Discussion Installed ACM Price Check

[Greenlight signs]

Im wondering how cost is so high for others? i have avery 2923 ez comparable to ij35 w a 4x10 3mil acm printed laminated and cost for me if roughly $100 plus install...so even if i charge $250 for install that puts me at 350 and 650 total is $300 for 45 minutes for a 4x10 printed lam and mounted..and then 1-2 hours to install all depending on location and height of course...my questions is people say you have to make money ... i have grown 6 straight years by a good margin and yet im able to sell at 650 with a 300 profit in 2-3 hours of work...100-150 pr hr rate so what is the problem?

one sheet of max metal/ ACM is $130. you must be buying substrates in bulk for it to be that price.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

A 4x10 house brand ACM is $80 here.

Don't listen to SameDay Signs... he has no idea what he's doing.

 

[BALLPARK]

I would be around $1150-1250 installed. If it get the work great... if not, oh well.

Doing the project for less is not horrible... maybe that is all they can get in their area. Every person started out bidding to low or to high on some projects. Some learn and expand their opportunities and some stay the course until they no longer can keep their doors open.

 

[Gino]

tex...........

Well, are talking 3mm or 6mm ?? At that size, I wouldn't consider doing 3mm as it would look terrible. So, it's either gonna be around $150 or $90 invested in substrate alone. Your vinyl is about as cheap as ya can get, but still with laminate, about $125. So, you are now giving pricing for about the lowest level of sign there is and you have about $225 or a little more without any markup or profit. Let's not forget to mention overhead. Electric, insurance(s), licenses, heat, A/C, paper towels, gasoline, alcohol, squeegees and all kindsa other incidentals. That should all go into your cost. I'm sure you're gonna need a helper to put up a 4' x 10' sign, so paying his/her time, too. Installation would be around 2 hours plus travel time, but you also hafta rent a lift. Are you getting reimbursed evenly or making a little something for going and picking it up and returning it ??

In the end, you had your phone time, quoting time, design time, peeling off mask on both sides, putting the laminate on and putting the vinyl on the substrate time. All those things sound petty, but when you add them up..... if you do 10 projects a week, that could add up to quite a few hours of unpaid time. But according to some here, making $150 is really good money. Maybe it is, if you don't consider all the things you aren't charging for. Oh, did the 4' x 10' jump off the truck and hop into your shop.... or did you carry it in ??

 

[bannertime]

one sheet of max metal/ ACM is $130. you must be buying substrates in bulk for it to be that price.

Good lord, that's high. We don't buy in bulk. We buy as needed, and our 4x10 cost is as low as $50 for 3mm .15mm skins. Grimco has seriously screwed up pricing on the Max Metal. That same $105-$130 sheet used to sell for $59.

 

[Andy D]

Greenlight I sent you a message with a link to the vendor I get all of my oversized composite aluminum from.
They have 4' x 10' solid core composite aluminum starting at $49, I believe they deliver to your area, but you will need call and check.

 

[Greenlight signs]

Good lord, that's high. We don't buy in bulk. We buy as needed, and our 4x10 cost is as low as $50 for 3mm .15mm skins. Grimco has seriously screwed up pricing on the Max Metal. That same $105-$130 sheet used to sell for $59.

at grimco you have to buy 5+ sheets before you get the first discount.

 

[Andy D]

Good lord, that's high. We don't buy in bulk. We buy as needed, and our 4x10 cost is as low as $50 for 3mm .15mm skins. Grimco has seriously screwed up pricing on the Max Metal. That same $105-$130 sheet used to sell for $59.

Grimco has the best price for me on 4' x 8' if I buy (10) at a time.

 

[Greenlight signs]

Greenlight I sent you a message with a link to the vendor I get all of my oversized composite aluminum from.
They have 4' x 10' solid core composite aluminum starting at $49, I believe they deliver to your area, but you will need call and check.

thanks ill look into it.

 

[unclebun]

Just checked. The Grimco price on 4x10 is high because they no longer stock it in the regular white. Only the digitally printable white. They still have 4x8 regular white at ordinary prices. Don't know why they went to digitally printable only on the 4x10 and 5x10.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

thanks ill look into it.

