Is my pricing outrageous?

[Tim Aucoin]

$8 per square every day on 13oz. (hemmed & grommeted), no complaints and usually same-day service if possible. Quick and easy to do banners!

 

[TheSnowman]

I quote something that size at $5/sq ft but generally it includes the artwork.. If I really want it, or I'm bidding against someone on it, I may go as low as $4/sq ft, but then I'd tack on some artwork costs (I sub my artwork out).

 

[skyhigh]

Count yourself lucky.

Lucky? Maybe luck had something to do with finding some of my clientele. But luck has nothing to do with me KEEPING them.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Lucky? Maybe luck had something to do with finding some of my clientele. But luck has nothing to do with me KEEPING them.

That's what I was talking about. Once I get them to order for me, they keep coming back. However, like I said, the tire kickers around here outnumber those folks. You just can't convince the tire kickers around here that what they are getting isn't all that good of a deal. They just notice price. Of course, they are also some of the ones that will drive 20 miles to save .05 on a can of viennese sausages.

Go figure.

The irony is, this area has faired far better then a lot of other places during this down turn. Sometimes "you" just can't break some habits that are culturally a part of the area.

 

[Salmoneye]

I find folks here buying for $3 online and some shops here charge $10sf. How do we get $8 when others here in town sell for 1/2 that. We don't say that we can't get it here, we sell the customer quality, value, service, design.... ... Make them something they love, not like. I can buy shoes at payless for $5.00, why am I wearing $150 Red Wings? (I am a tight wad but they are worth every penny for my comfort and health). Quit selling sf of scrim and sell the whole job. If my cost is $2sf to produce (not just materials) and I charge $8 I make $5sf; The guy that sells for $2.75sf pays the same to make them as I do he just doesn't realize it, he makes $ .75sf. He has to make 6 and 2/3rds banners to make the same as I make on one. I have enough time to know my customer and design something that will make him money and represent him well.

 

[KARYN BUSH]

So it takes your printer 10 minutes to print that out. You probably had twice that amount of time just talking to your customer.

Do you really value what you do, or is this a part time hobby for you?
-no offense intended!!!!

dude...read my post...that's outsourced...so chill man. Wouldn't dream of printing a 20ft banner when I can email a file and do nothing more than present my client with their finished hemmed/grommeted banner and an invoice...its not like I have a juki sewing machine sitting here to do that stuff. I only print banners that are last minute and not hemmed....but I do grommet.:Big Laugh...and I charge my shop rate of $60/hr...that includes my printer time.

I certainly couldn't make enough $ printing that job myself, but I sure in hell aint gonna leave easy money on the table for someone else to take...Been in this business for 18 years....so don't get your panties all in a bunch....

 

[dms505]

I'm getting at about 5.85 per sq ft. More depending on colors or design.

 

[thinksigns]

Glad I could start a post that would create some good debate. I was just wanting to see if the price he told me he was able to get was an aberration or something I could expect to happen more often. I do have customers that are paying $7-$8 / sqft and are happy with what I provide them.

 

[Aklaim]

$8 per square every day on 13oz. (hemmed & grommeted), no complaints and usually same-day service if possible. Quick and easy to do banners!

Same here. $8 a sqft and design is extra.

 

[OC Signs]

I've been getting $8-10 sq.ft. easily here in Ocean City, MD, a resort town. Hemmed, grometted and artwork. Service is probably the main reason I get this work. I do outsource most of them, but do hem with tape and gromet when time is an issue.

 

[JD3]

We're at $12 a sq including design

 

[dms505]

Curious how some of you handle multiple colors and things like shadowing. Add vinyl per ft price to a base banner price or just have say 2 colors available non overlapping for a set price? I'm matching a high school banner 46"x84" pole pocket and hemmed, 3 colors and only charging 210. Honestly I think it should be more but he is the president of my full time job's company and I'm trying to do him a solid.

 

[Jillbeans]

I don't like to give out pricing in the open forum but that banner would be a minimum of $400 on 18oz hemmed blank w/grommets & cut vynull two colors tops from me.
Even more for hand-painted, which I love to do because it's fun, easier, and costs me less.
I prefer the look of either over a print, but that's just me.
And I'll add that I'm one of Karyn's biggest fans.

Love....Jill

 

[brdss]

$7 a sf here North of Chicago, all but basic design is extra.

Being new to this type of printing, it is hard to turn down those customers that want it for $4 a sf like they can get online, but why take a job like that, make 20% of the money but get 100% of the problems? Hard to compete against the no service internet shops!

Just had a customer today that we have jumped through hoops for tell us we were double the price of a place online for some carpet floor graphics. Now, to show the whole picture, we have already ordered in the vinyl and special floor laminate, and made up some small samples for him (very good printing customer of ours) to take to his committee. We had given him an out the door price including design time and installing 40 carpet graphics of various sizes. Lucky for us he took the time to discuss it. We re-quoted the job, giving him pricing on the graphics alone. No graphic design. No installation. Then we gave him pricing if we design it, then we gave him pricing if we install it, letting him know that if we install, WE take the risk if one of his 50" floor graphics gets wrinkled or bent while being installed.

I think that the light bulb clicked on for him that we provide more of a service to him than just a box showing up on his doorstep with some vinyl inside. Should find out in the next few days...

 

[skyhigh]

And I'll add that I'm one of Karyn's biggest fans.

Love....Jill

I don't think she saw me "eat" some of my words. I did check out some of her work (nice) As for pricing, I'm guessing that is where you draw the line at being a fan...... being 2x more than her prices?

 

[Pat Whatley]

I charge a minimum of $10.50 per square foot for 10 oz. banner material and I refuse to sell them without webbing (additional $4.00 per running foot) and then you have to add in minimum art charges of $120, plus fees for purchasing clip art from a stock art site (typically $100 per image), PMS matching ($40), laser proofs ($12 each). Each banner is then individually poly bagged and boxed ($12). The box is affixed with the company's logo along with a printout of the banner. The whole thing is then delivered directly to the client by our runner.

For your 2' x 20' banner you're looking at $1144.00...if we've done the rest of your corporate branding we'll discount it to $920.00

Oh wait, that's ad agency retail pricing....they'll then turn around an bitch at the lowly sign guy who had the gall to charge the agency $180 for it wholesale.

 

[john1]

Around Maryland it's about $5-7 psf for banners but i don't really care what everyone else charges. Service is key to me.

I'd be at $5 minimum plus artwork time if it came down to it, If price wasn't a big issue i would go for $6 which is my norm.

Printing a 20' banner is cake, No need to outsource that.

 

[Jillbeans]

being 2x more than her prices?

I don't have a versacamm.

 

[BobM]

$7 to $8 square foot.

BUYERS ARE LIARS

 

[ucmj22]

we start at $7 and go down from there at sq ft breaks of 75 and 150 and art setup fee of $55. but last month I was told by a marketing agency we do work for that his clients balked at the price when they saw the invoice, saying that it was twice as much as they paid before.