New Here, Doin' Vinyl Since 1998

[Jillbeans]

Hey guess what folks...just add him to your ignore list...then you won't have to read his bragging about cheap prices, or anything else for that matter!
Seems like all he does is quote replies and back-pedal anyway.
I'm surprized he has time to visit this forum, seeing as how he is so busy.
Wish I'd have thought of it sooner.
*click!* ahhhh....

 

[signedmylifeaway]

Man I have nothing against you or what\how you do but your posts smells.... like a scam. You know like famous scam emails from Nigeria

OK, please send me your credit card numbers and Social Security Numbers, thanks in advance. Does that make you feel better?

 

[Stan B]

OK, please send me your credit card numbers and Social Security Numbers, thanks in advance. Does that make you feel better?

it does not change anything to me, I just said that by the way you started here & represent your self most of us could not benefit from your posts, expirience, skills & marketing strategy. And I think that this is sad because I'm sure there may be something that some could leran from you

 

[signedmylifeaway]

it does not change anything to me, I just said that by the way you started here & represent your self most of us could not benefit from your posts, expirience, skills & marketing strategy. And I think that this is sad because I'm sure there may be something that some could leran from you

Learn from me? Other than good spelling and very fast production skills, I apparently have nothing else to offer.

 

[Stan B]

Learn from me? Other than good spelling and very fast production skills, I apparently have nothing else to offer.

that's already something
although we'll have to see who's production skills are better I could certanly learn how to spell

 

[Jackpine]

So this is what our trade has become! It is a shame that "professionals" in the trade, at a forum, that should be helping and supporting one another resorts to this. I have been doing this for 30 years. I have a B.S and a M.S. in art and in education and I am learning EVERYDAY. I totally understand Jill,OP, GV and others in the situations they work within. I would rather do one sign for $200 than 10 for $20. But I will do 10 for $20 if that is what it takes. Price wars and crappy work will be with us as long as newbes THINK it is easier. I don't get all the work I want but I tell them all when they ask about signs "I am the best signmaker in this county and you WILL get good work at a good price". A $00 computer and $2,000 in sign cutter and supplies....."Look MA I'm a sign artist"! BULLSHIT! I don't usually waste my time with this crap....I can get it in my own area from people who just want to waste MY time in MY life....

 

[Doyle]

if everyone stops replying, he WILL go away

 

[gvgraphics]

I never said you were overpriced. I'm cheaper. You draw your own conclusions after that.

My issue is you called us highway robbers in one of your first posts on the board. Like I said I know as well as anyone how prices can change 50 miles down the road. But when you come to a forum insinuating people you have never met or even talked to charge to much and don't understand the business with how pricing works it pisses people off. Now I went back and read some of your first posts again and they still hit me the wrong way. The attitude you have received was justified by your guns a blazing entry. I am just confused why you would choose to come to a forum and start the way you did. We had a discussion on this whole price topic last week. In the post of "General cut vinyl pricing" http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=13633 post #4 you stated we charge highway robbery prices. So I don't need to come to my own conclusion, you have said it yourself.

Now to all my post last night may have pissed off, I apologize. I may have taken it to far but his posts hit me the wrong way. And now to know his low ball prices and shop are only down the road a ways bothers me even more. For all of us who have worked very hard to get where we are today to have a shop like this come in sucks. But like I have said in the past, we don't need to get rich quick on 1 job, but at least charge a fair price for the area. And he is not.

Sean

 

[OldPaint]

If you must know where I am, I am in a small town at the border of NY, NJ and PA. That would be Port Jervis, NY Montague, NJ or Matamoras, PA. I'd like to be more specific, but judging by the hostility some of you have expressed towards me, I will not.
NOW I KNOW YOU ARE ALSO STUPID....if you live there and work for those prices.....40 minutes from NEW YORK CITY.....lets see a cup a coffee there is $3, an apartment, cheap one is $1500, average wage there is near $100,000.00 and you work for what you say you do....how dumb you think we are??????????? thats the question....

