As I mentioned, his prices were double that of 3 other shops I got quotes from. These are all professional sign shops. Why so much compared?? This is a relatively small town, word travels quickly. He is pricing himself out of work, people are going out of town to get things done.
There could be several reasons for this.
1. The other shop has better quality and service therefor is priced accordingly.
If his prices are higher, it
does mean he is pricing himself out of work, but
not out of business. He is pricing himself out of jobs for people who are shopping for cost not quality, but if he does good work he still is getting plenty (or enough) customers that are willing to pay for the better quality. This means he is doing less jobs, but could be making more then the shops that are focused on quantity.
2. The other 3 shops have gone into pricing wars, and aren't pricing out jobs based on what they are worth but based on what is less then the other 2 shops. If those shops are doing that, chances are they are cutting corners somewhere to stay competitive, or they aren't thinking straight and enjoy losing money.
3 He isn't better than the other shops but thinks he is. In which case, eventually his business will fail. Ask yourself, how long has this shop been in business. If they have been in business for a long time see #1.
4. He is one of a very small group of hobbyist that have other sources of income and price the services higher then normal on purpose because they can't handle or don't need the larger work load and want a higher return on the work he is doing. If they don't get enough work, that is fine, as I said, they have other sources of income. In my opinion this is better than the much larger group of hobbyist who do work for dirt cheap.
As I mentioned, I already have retail space that is catering to a dying forest industry...I already have hydro bills, I already have internet bills, I already have employees.
If you are getting into the business, so you know, be prepared to add a lot more overhead to that list.
The gouging type of business operation pisses me off. Charge everyone double because they have no other choice. Again, this is a small town, options are limited and I see it happening with several businesses that have a monopoly. This is one that I have an interest in, and would like to learn.
You may think they are gouging because they can, but my guess is if you do join the ranks of other sign makers, in time you will understand why sign makers rightfully charge what they do. Just a warning, If you are getting in the business because of this reason, you are about to learn one expensive lesson.
I don't feel I will be lowballing if my pricing will be on par with other sign shops. I just won't be gouging as the local guy is.
You could be a low-baller, you might not. It depends on the quality of work you do. And not just the quality of the products you produce, but the quality of your service.
Either way, you shouldn't be setting your prices based on what others charge, They aren't you. The could be better, they could be worst. They could be making money, the could be losing money. They might be using higher quality products and offering more services and have higher overhead, or they could be using low quality products, and working out of their garage. You should set your prices based on what your services are worth and what will keep you in business/make money. Again these can be expensive lessons to learn. Be prepared.
Like I said, this won't be the first mistake I make in this whole process...my intent wasn't to come off that way, only to give some background information.
That is fine, but be careful how you word your questions, you don't want to come off like an ex customer that doesn't respect what we do and thinks they can do a better job with absolutely no experience or background. If you show respect to this trade and the hard working people in it, and show that you want to get into the business for the right reasons, I have no doubt that you will get more help then you will know what to do with.
So, providing healthy competition isn't professional? I hardly think I will be taking food from his family...dramatics aren't necessary. He does the full color banners, he does highway signs, he does full vehicle decals, motorcycles, etc...he has a full plate. I am planning on sticking to affordable one color vinyl, and heat press transfers eventually.
I think that is a good idea. Start small at first.
