Does anyone use the SignCraft price guide?

[FireSprint.com]

LINK:

Sign Quote Pro

If you do, do you find the pricing useful at all? What types of things do you quote on it?

Using the calculator, I figured the "Wholesale" price on there was about 10x what we charge at FireSprint.com on several substrates.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I don't but I have figured S365 to be almost exactly 2x my cost on the things we do in house.

 

[Gino]

For the most part, those guides are a buncha sh!t. They all lied to calculate those numbers. Ya can use it for a base, but the figures are quite silly.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I've never found that guide to be accurate. Pricing is a challenge, it's just something business owners have to learn and work though... not everything can be spoon fed. You might be 10x cheaper (I don't see how that is) but you are quite a bit more expensive then most wholesalers on here on most things I tested....

 

[FireSprint.com]

It's clear someone put in alot of time and money in setting up such a detailed price guide, but in the end it blows me away that anyone would use it.

They do have a good article on calculating your shops hourly rate though. I found that useful.

Tex, I do kinda feel like you have a chip on your shoulder about FireSprint. I do appreciate your input though, and glad you check us out from time to time.

We're quite small compared to the suppliers we get put up against, (all the ones with numbers in their names) but I believe we hold our own in certain areas.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

It's clear someone put in alot of time and money in setting up such a detailed price guide, but in the end it blows me away that anyone would use it.

They do have a good article on calculating your shops hourly rate though. I found that useful.

Tex, I do kinda feel like you have a chip on your shoulder about FireSprint. I do appreciate your input though, and glad you check us out from time to time.

We're quite small compared to the suppliers we get put up against, (all the ones with numbers in their names) but I believe we hold our own in certain areas.

The thing I find funny is a lot on here complain about the race to the bottom, but except the wholesalers to do it on their behalf. Looking at your prices off and on, I see that you take a lot of risk to keep low prices and be competitive for your clients... But the key is your teams attentiveness and service level is second to none, which makes your organization the most valuable.

As for the topic at hand, I have check it out a few times, I actually copied their model and layout for our pricing structure but threw their numbers out the window as they are completely unrealistic in our market.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Thanks for the kind words Cristian!

Here's that hourly rate worksheet I was talking about. Had to find the link: https://www.signcraft.com/libraries/docs/SPG_Hourly_rate_for_Web.pdf

 

[David Wright]

I use the 2003 pricing guide around here, seems to get most jobs
They actually published an article about just multiplying the cost of materials times five to get an accurate estimate. Really, they did.

 

[Robert Armerding]

Pricing.
In case anyone might be interested, we can team up to develop your own unique spreadsheets.
If you want a cost of materials spreadsheet, we can develop that. This kind of spreadsheet is helpful when you have projects that require many components.
If you want a profit spreadsheet, we can develop that and include the overhead that applies to the project.
In other words, if you would like to have a pricing spreadsheet that works well for you, then let us at least have a conversation.
# # # # #
My own pricing for this kind of service. I have learned how to make pricing sheets. And, I have samples of ones that I have made for my previous employer. Someday, after making several more sheets, I will consider what to charge for my service. For now, no charge.

 

[kcollinsdesign]

I don't but I have figured S365 to be almost exactly 2x my cost on the things we do in house.

I have just the opposite outcome! When I calculate materials cost, production time, equipment expenses and maintenance, and especially overhead, S365 and my other wholesalers come out to about half the cost from when I used to do it in-house. Not having rent to pay, machines to buy and maintain, inventory to store and manage, and a greatly reduced payroll has dramatically improved my bottom line!

 

[gnubler]

No. I tried it out when I first started my business and found the prices ridiculous (way too high). Like others have said every market is different. It's taking me months of fine tuning to come up with appropriate pricing, just takes time. Firesprint - thanks for the PDF for labor rates, going to read through that.

 

[Gene@mpls]

I miss SC... used to read it in the WC.

 

[gnubler]

Sign porn?