 

[mladams7259]

I live about 40 miles away from WILDINDIAN and I do agree that this is a very low income area, I dont sell my work any cheaper due to that fact. On a simple coro sign I get $20. I sold 3 4x8 one sided simple text MDO signs last week for $500 each. Dont let him fool you, the low income should not dictate you prices or profit.....

Tupelo is about 25 miles from him. Someone came in for a quote last week on a 3 by 5 MDO 1 sided sign, simple text and I told them around $500, they had just came from Tupelo and got a quote for just over $700, like I said, dont believe that he has to charge such low prices to sell anything.

 

[signedmylifeaway]

If you must know where I am, I am in a small town at the border of NY, NJ and PA. That would be Port Jervis, NY Montague, NJ or Matamoras, PA. I'd like to be more specific, but judging by the hostility some of you have expressed towards me, I will not.
NOW I KNOW YOU ARE ALSO STUPID....if you live there and work for those prices.....40 minutes from NEW YORK CITY.....lets see a cup a coffee there is $3, an apartment, cheap one is $1500, average wage there is near $100,000.00 and you work for what you say you do....how dumb you think we are??????????? thats the question....

First, try 2 hours from NYC. Try $1 for a coffee. Cheap apartment is about $700. I purchased a 1200 sf home on .25 acres for $90,000 in 1999. Today I could sell it for about twice that, maybe. This house is 78 years old. The median income in my county is $44,000, and this part ain't the good part.

Do me a favor, know what you are talking about before you put your foot in your mouth... again.

 

[gvgraphics]

I wouldn't call that a low income area. I live in an area where the average income is 22,000 and I get higher prices than you do. My point is if you sell for next to nothing you are going to kill the market even more and then you will kill your own business. Don't let it bite you in your own ass as it has happened to many before you. Also signedmylifeaway, pleas read my post on page 3.

 

[2NinerNiner2]

Buck for a cup of coffee?! ..THAT's where I'm movin' to!

...now, if that 2 hours from NYC is north, then it's not that far for me to skip back across the line for some REAL Tim Horton's coffee (@1.75, albeit CDN) once in a while

 

[signedmylifeaway]

Where is the income $22,000? Scranton? Wilkes Barre? I don't think it is quite that low. Cost of living is a lot lower there too. About 90% of my work comes from a 50-75 mile radius, more to my south and east than north or west. About 10% comes from way beyond the immediate area.
Google Cheap Banner, you get:
http://www.halfpricebanners.com/
http://www.wholesalebannerz.com/
http://www.1daybanner.com
http://banner-source.com
and others... Don't you think your customers Googled them too? While I hope they didn't, I know most of mine did already. I have no choice but to compete or fail. One condition to renewing my lease is I have to employ someone with a permanent job of at least 30 hours a week. Right now I have several "on call" workers who work 5-10 hours a week once a month, if that. So far 2007 has paid out less than $100 for employ wages, because there's nothing for them.
Right now, the thing that works for me is fast food mentality. Grab the small stuff. Then say "you wanna super size that?" I often switch a buyer from a small banner to a medium sized banner. I know I'm giving it away. What else can I do? I have to eat. I have to pay a mortgage. I have to hire someone soon and probably to my detriment. I always have work in the shop and I know why, I'm too cheap.

 

[mladams7259]

I dont understand. If you produce quality work you can adjust your prices accordingly. The median income here is about 16,000 yearly. Beat that! I charge around the same as most everyone else on this board. I dont understand why you are having such troubles. Maybe you should continue working "In the shop" and hire a salesman instead of another shop worker.

 

[red91_sc]

signedmylifeaway: I know the area you are talkin about all too well. I just moved from the Bloomsburg area (about 45 minutes south of scranton).
Yes the income around that part of the state is low ,but I have been to alot of sign shops there before I started in the biz and you are cheating yourself out of alot of what you should be getting.
Why not try raising your prices some and if someone come into your shop and they say something like "i did a search on so and so site and found it for x amount" then you can tell them about how your quality is better and so on.

