OmniSeeIt Designs
Graphic/Web designer
How much should I charge per square inch for vinyl stickers for car decals?
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How much to charge per square inch....?
- Thread starter OmniSeeIt Designs
- Start date
kcollinsdesign
Old member
You can get them online for about 1.5¢ square inch (you will need a minimum order of $25.00 or so). I would just send them to the internet. Unless you are running a fleet of VuTeks (double shifts), you will not be able to compete and your client will be pissed when he sees he could have just ordered them himself and saved money.
Of course, if by "decal" you mean wraps or cut vinyl for a set of doors, design and installation charges, etc., you can price it out by estimating time and materials.
Of course, if by "decal" you mean wraps or cut vinyl for a set of doors, design and installation charges, etc., you can price it out by estimating time and materials.
WhiskeyDreamer
Professional Snow Ninja
Seriously? You honestly don't know how to figure out your costs? What's your material cost? How long will it take to create and proof the art? How long will it take to run on the machine and then prep for application? It's super simple to figure out RTA vinyl costs.
OmniSeeIt Designs
Graphic/Web designer
It's not about that. Im looking for insight which there is nothing wrong with that. You must find out others prices. Get an average and create your own. Simple as that.
studio 440
New Member
$159 .23 less if you buy more than one
WhiskeyDreamer
Professional Snow Ninja
How is it not about that?! What if that average doesn't allow you to make a profit? You're asking a broad spectrum question on a forum that has members from all over the world. My responses will be different from a person that's in the south which will be different from another that's in the northwest.
I don't base my pricing off what other sign shops in my area charge. I have an hourly rate that is determined by my shop overhead. I charge X amount for design/file prep. I know what an hour of MY time is worth in dollars. It sounds like you need to figure that out.
It's sounds an awful lot like you bought a printer, have some basic design experience and decided to open up a sign shop without really understanding the business. Educating yourself is definitely a good thing, but you're going about it the wrong way.
Gino
Premium Subscriber
kcollinsdesign
Old member
You've got to print a boat-load of little stickers to pay for owning and feeding a printer/cutter. And remember, when next years models come out, they will be less expensive to operate and twice as fast. I figure I need to amortize the cost of technology in three years. I wasn't able to do that, so years ago I gave up and just started ordering from wholesale suppliers. Those clients that want to order from the internet can hire me for design work and file prep and save even more money!
I have quite a few clients that would prefer I do the ordering (it can be a bother). I tell them up-front I'm marking up the price (usually about 20% margin above my total cost, including shipping and taxes, if applicable). When they figure the time it takes to schlepp around town and come yak with me, and then the time it takes to drive across town again and pick up the finished product, having the stuff shipped to their home or business becomes a more attractive option!
Print graphic designers have been doing this forever. Printing, collating, binding, and mailing has traditionally been a separate deal. The sign business (and T-shirt screen printing and embroidery) has been reluctant to give up the practice of keeping it all in house. The most successful screen printer/embroidery business I know of outsources most of their large orders, and almost all their digitizing (it's shocking how inexpensive embroidery digitizing and "vectorizing" logos can be when ordered from countries where the labor rate is much lower, and the work can be excellent and usually delivered in a day)!
Way back in the day (70's) I took several courses in "Appropriate Technology", which presaged the impact digital technology and sophisticated logistics would have on how business would operate. The results, good or bad, were Walmart (leveraging logistics) and, eventually, buying stuff online. Now I only go to the store for fresh food. Everything else I get cheaper from online sources, and it is delivered to my door. Today I got a huge box of dry goods (TP, paper towels, cleaning supplies, boxed food items, etc.). Several of the fast-food joints in our town have out-sourced drive-thru order-taking (you may be talking to someone in Bangalore when you shout into the speaker).
All this technology allows me to operate with low overhead, and I spend most of my time designing (I also hand carve wood signs, paint murals, and do some gold leaf work - but that is fun!). Little stickers I buy online.
I have quite a few clients that would prefer I do the ordering (it can be a bother). I tell them up-front I'm marking up the price (usually about 20% margin above my total cost, including shipping and taxes, if applicable). When they figure the time it takes to schlepp around town and come yak with me, and then the time it takes to drive across town again and pick up the finished product, having the stuff shipped to their home or business becomes a more attractive option!
Print graphic designers have been doing this forever. Printing, collating, binding, and mailing has traditionally been a separate deal. The sign business (and T-shirt screen printing and embroidery) has been reluctant to give up the practice of keeping it all in house. The most successful screen printer/embroidery business I know of outsources most of their large orders, and almost all their digitizing (it's shocking how inexpensive embroidery digitizing and "vectorizing" logos can be when ordered from countries where the labor rate is much lower, and the work can be excellent and usually delivered in a day)!
Way back in the day (70's) I took several courses in "Appropriate Technology", which presaged the impact digital technology and sophisticated logistics would have on how business would operate. The results, good or bad, were Walmart (leveraging logistics) and, eventually, buying stuff online. Now I only go to the store for fresh food. Everything else I get cheaper from online sources, and it is delivered to my door. Today I got a huge box of dry goods (TP, paper towels, cleaning supplies, boxed food items, etc.). Several of the fast-food joints in our town have out-sourced drive-thru order-taking (you may be talking to someone in Bangalore when you shout into the speaker).
All this technology allows me to operate with low overhead, and I spend most of my time designing (I also hand carve wood signs, paint murals, and do some gold leaf work - but that is fun!). Little stickers I buy online.
visual800
Active Member
No, first I didn't want it and second I don't think I could have done them in 1 week special anything else on top. I would have had to do (50) decals cut, weed & trim in 1 hr. to make $20. I don't think it was humanly possible...
kcollinsdesign
Old member
For 3000 4" x 4" vinyl stickers I would have charged $800 including one hour layout time (guessing, would need more details). I would have made $200.00 for one hours work. Approximately 27¢ each. Love these kind of jobs!