Pricing Advice

[Moseye]

Hey everyone. I'm pretty new to the sign industry and was just wondering if anyone had any good resources I could use as reference for pricing signs. I just want to make sure our pricing are pretty standard, mostly so we aren't over charging or under charging. I actually have a bunch of quotes from a sign shop I used to work at in 2008 and am just running some of the orders through Signimate (the software we're using) just to see how the pricing compares to cost 9 years ago. Thanks everyone!

 

[AKwrapguy]

Pricing from a decade a go is probably not going to be valid. It's all going to be based on your cost and overhead. So the first thing I would look at doing is seeing what your nearest long term competitors are charging and see if you can at least match it. Don't do come in and say well they can wrap a vehicle or do a sign for $4,000.00 so I'll do it for $2,000 and take all the customers. This is only going to bit you in the ass down the road, we had a company do that, they lasted 18 months.

Also what we charge is going to be different that what you will be able to charge, there aren't really any 'standard' pricing that I know of as everyone has different focus, set ups, and overhead. Look at what it's going to cost to buy the material, buy and run the equipment (printer, laminator, plotter, computers, tools), what does your rent cost, utilities, marketing, etc... Most of these should be a relatively hard cost so you will know how much you will need make each month to pay the bills. Learn to estimate, not just material but also time. So not only is the job going to take X amount of material but also X amount of time.

Also don't forget to pay yourself. So that job you thought that you could do for $1,000 just became $1,500.

On a different note, this is something that you should have figured out before getting into the industry. Run the numbers, do the math twice, check the market to see if there is even a demand for another shop. As far as equipment, don't get what's cheapest but what going to be the best for you and what you want to focus on. If you want to focus on vehicle wraps and look at a latex printer, if you want to focus on specialty cut graphics maybe look at Gerber, etc.. Do your own research, take the time to do it right.

 

[Moseye]

Pricing from a decade a go is probably not going to be valid. It's all going to be based on your cost and overhead. So the first thing I would look at doing is seeing what your nearest long term competitors are charging and see if you can at least match it. Don't do come in and say well they can wrap a vehicle or do a sign for $4,000.00 so I'll do it for $2,000 and take all the customers. This is only going to bit you in the *** down the road, we had a company do that, they lasted 18 months.

Also what we charge is going to be different that what you will be able to charge, there aren't really any 'standard' pricing that I know of as everyone has different focus, set ups, and overhead. Look at what it's going to cost to buy the material, buy and run the equipment (printer, laminator, plotter, computers, tools), what does your rent cost, utilities, marketing, etc... Most of these should be a relatively hard cost so you will know how much you will need make each month to pay the bills. Learn to estimate, not just material but also time. So not only is the job going to take X amount of material but also X amount of time.

Also don't forget to pay yourself. So that job you thought that you could do for $1,000 just became $1,500.

On a different note, this is something that you should have figured out before getting into the industry. Run the numbers, do the math twice, check the market to see if there is even a demand for another shop. As far as equipment, don't get what's cheapest but what going to be the best for you and what you want to focus on. If you want to focus on vehicle wraps and look at a latex printer, if you want to focus on specialty cut graphics maybe look at Gerber, etc.. Do your own research, take the time to do it right.

I appreciate the advice. This is pretty much what we've been doing the past few months. I just now found this site and figured it might not be a bad idea to ask since pricing is pretty much the only thing causing me a bit of stress. Like you said, I want to take the time to do this right. Thanks!

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

I use the SignCraft pricing guide to get base costs. I've been using it a long time so I have my little work arounds for different materials and things I know should be more or less than what I get from their numbers. Most of the time, my goal is to have cost of goods be a third of the overall sign cost. Don't forget to bill separately for art/design time.