But anyways :Welcome: from OH.

 

[gvgraphics]

I am north of those towns. I understand what you are saying about Internet prices but think about this for me if you would: The customer can and some will get them off of the Internet. But when they get banners that fall apart, spelled wrong, wrong color, wrong size and so on they will realize how important it is buy local. There are allot of Internet companies out there who charge pennies profit, that is because they sell mass quantities per day on cheap substrate, cheaply made. As with any business, brick and mortar or Internet there reputation will be made, it will be bashed and they will loose customers. Don't let your reputation go down the tubes because some guy with a cutter and a roll of vinyl wants to charge prices that cant even buy a new cutter blade if he needs it. You can be cheap and still make a profit if you do it right. My point is when all of your customers figure out they get what they pay for over the Internet in most cases, your low prices will bite you in the ass. If you have been around awhile like you say you have then you should have some understanding of how to sell a banner or any other sign product at reasonable prices and still make a profit. Work smarter not harder. Not all of your customers will leave if you charge 10-20% more for a banner. They know the quality and service they get are well worth the extra few bucks. Now this is all just my opinion and how I feel. So don't take this as I am telling you how to run your business or slamming your ways.

 

[bigbly]

The party is over. Thanks to the Internet and people like me, this business has been dragged into the gutter. The days of selling a pair of magnetics for $100 are OVER or will be shortly.

You think I'm bad? There are those in China and elsewhere that make ME look expensive. I've lost bids to overseas vendors. This wasn't the case a few years ago, but the past 2-3 years, it is reality.

YOU and I can be outsourced TOMORROW. It is only a matter of time. Any dope can do this work. Some would say I'm living proof. This "dope" sees the writing on the wall and has a plan to still be in the game.

While I think it's a good idea to set your own pricing and not worry about what your competition is doing, comparing local prices to chinese is nuts.

We even have a chinese sign/print company here in our city, and yeh they charge half what everybody else does... but know what? they don't have to.

Give people another reason to buy off you and you can get more money.
Even if you think you're not worth it, you are.

 

[Gino]

Nah, VinylJunkie… it’s more fun this way. He will eventually let us in on his secrets of making so many signs for such unique pricing…. and then we will all benefit from his type of success. Don’t knock it, til you try it.

He says he’s the McDonald’s of sign shops when comparing his company to others. I’d like for him to elaborate more with all of his wisdom. One who can demonstrate such a clever business plan and claim not to have any talent [such as McDonald’s] has my attention. Who knows…. maybe he knows something we don’t. I’d like to learn and find out more. Problem is…. He talks in riddles, which makes me think he’s only making this all up on the fly, which then, will just about hurt my inner feelings.

Oh me, oh my….. what will I do without knowing his approach ??

I invite you ‘signedmylifeaway’ to share with the rest of us your procedures without your usual crusty sass.

It’s rather unusual to hear someone say they know they’re ‘not liked’ as being their introduction and way they would like others to see them in business. If this form of business is good for you, please by all means, extend the courtesy to enlighten us how and why. This place is for sharing all kinds of ideas and although yours is very unique, I’m always open to new ideas.

I’ve asked you to share and you keep ignoring my questions. Is there something wrong with my questions ??

 

[signedmylifeaway]

Gino, you seem to know enough already, with that "PhD" and all. What could I a Grammar Schooler possibly teach you? Why would I give someone with such arrogance and sarcasm the time of day?
Am I successful? I can pay my bills. I'm hardly rich. I'm satisfied with my business. That's all that really matters.
Perhaps you need to impress or demean others to make yourself feel good. I'm sorry for you. That's not why I am here. I don't need to slam anyone, and if someone feels I did, please accept my apologies.
I know I wouldn't be popular. I felt I should come out the way I am. Cheap. That's the focus of my business. If you don't like that, I'm sorry, but I really don't care.