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How many people use this?

ZsVinylInc

New Member
So I was curious as to how many people use the Sign Contractors Pricing Guide. How little or how much to you rely on it? We have always just used a pricing software but thought I should maybe pick one up for use when I am out of the office seeing customers. Is it a good investment....Not like it is a lot of money but just curious. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Big Z
 

GB2

Old Member
That is one of the worst things I've ever seen. You're a thousand times better off to subscribe to Signcraft and get their free pricing guide.
 

Checkers

New Member
When I first started out, working for someone else, we relied upon it a lot - especially when dealing with clients (like auto dealers) who also use book pricing.

Now that I've been making signs for a while, I switched to estimating software that I tailored to fit my company's needs. Business is a lot more profitable and it makes life a lot easier.

Checkers
 

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
Thinks it's a great resource for pricing ... but also the Signcraft guide helped explain pricing alot better and can tailor it easier to your own needs better

not sure if what other shops in this area use ... but knows there is big differences like a long time wholesale printer prints at fair price .. even thought it was low... but I can get the same print for half at a retail sign shop here .. so pricing is a battle

I say what ever works.. adjust to work better
 

Replicator

New Member
SignCraft Pricing Guide is what I use for general pricing basics, but the prices are then adjusted according to my area and needs.
 

ZsVinylInc

New Member
Thanks Replicator....I took a quick look at it online and it seems to be pretty good....I am probably going to subscribe to Signcraft Later today.

Thanks again everyone.
 

ZsVinylInc

New Member
Does anyone know if the SignCraft Pricing Guide will give you square foot prices for like digitally printed banners and things of that nature or are they mostly for general sizes?
 

ProWraps

New Member
you will find that these resources will give you a "base line" to get you started. then you will quickly find that your market and your competitors will influence your pricing even more.

if you are just starting out, take them with a grain of salt as they are more than likely higher than your market will bear. they are "perfect world" scenario pricing. unfortunately, there is no perfect world, neither yours or mine.

adjust accordingly, and listen to your market. learn fast.
 

Jillbeans

New Member
I used to use it quite a bit, because if done in front of a customer it looks like I am really looking up a real price of a real item in a real book. Makes people realize it's not just a price I pulled out of my butt.
I have something like a 2004 one, the big book. It usually ran pretty high, price-wise.
However, I do try to avoid immediate pricing in front of someone these days. I prefer to research my costs a bit, as they have increased, then call the person back.
Also, the Signwriter's Pricing guide (at least as of 2004) still listed prices for hand painting.
I also have the SignCraft guide, and you should subscribe to SignCraft anyway.
There are also pricing programs like Estimate which let you customise.
Love....Jill
 

Farmboy

New Member
We run EstiMate. Try it out. You can plug your own cost (overhead) in and adjust the pricing to your area, which will affect your price. When the customer leaves the shop they have a professional looking quote in their hand instead of a figure scratched onto a piece of paper.
 

ZsVinylInc

New Member
Thanks again everyone....We currently run Estimate....I was looking for something that I might be able to use for when I am out of the office doing sales and you have that one client that pushes you for a price even though you try to tell them that you would rather wait and give them an accurate price then ball park it and scare them with some number that might not be even close. Also we have several that are kinda set up like distributors of our products and was looking for an easier / better way for them to be able to price without having to contact me every time they need something or me having to spend a ton of time coming up with some type price structure / layout for every product that they might sell of ours. I think I will give it a shot and compare it to my Estimate software that I have set up and try and see if I can make it work. I appreciate everyone's input. I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year.

Big Z
 

imagep

New Member
I bought one of those pocket size books a while back, and honestly, not a bit of it makes any sense to me. Its like a bunch of mumbo jumbo that does not reflect my products.

Many years ago someone shared a copy of a offset printing pricing guide, it was crazy also. The book had stuff like "paper A" "paper B" "paper C" and crap like that. I asked they guy who gave me the guide what was A and B and C, he just said it is whatever you want it to be, I asked him what he ment, he said if I should price each job based on how much I wanted it, thus if it was a job I wanted I should use the cheapest paper grade collumn, if I didnt want the job I should use the most expensive. So pretty much useing that guide is the same as pulling it out your rear.

And, all in all, I cant stand pricing that does not make mathmatical sense. Like maybe the price for one is $100, the price for ten is $50 each, and the price for 20 is $10 each. I see pricing like that all the time, so as a customer I start thinking, ten would cost $500 but I could get 20 for just $200??? Where the heck do they come up with that from? I see pricing like that all the time, where people just make up a price list with no mathmatics or formula, just whatever they think sounds good - or at least they think it sounds good until someone else does the math.

So I am a much bigger believer in mathmatical forumulas than any price list or pricing guide. A generic price forumula may look something like this: Base Charge + Art Charge + Materials + Labor = price

Your "base" charge should cover basic customer service cost (and essentially becomes the starting point for a minimum charge), art charge could be charged by the job or by the hour, materials should be marked up by your standard markup for that particular item (ours ranges from 1.75 to 5 depending on the material), and labor should be in the $30-$100/hr range depending on skill level of that particular function and what your market will bear (I pay my barber $66/hr - thats $11 for a 10 minute haircut).
 
S

scarface

Guest
I use the sign craft pricing guide to a ballpark when i'm out of my office.

I use graphixcalc and sign craft combined when i quote a job in the office.
 

TheSnowman

New Member
I have the Price Index Manual from signprice.com. I have no idea if this is the same or not. I can't get NEAR the prices they have in here for my stuff, so I haven't used it much. We bought Estimate, and never used it.
 
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