving the price down by scamming us all. If I do it in a few months she will go to the first shop and say I'm doing them for Y amount now can you match that... and then come back to me and try to get it down again. Here is the issue. She just got a HUGE contract to make these and they will be coming in MASS amounts soon.
What should I do!!?

My response to her today was " why did you even ask them for another price when I was already making them for you"
Haven't heard back yet, but she will come up with some kind of 'reason' she ran into the owner or something etc...
 
ucmj22

ucmj22

New Member
if the quantities are high enough, sometimes it makes sense to outsource coro signs. on quantities over 100 we use victory signs. you can set up a resale account with them, and get 10-15% off the prices listed on the site.
 
10sacer

10sacer

New Member
If you are doing 4 color prints and applying them to coro - you will get priced out of the work pretty quickly by almost anyone with a flatbed or screen capabilities (if quantities are high enough). $8 for a 18x24 is well above market price around here. Your cost for 4x8 sheet of coro is .25 a square foot + ink and time. I can print 18 4/C signs in just under 20 minutes with no more work involved.

I would find someone with a wholesale flatbed who will do them for you at around 1.25 a square foot and be done with it. That way you are making more than you would once you factor in all the effort it takes to print and mount however many signs this ends up being.

Good luck
 
OldPaint

OldPaint

New Member
ME..............i woulda told her THE 1ST TIME SHE ASKED ME IF I DO PRICE MATCHING......NO i dont do that!!!!! and if you feel the other shop is giving you a great price.....BUY THEM THERE!!!!! ends all the BULLCRAP!!!!!!
 
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weaselboogie

weaselboogie

New Member
midnightmadman said:
She just got a HUGE contract to make these and they will be coming in MASS amounts soon.
Click to expand...

How do you know that this isn't a lie too?

I'd price it out in what quantities you've been doing now and also quotes for high end quantities (outsource). MAKE SURE she knows that she has to order high quanitites at a time... none of that ' I"m ordering 1000, but only need 50 now and would like the 1000 qty price "
 
rushworks graphics

rushworks graphics

New Member
thats an old trick! promise off ALOT of future work if only you will drop your price alittle more! don't fall for it man, shes just yanking your chain in the hopes you will drop your price yet again.
 
signage

signage

New Member
Sounds like she is a sign broker, selling the signs and not doing any of the real work. She just wants to make more money! Fire her!
 
ucmj22

ucmj22

New Member
weaselboogie said:
I"m ordering 1000, but only need 50 now and would like the 1000 qty price "
Click to expand...

I have a guy that comes in every couple of months and orders 1 or 2 signs (18X24) and doesnt understand why he is still paying standard price! He is always talking about how he has ordered "so many Signs" from us (15... maybe) and we need to give him a better deal. And every time I have to explain to him that it takes at least 30 min for me to layout the text, cut it, weed it, and apply it to the sign, and if we were charging him hourly plus materials, he would be getting charged 10 to $15 more, so he is getting a deal. I started throwing in the stakes for free, and now he doesnt complain so much.
 
J

john1

Guest
FIRED also.

Why even worry about it? If she wants you to price match another shop why the hell is she still in your hair? Why aren't they doing it?

Don't fall into this BS game of "Oh they said they can do it for...". There is a reason shes still in your hair, Shes trying to scam you because if the other shop was so much cheaper she would have her stuff already done. Quotes with no proof is useless.
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
ucmj22 said:
I have a guy that comes in every couple of months and orders 1 or 2 signs (18X24) and doesnt understand why he is still paying standard price! He is always talking about how he has ordered "so many Signs" from us (15... maybe) and we need to give him a better deal. And every time I have to explain to him that it takes at least 30 min for me to layout the text, cut it, weed it, and apply it to the sign, and if we were charging him hourly plus materials, he would be getting charged 10 to $15 more, so he is getting a deal. I started throwing in the stakes for free, and now he doesnt complain so much.
Click to expand...

You are selling the signs for less than you should be (time + materials+profit=price), customer complains and you throw in the stakes for free?!?!
 
M

midnightmadman

New Member
john1 said:
FIRED also.

Why even worry about it? If she wants you to price match another shop why the hell is she still in your hair? Why aren't they doing it?

Don't fall into this BS game of "Oh they said they can do it for...". There is a reason shes still in your hair, Shes trying to scam you because if the other shop was so much cheaper she would have her stuff already done. Quotes with no proof is useless.
Click to expand...


This is the the tricky part. She is supposed to be my wifes any my good friend.
 
CheapVehicleWrap

CheapVehicleWrap

New Member
midnightmadman said:
This is the the tricky part. She is supposed to be my wifes any my good friend.
Click to expand...

ohh yeah..I almost forgot.

Rule #1. DON'T, I repeat DON'T work for friends or family (unless you want to get rid of them). This is regardless of what business you're in.

I don't think I could drink enough to take someone seriously enough to even remotely believe that their (discounted) 10 coroplast order is going to blossom into something huge. But that's just me.
 
ucmj22

ucmj22

New Member
we use 18X24 yard signs to get people in the shop and hope they want more. ive tried to get the owners to raise prices on a lot of things, but they are relatively absent, and claim to know what people will pay for things, and "they wont pay $35 for a yard sign". I cant even get them to do an overhead worksheet so we can update our hourly rate.
 
M

modernmav

New Member
I wouldnt call 10-20 signs high quantity, we get a lot of golf tournaments around here that do sponsor signs on 18x24 coro and they order 25+ signs at a time, even then they only get a slightly discounted price. Like everyones saying, large quantities you can outsource to save yourself the headache but 10-20 wont cut it
 
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