Minimum Charge

[Texas_Signmaker]

Do you have a shop minimum charge? If so what is it?

Right now I changed mine to $125. It's been putting off "small order" customers and I know I'm loosing some. My thinking was to get small orders because you'll get some big fish from it..which I have before but...

One of my "small order" customers (who runs a restaurant, three hotels and apartment complex) had been ordering these small one-off sign orders and I'd been giving them amazing speed and good pricing in hopes of getting some of their large orders. They had a large monument sign that needed replacing for years and they just had another local sign company do it! I asked about this (kindly) and he gave me an explanation of how them and this other sign company go way back. Really!?!? Well, they just e-mailed me about another small order and I told them some ridiculous price.

I'm starting to think that most of the "small order" customers are going to remain that way and there is not enough potential big fish in that pond. How do you guys view the "small orders"?

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

In all honesty, we had that mentality until we started pushing some of those clients to give us bigger projects. Once they saw our difference and all of a sudden we were doing all of their large projects and not worrying about the small stuff.

 

[czar2178]

Honestly I don't look at my orders that way personally. I do laser engraving and I get people that come in ALL the time that need a small 1"x3" plate done and I charge them $5-$10 at least or those little 12"x12" foam core jobs I don't turn anyone away. Yes I have a lot of big customers but my shop production is fast enough that I can take all size orders without killing productions time. These small jobs take literally 5 min, i see it as making a dollar a min from nothing lol. We all love that 10k+ jobs and want them all the time but if you are like me, you have a shop, workers all your overhead and that is not changing why not take in all the money you can. Now I will say if you can't keep up with production and don't want to risk messing up with your big clients because of small jobs ya fine don't take them but your workers and machines are just sitting idle then you are not making any money

 

[Sign consultant]

I look at it differently never say no to any client cause sometimes your client might be getting the most jobs done by others.
But when you are working with them so it is like a reminder that you exist around.
And we do need to share our good work with them so a time will come they will definitely get you big projects.
Best if luck!

 

[Gino]

At least post your shop minimum, along with all your other shop policies, like fees for bounced checks, dirty vehicles, terms and other things you find important. Then, for all those who come in, you can simply point to the poster and say, we do it for everyone. However, that doesn't mean you can't break your own rules and gang their job in with someone else's.

As for those who shop online, simply have your same policies listed and say these rules may apply according to the nature of your order. For those who call, ya just ask them, don't ya have anything else ?? This doesn't even meet our shop minimum.

Just about any distributor, you buy from has one....... or they charge you a fee.

The little jobs many times bring bigger ones, but don't be played for a fool.

 

[boxerbay]

I try not to use the term "shop minimum" because it puts off the client as being substandard. I just quote it. If they want (1) 3"x1" .040 aluminum sign $25.00 and it gets low priority and throw it in with something else.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Gotcha. I normally don't have a minimum to my "good customers" or ones that have ordered sizable jobs in the past. I think I just want to weed-out the chatty-cathy, 10-changes to design proof for some magnets or coro signs and that she'll never order anything over $100 type of person.

I guess I reading that many of you have shops and the man-power to spare, there for no minimum. Since I'm a two-man operation my time has been more limited and I've been wanting to reserve it for more of the commercial/government-type buyers. I appreciate the responses, this gives me insight in how larger operations have to operate and will shape the decision on the direction I want to go in.

 

[Starter]

Our shop minimum is $65.00 based on our hourly rate. We cannot do small $5-$10 jobs and make any money. We refer them to a smaller sign shop up the road and in turn that shop reciprocates larger installs and or jobs they cannot handle.
Also, any job that is less than $100.00 has to be paid cash, debit, CC......no purchase orders accepted on orders smaller than a $100.00. It cost to much to chase the money for 30, 60 or 90 days.

 

[Marlene]

we've had the opposite happen. we would do a large sign job and then drive by and see an a-frame or banner. when we asked them why they didn't give us a call, they all said that they thought we only did big jobs. since then when dealing with a customer, we tell the right off that we are their one stop shop from sign to business cards. I do think it works better going from a large small jobs as it provides contact with the customer and we'll pick up jobs from that, both big and small. as far as doing small to get bigger jobs, that seems to never work.

 

[MikePro]

$125 minimum here as well, which in itself offers little room for profit no matter what you're making. By the time you translate their order, produce, & bill, then you can easily call that an hour's worth of work that has already eaten into the project.
I refer clients to .com's all the time for banners & holiday gag-decals, because I just can't bother with anything less.
If you're doing the storefront thing, and literally producing a decal in front of their eyes and they are paying on the spot, I can see how it may work ...but you better have a tip jar on the counter, and a swear jar in the backroom.

We are a sign company, and pride ourselves on service, but that doesn't have to include the absolute need to make everything ourselves. Know your outsources, know your limits, and know that your client will come back to you because you know your shit, and never waste their time.

