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Do you guys sell "blank substrates" to retail customers? Customer Rant...

TheSnowman

TheSnowman

New Member
I seem to have every couple weeks or so, someone coming in wanting me to practically give them coroplast. It's starting to annoy me to no end. I had 40+ minutes with a guy this morning. He came in last Friday when I was out, I returned his call this morning and left him a message saying I don't sell blanks anymore, then he stops in 15 minutes later. I tell him I can sell him something in a 4X8 sheet, but I'm not getting into cutting it. He says 4X8 would be great, and I go get it, then he says "Oh, there's no way that will fit in my car".

At this point I'm thinking...ok genius, why didn't you think of that before you told me to go get you a 4X8. Then he says..."let me go measure it all again, because we want to measure twice and cut once". I said "Ok, just call me and let me know, you don't need to stop back in." So, 20 minutes later, of course the guy stops in. He says he wants it the sizes as before, and I can keep the scrap. I go cut it (and found a piece of scrap that would work) and bring it to him and he says "do you have the scrap?" I informed him he said he didn't need it, and he had changed his mind. So I go cut a chunk off a perfectly good 4X8, because this guy assumes he was buying the entire 4X8 now since that's what I'd originally said I'd sell him before we got into cutting all these pieces, bring his "scrap" back up to him and he says "I need the flutes going the other direction on this piece you originally cut". WHAT THE HECK!

So long story short...but still long, I get him what he needs, I'm 40-45 minutes of screwing around with this dude, cutting his pieces so he can haul them, and I think my original cost for just handing him the 4X8 was $35, but because I'm a nice guy and just wanted to get rid of him, I kept jacking around. It happens EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. someone comes in. If it's not them wanting me to cut it, and then changing their mind on size, etc, it's them whining because they said "online" it would be way less money. I'M NOT A SUBSTRATE SUPPLIER!

What do you guys do about this stuff? Do you only sell a finished product, or do you sell blank stuff and deal with these same headaches!?
 
T

TonyC

Guest
Not common...

I figure it like any other job. Coro pricing: Cost of substrate x3, setup charge for cutting $15 and cost per cut $2.

The strangest thing is we get a call for blank 4x8 sheets in the winter. They are used as a sled. I never thought of that.
 
B

BobCap

New Member
Blank substrate

I sell it to anyone that walks in. I take my cost and multiply it by 10.

Cutting it costs extra.

Easy...keep the customer satisfied...
 
rdm01

rdm01

New Member
Charge for substrate, time to cut/run the order, and send it off. Our pricing would have waste built in for scrap, packaging, etc. Make it a job and make it profitable.

You'd cut a printed sign no problem, but not an unprinted sign? I don't see the difference. I realize these customers are trying to penny pinch, if you dwell on that fact it can be annoying, but I'd rather make a little money than nothing.
 
TheSnowman

TheSnowman

New Member
It's the penny pinch side of it. Normally in the past I have set it so I profit on it, and all they do is whine about the price, waste my time, make me explain myself, then walk out the door. I just let these people get under my skin I guess. They're always walk-ins, and in my town, no one is a walk in, unless they have no clue what they want and they're going to be a pain in the butt.
 
C

ChaseO

Premium Subscriber
I sell blank coro all the time. My price is X, if they want it cut, it's Y, if they don't like the price, they can go somewhere else. I'm doing them a favor, and I won't be bickered with on a sheet of coro. I probably sell 10-20 4x8 sheets a year, and I think word of mouth is how I get so much of the business. (not that I want to sell coro everday, but if I can make a few bucks, cash, then I don't mind) I generally ask what they're using it for, half for curiosity, the other half for conversation, and sometimes to steer them onto a better material for the job whether I sell it or not. The most common use that I've heard is guinea pig floors. But I've also sold a lot of it to model airplane guys, backyard animal breeders, and most recently, some sort of tent floor. I show them a sample, let them see 10mil vs 4mil and away we go. I know the frustrations you're talking about, wasting a bunch of time with someone, but I feel I have sold enough of it to tactfully get down to the point without wasting much time.
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
Home depot here sells a 4x8 of 4 mil coro for around $35 I think. I sometimes get people come in for it, i tell them $30/sheet, plus $5 for every cut, if we are busy, they will need to come back later, if not I cut it on the spot.

oh, cash only, it buys my lunches for the week.
 
reQ

reQ

New Member
I always send them to lumber yard. Unless its a customer of mine who needs a piece for something.
 
Rick

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
All the sign shops I worked at had a minimum charge... and most of the shops, only regular customers were charged time and materials, walk-ins were charged the minimum... some were as high as $75.00
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Desert_Signs said:
My wife once sold a blank 4x8 sheet of coroplast for $600.

ONE SHEET.

The guy was a PITA. It was freaking hilarious.
Click to expand...


She musta sold it to a government project. Proably, Project #5429.g453.26 Guinea Pig Room & Board for Foreign Affairs. Or was that Intimate Affairs with a Guinea Pig ??
 
Marlene

Marlene

New Member
Gino said:
She musta sold it to a government project. Proably, Project #5429.g453.26 Guinea Pig Room & Board for Foreign Affairs. Or was that Intimate Affairs with a Guinea Pig ??
Click to expand...

funny you said Guinea pig as that is what we used to sell the most coroplast blanks for as people use it to line cages.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Marlene said:
funny you said Guinea pig as that is what we used to sell the most coroplast blanks for as people use it to line cages.
Click to expand...


Psst...... that's why I said it. ;-0 We must sell 4, 5 or more sheets a year, for guinea pigs cages.
 
Billct2

Billct2

Active Member
Actually it was to make a "playpen" for guinea pigs...somehow I got on a website for people who were into them and the page that showed how to make the pen had me as the source for the sheets! I didn't mind making a few bucks selling coro. That's a little different than being the supplier for the local hacks who don't get deliveries or do it yourselfers trying to save a buck.
 
copythat

copythat

New Member
Pia's

I would ask him to come back after he provides correct measurements. Sell only whole sheets @39 plus cutting charge. No waiting for this type of service. Oh tea! Pay it upfront!





Sign Up!
 
S

shoresigns

New Member
TonyC said:
I figure it like any other job. Coro pricing: Cost of substrate x3, setup charge for cutting $15 and cost per cut $2.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much exactly what we do. Setup cost + marked up material + cost per cut. These type of customers are great for offloading scraps. I had a lady come in recently who bought a carload of vinyl scraps that would have otherwise sat in a box for years or been thrown out eventually.
 
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