Cheap material

[T_K]

Cheap customers pay in full, upfront before I do any work for them. I've also had plenty of annoying customers over the years say "Well I can get them for $X.XX at so-and-so.com" Of course, I go to said website and easily discover that 1) they're lying, or 2) they're quoting a different product or size altogether. I'm just testing the waters right now as a print broker (saving up for my own machine), and it's easy to want to bite at every possible job that comes my way. But it's better to be cautious on the cheapskates. It will come back to bite you in the end. I'm doing some cheap work for a close friend right now, but that's because I don't have a portfolio of what MY business has produced, so I'm giving them a break so that I can build up my business. I have other friends that I wouldn't work the same deal with because they're not so easy to work with. Yes, they're my friends, but I am in business to make a profit.

Another thought from my time in Dallas - occasionally we'd give a deep discount to a one-off customer because we worked in the suburbs where "buy local" was a big deal and this customer was well connected. We didn't make a great profit on this one job, but we knew they'd spread the word around. But again, this was someone my boss personally knew, not a walk-in tire-kicker.

Like other guys have said - set your price and be willing to pass on small jobs from flaky customers. No need to be a jerk about it, just say "This is what I can do this job for." and leave it there.

 

[T_K]

Not worth the headache, being cheap he will be a horrible customer and expect cheap every time. Don't give in, let another sign shop have the headache.

I've worked with cheap customers before who expected cheap quality. I didn't mind them so much. They gave us leeway to make the price work, submitted crappy artwork they did in Microsoft Paint that they approved, and didn't complain when their stuff looked like crap. They were nice to do business with.

Unfortunately, these were few and far between. Most of my experience has been the cheapskates want premium quality and for you to take a loss on the job. They also tend to be verbally abusive.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Unfortunately, these were few and far between. Most of my experience has been the cheapskates want premium quality and for you to take a loss on the job. They also tend to be verbally abusive.

Your describing some motel owners I'm dealing with right now. They want a crappy banner instead of redoing their flexface sign. Funny how these people have such bad reviews on their motel because the upkeep is non-existent, yet they drive a super fancy clean BMWs with flashy clothes and gold necklaces and have Macbook pros on their desk. One offered me free nights to stay in their crappy motel in exchange for a discount. Without thinking I laughed out loud and covered it up with "I don't want to vacation in my home town" When I really wanted to stay "This place is a bed bug ghetto shit hole that homeless people wouldn't want to take a crap in."

 

[shoresigns]

If the customer really wants to save money, why not just give him 50 decals on a single sheet? I'm sure he can find a pair of scissors and cut them himself. That might make the $1.50/ea worthwhile.

 

[signbrad]

in this case your material costs are really not that critical, on a small run of 50 pcs, the big cost is setup time, setting up files, loading the machine, loading the cutter, weeding, cutting the decals out etc.

Exactly.
A generation ago we faced a similar issue with screen printing. You must be paid for the setup time, even if you only print one. That meant that back then (70s) there were times you charged 125 dollars for a single pull of the squeegee. But the more pieces you print the easier it is to bury setup time and to lower the price per piece.

It's also a mistake to base your prices solely on those of someone else, because everyone's overhead is different.
And these machines are too expensive to just pull prices out of thin air. Or to just guess.
It took me years to realize that profit is not what you pay yourself—it's what is left over after you pay everybody else, including yourself. Without a healthy profit, a business will struggle continually and may eventually die.

 

[AF]

If you race to the bottom, you will be the one to go out of business. If you are up against a low-baller, let the low-baller have the job. Then they will be the one to go out of business.

 

[JCinNY]

Exactly.
A generation ago we faced a similar issue with screen printing. You must be paid for the setup time, even if you only print one. That meant that back then (70s) there were times you charged 125 dollars for a single pull of the squeegee. But the more pieces you print the easier it is to bury setup time and to lower the price per piece.

It's also a mistake to base your prices solely on those of someone else, because everyone's overhead is different.
And these machines are too expensive to just pull prices out of thin air. Or to just guess.
It took me years to realize that profit is not what you pay yourself—it's what is left over after you pay everybody else, including yourself. Without a healthy profit, a business will struggle continually and may eventually die.

We have done other work for this company so the artwork is on file and print ready, we just have to reduce it to the desired size.
We charged them for the original art charges but we’re new to vinyl so I’m still feeling out what my cost will be for ink and media.

 

[Gino]

Ink and media only would be around $11.00...... and that's on the high side based on what youve gI've us so far.

 

[brycesteiner]

What I'll do is go to discountlabels website and quote it, mark it up and then decide when the customer comes back whether I do it in house or send it out. That way if I'm busy I don't have to do it and if not I didn't lose out because they charge more anyway.

 

[papabud]

i have never liked cheap customers, i have some wiggle room to help with pricing. i have a few customers i give heavy discounts to if they are willing to help me work the bugs out of a new product line.
i refuse to try and find the cheapest possible material. i stock what i stock and it has a set cost.