 

[ams]

Mine is about $20, because I've had many new customers buy something small to try me out and then gotten bigger jobs from it. Also have had customers buy small items and then tell their friends and gotten big jobs from it. I no longer do something stupidly small, but if they want a single yard sign for $25, I'll do it.

 

[bannertime]

Our shop minimum is more of an order minimum. Each material or service has it's own minimum order cost. I quote the order and when we get to the final price I ask if there is anything else they'd like to add. Briefly explain that it doesn't meet the minimum for this type of order. If they say no, I tell them that I can have it ready in ## days and hand them a pen to sign the quote. If they say yes, they'll typically ask about other services we offer or I'll tell them some things we do that they might could use. Like one out of 100 may say they'll go somewhere else. Most just say no and I give them extra pieces to fill in the price gap. This has netted some bigger jobs and occasionally more tiny jobs.

I'm always trying to up-sell, but I never try to oversell. This is an occasion to up-sell. Use this moment to explain all the other facets of your services. I've had a regular customer that bought all sorts of things from us. Been with us for years. Never knew we did vehicle lettering. That was a mistake on our part.

 

[TopFliteGraphics]

I have mine posted as $45 for custom signs and $35 for Cut Vinyl. That being said, I do accommodate some customers willing to pay cash for small cut vinyl jobs (lunch money)

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

I try not to use the term "shop minimum" because it puts off the client as being substandard. I just quote it. If they want (1) 3"x1" .040 aluminum sign $25.00 and it gets low priority and throw it in with something else.

I do the same thing and for the same reason. Clients don't like hearing "shop minimum" so it's easier just to say it'll be $35. If they try to change the material to get a lower cost, then I explain that even on a different material, it'll still be roughly the same cost because there's labor involved in loading materials, prepping and application.

Gotcha. I normally don't have a minimum to my "good customers" or ones that have ordered sizable jobs in the past. I think I just want to weed-out the chatty-cathy, 10-changes to design proof for some magnets or coro signs and that she'll never order anything over $100 type of person.

Then you need to charge for design. Simple signs that are one offs do not get a proof. If they want a proof, that's an extra cost and I'll give them no more than two revisions to it without charging more for design time.

 

[customquint]

I have been $20 for I don't know how long, it's those times for the right client that something takes you 5 minutes to make and they may give you several grand in orders every year, I'm not going to try to make them pay $100 plus for it.

Last week I had a client order 2 small decals for the back of their radios with their logo and stations for their use, 1.5"x2". I printed off enough to go across a 54" roll and just gave it to them, no charge. But they are one of those clients that do several thousand dollars in orders every year. I wasn't going to charge them $20 for those or heck even over $100.

"Treat your clients how you would like to be treated" goes a long ways around here.

 

[eahicks]

I have been $20 for I don't know how long, it's those times for the right client that something takes you 5 minutes to make and they may give you several grand in orders every year, I'm not going to try to make them pay $100 plus for it.

Last week I had a client order 2 small decals for the back of their radios with their logo and stations for their use, 1.5"x2". I printed off enough to go across a 54" roll and just gave it to them, no charge. But they are one of those clients that do several thousand dollars in orders every year. I wasn't going to charge them $20 for those or heck even over $100.

"Treat your clients how you would like to be treated" goes a long ways around here.

Man how can you have a $20 minimum? Are you a one man shop? We lose $20 just by spending 10 minutes haggling over the price. We're not a large shop, but our overhead is enough that we have to get at least $75 for a minimum order...sometimes we go for $100. It really depends. Like others, we don't adhere to minimums for all of our big clients. Generally just for the walk in "I need a car decal" or "I need a garage sale sign". Some we can upsell to make that minimum work, others just end up going elsewhere. But we aren't even loading a plotter with vinyl for $20.

 

[Johnny Best]

See how the $125 minimum works for you, can always go lower.
As far as the other guy giving his big jobs away and just giving you small ones. Maybe you pushed the cheap stuff out to fast and he did not think your quality was good enough for the larger work. Now that you will get the $125 you can do a nice yard sign for him.

 

[AKwrapguy]

We don't have shop minimum but we have material minimums. So if a costumer walks in and wand a 6"x3" cut decal we have a minimum of 1' material charge. We also have a rate change on copy size as well so 4" is less expensive than 1". Same goes with digital printed goods as well. If we have to run it through the plotter it's extra.

 

[Gino]

So, I guess what everyone is saying is......... if someone comes in with a million dollar order, you'll take it. But if they want a million signs for a dollar a piece, y'all will turn it down, huh ??

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

See how the $125 minimum works for you, can always go lower.
As far as the other guy giving his big jobs away and just giving you small ones. Maybe you pushed the cheap stuff out to fast and he did not think your quality was good enough for the larger work. Now that you will get the $125 you can do a nice yard sign for him.

Never push cheap crap out... not my kind of business.

So, I guess what everyone is saying is......... if someone comes in with a million dollar order, you'll take it. But if they want a million signs for a dollar a piece, y'all will turn it down, huh ??

Your 100% right swaggins.. that IS what everyone is saying.