 

[AdWrap]

Pricing.
In case anyone might be interested, we can team up to develop your own unique spreadsheets.
If you want a cost of materials spreadsheet, we can develop that. This kind of spreadsheet is helpful when you have projects that require many components.
If you want a profit spreadsheet, we can develop that and include the overhead that applies to the project.
In other words, if you would like to have a pricing spreadsheet that works well for you, then let us at least have a conversation.
# # # # #
My own pricing for this kind of service. I have learned how to make pricing sheets. And, I have samples of ones that I have made for my previous employer. Someday, after making several more sheets, I will consider what to charge for my service. For now, no charge.

I’m interested


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Voyage Print]

We just see what everyone else is charging and then charge double, because at the end of the day there will always be that guy...

 

[neoguri]

Pricing.
In case anyone might be interested, we can team up to develop your own unique spreadsheets.
If you want a cost of materials spreadsheet, we can develop that. This kind of spreadsheet is helpful when you have projects that require many components.
If you want a profit spreadsheet, we can develop that and include the overhead that applies to the project.
In other words, if you would like to have a pricing spreadsheet that works well for you, then let us at least have a conversation.
# # # # #
My own pricing for this kind of service. I have learned how to make pricing sheets. And, I have samples of ones that I have made for my previous employer. Someday, after making several more sheets, I will consider what to charge for my service. For now, no charge.

Very interested!

 

[brdesign]

I found that the lowest price tier in the Signcraft guide to be at the higher end of pricing for my area. I don't think SignCraft has actually updated their pricing guide in years, it's like they just use outdated pricing and just increase the numbers for inflation. It does not take into account that modern technology has reduced the cost to produce many of the items. Since I signed up for their subscription last year I've been very disappointed that the majority of their issues are just old articles republished with adjusted prices.

 

[kcollinsdesign]

SignCraft was (and still is, in a much more limited way) a great resource for sign artists and crafters. Times, however, have indeed changed, and for most of us signs are now a production commodity. There are still opportunities for creative expression in sign design and sign building (resort areas, gentrified downtowns, corporate identification and branding programs), but the opportunities are limited and usually only the best of the best get those jobs.
In addition, sign opportunities have been drastically curtailed by a trend to buy stuff online and a larger share of advertising budgets going to the internet. Small specialty retailers have replaced brick and mortar with Amazon and Etsy. There are opportunities out there for sign artists and crafters, but they are becoming scarce. The industry is continuing to shift to corporate owned chains buying signs made in factories, with the biggest opportunities for sign shops being installation and maintenance.
SignCraft was an inspiration to me in my early days, but now it is a trip down memory lane. Still showcasing great work and talented sign artists (albeit in a digital format these days as it too has become a victim of commoditization and the internet). I would say that their pricing guide may be relevant for those still handcrafting signs in resort areas and for specialty retailers and independent restaurants, but for most of us the pricing is out of whack with current conditions.

 

[ProSignTN]

kcollinsdesign. I agrre with you. I dubbed it the Wal-Mart effect about 15 years ago. Cheap stuff fast, the new American Way. About the only thing I paint these days are screw heads and brackets. I bid on very few jobs; most are repeat customers. When I do bid, it's custom for the job.

 

[Chris Keena]

I found that the lowest price tier in the Signcraft guide to be at the higher end of pricing for my area. I don't think SignCraft has actually updated their pricing guide in years, it's like they just use outdated pricing and just increase the numbers for inflation. It does not take into account that modern technology has reduced the cost to produce many of the items. Since I signed up for their subscription last year I've been very disappointed that the majority of their issues are just old articles republished with adjusted prices.

Their explaination video is from 2010. And I would say, pricing back between 2000 and 2010, was way higher. The cost of inks, premium mounting adhesives with photo satin paper and thermal lam was much higher than any solvent/latex friendly or direct print consumables. Everything is so cheap in today's sign industry, with the exception of premium cast wrap materials.