Markup/Pricing - Flyers, Business Cards, Vinyl Banners, Calendars ETC...

[Davidks]

This'll be my first post here on Signs 101,

I just joined a local wholesale printer where I'm able to order Business Cards, Flyers, Door Hangers, Calendars, etc... at "wholesale" pricing. My question is what should my markup % be when offering these products to my customers?

Pricing Examples;

500 Business Cards - $9.00 ($6.50 Shipping)
1000 Business Cards - $11.70 ($6.50 Shipping)
500 Flyers (8.5 x 11) - $60.40 ($8.80 Shipping)
1000 Flyers (8.5 x 11) - $81.40 ($11.10 Shipping)
Vinyl Banner (24" x 36") - $18.43 ($6.40 Shipping)
Vinyl Banner (36" x 60") - $23.76 ($6.40 Shipping)

My main concern is business's trying to compare Vista Print pricing and their design on their website software to what I would be offering. Should I be offering design work in the price I offer? Would you have the customer pay a deposit or initial amount for the design work?

Let me know your thoughts or how you offer these services at your print shop.

Thank You Very Much!
- Dave

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Couple things, don't ever allow people to compare quality items to Vistaprint

Second always get a deposit and preferably your design fees upfront. Design is one of those things that because it's a intangible it will often get "negotiated" after the fact or flatout not paid.

We have found it alot better to price things separately rather than burying the costs since it allows for more flexibility for future projects.

 

[Davidks]

Couple things, don't ever allow people to compare quality items to Vistaprint

Second always get a deposit and preferably your design fees upfront. Design is one of those things that because it's a intangible it will often get "negotiated" after the fact or flatout not paid.

We have found it alot better to price things separately rather than burying the costs since it allows for more flexibility for future projects.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Assuming that you offer Business Cards/Flyers/Calendars etc...

Is there a standard rate you go by for design work?
Do you do in house printing or outsource?
With the pricing that I get through this wholesale supplier what percentage would you recommend my markup to be?

Thank You So Much!
- Dave

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We do those things but we don't. What I mean by that is we only do it for select clients as a courtesy more than anything. Markup should be whatever you get get without losing a majority of your jobs when it comes to outsourcing. If you can mark it up 100% then than great, but our average markup is 30-100% depending on the product.

We print most things in house but offset/digital paper we stay away from simply because they are low margin high volume.

we have 3 tiers of design $75/hr for simple layout, copy change, etc; $100 hr for design work (elements provided); $125/hr for full creative.

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

When we price digital and offset items, we always compare online retailers (including Vistaprint) just to get an idea how much we can mark up a certain item. If you do a 100% markup, you're definitely leaving money on the table in most cases, but not always. Typically, we can charge anywhere from as little as 100% markup on less popular items like presentation folders, to upwards of 300-400% on popular items like business cards and postcards.

As far as design fees, we charge a separate design fee for offset and digital products. We always charge a standard rate of $25 per side for business cards, but that's a one time setup fee. If they reorder more cards and only want the info such as name and email changed, we don't charge them for that. As for other products, we give the customer an estimate based on how much time we think might typically be involved because content can vary greatly on such items. For example, we may estimate $25-75 to design a postcard, but we'll charge perhaps as much as $75-125 to design a presentation folder. Likewise, if they choose additional non-standard finishing options such as metallic foil, round corners, or spot UV we will also want to take that into consideration when estimating design time.

 

[bannertime]

Since everyone else already had good info, just want to add, new customers always pay at least a 50% deposit for custom items. Legit repeat customers can sometimes get by without it, but it's best to just start everyone off with deposits. Don't give them any other option.

Also handy little legal nonsense at the bottom of you website. Would love to see how that holds up.

 

[Rick]

We charge a min of 400% on top of business cards and print orders unless they are larger orders, then we discount.

Since we really are a design firm first, we are higher than a sign shop. We might charge by the package for business cards, stationary and flyers for around 1000, to general layouts for a business card or stationary for around $2-350...

We market ourselves to small business, we are also freelance designers to sign shops needed higher end signage and branding design.