You can also try NGlantz out of Atlanta. They may deliver down there.

 

[bannertime]

Grimco has the best price for me on 4' x 8' if I buy (10) at a time.

Yeah, I've talked them down quite a bit, but when I just need one or two sheets of something, I don't even bother looking at their pricing. I'm not too happy with the new quantity pricing.

 

[SameDay Signs]

A 4x10 house brand ACM is $80 here.

Don't listen to SameDay Signs... he has no idea what he's doing.

Always a know it all....here is a pic that's not qty either...shop around you'll make more money

A 4x10 house brand ACM is $80 here.

Don't listen to SameDay Signs... he has no idea what he's doing.

always a know it all LOL shop around guys you'll save so much i also pay $152 for avery 2923 when list is just over 210....just saying

Heres a pic for ref no qty either just better at buying apparantly

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Always a know it all....here is a pic that's not qty either...shop around you'll make more money

always a know it all LOL shop around guys you'll save so much i also pay $152 for avery 2923 when list is just over 210....just saying

Heres a pic for ref no qty either just better at buying apparantly

I'm not challenging you on how much you pay for a 4x10, I'm challenging you on your business sense... Differance between you and OP is the OP KNOWS he would be loosing money, YOU don't. The OP just needed to be convinced that the "loss leader" isn't worth it and it's OK to walk away from the job.

Maybe you can come in a get the job, seems like you'd be happy with it.

 

[unclebun]

So does Wensco (who sells Alphapanel) deliver to Opelika, Alabama for free?

 

[TimToad]

Yeah, I've talked them down quite a bit, but when I just need one or two sheets of something, I don't even bother looking at their pricing. I'm not too happy with the new quantity pricing.

Denco is our "local" supplier ( over 2 hours drive away ). 4'x8' - 5 yr - 3mm CompBond brand is: $59 / 4'x10' - 5 yr - 3mm CompBond brand is: $73

Despite living and working in one of THE most expensive areas in our state, we struggle with the same dilemma the OP encounters all the time and thankfully are established well enough to not get hammered by the low ballers too often. I don't know how the low ballers stay in business, but they seem to persist year after year. While it's important to not be held hostage by others, you simply can't ignore the effect of low ballers if there are enough of them dragging down the market in your area.

We'd be able to charge $600 for the sign itself before starting to lose bids and still have it fall under our normal post-overhead profitability expectations. $14-15.00 max per square foot for ACM signs seems to be the trigger point before the bids start getting lost for us.

Install for us would be $250ish and permit costs for simple wall signs like this are still pretty low around here. You still have to submit several drawings and the time to fill out the application, drop it off, etc.. So another $250-300 for it.

$1,150-1,250 seems about right.

It sucks that the OP would need a lift for 4 hours for a sign that should barely take an hour to put up, but that's the minimum for most equipment rental stores.

 

[MikePatterson]

i would like acm at those prices. NGlantz ain't that cheap even buying quantity.

PM your supplier please.

 

[SameDay Signs]

I'm not challenging you on how much you pay for a 4x10, I'm challenging you on your business sense... Differance between you and OP is the OP KNOWS he would be loosing money, YOU don't. The OP just needed to be convinced that the "loss leader" isn't worth it and it's OK to walk away from the job.

Maybe you can come in a get the job, seems like you'd be happy with it.

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Just becuase its a loss leader for him doesnt mean it is for me, because i can produce it at a way less amount and still mark up over double the cost isn't my fault....the fact i could profit $350 off the $650 job in 2 hours and they cannot isn't our fault. I don't need conviced im losing money because im not, instead im giving a fair price and still making good money and staying consistently busy by doing so....i brought home almost 100k last year after all said and done so im more then happy...im not rich by any means but i do well and in my area (NW Ohio) i do quite well....so again i would be happy with it...shoot feel free to send it all day...

 

[SameDay Signs]

So does Wensco (who sells Alphapanel) deliver to Opelika, Alabama for free?

Probably not but they do in my area and for only $3 charge for $100 spent I can't complain...But i also cant be held responsible because i can get better deals, or for example i can rent 2 man commercial lifts for only $100 a day....Lucky yes but thats why i bust ass and network and do the things how i can