Selling Rolls Of Vinyl To Customers

[savannah08]

I have had several people who do vinyl crafts at home interested in purchasing rolls of vinyl. I'm willing to order rolls for them but how much do I mark it up so I profit as well?

 

[ikarasu]

I don't see why someone who does vinyl crafts needs full rolls of vinyl. If anything, sell it to them by the sqft... and double what you pay. Your customers could also be trying to figure out how much you pay for vinyl, so they can see how "inflated" your prices are.

 

[oldgoatroper]

It might seem like gouging -- and I initially had this feeling about markup -- but at least double it if not more. Remember, most things in a sign shop are not bulk volume items that you would only need a few points on. Then if it turns out they are good customers or they are friends, you can give them a discount- say, 10-20%.

Occasionally, people would ask if they could buy a sheet of coroplast and I would say $32.00. Some would not even bat an eye. Those that did, I would add, "well if you don't mind a bit of dust and scuffing, you can always get it at HomeDepot for $16.00". Most didn't mind the $32. .

Such a markup is justified, I figure, cause I have to buy it and store it, not knowing if I'll sell it sooner or later. Second, Its pulling stock that could be used to generate higher dollar sales. - I'll have to order sooner. So I'll sell it at least for the price that I would be costing it if it were going into signage.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[ExecuPrintGS]

I double it... Every time.

 

[bob]

Everything that comes into my shop is marked up at least 100% when it leaves my shop. Everything. Sold to anyone. 100%.

 

[Gino]

I have 3 home-doers who come in when I call them and I just give them my scraps. If they request certain colors, I just say, be grateful you're getting these for free and that usually shuts them up.

 

[Billct2]

Double, and that's being nice.

 

[Marlene]

mark it up your regular mark up or do the 100% as suggested.

 

[TammieH]

I bought a 3M 15" x 1 yard of vinyl from Fastsigns once, in a pinch, they charged me $23 ....cripes

 

[FireSprint.com]

Double the rolls. By the yard, triple or more.

You could also put a bunch of random scraps in a "Grab Bag" for $10 or whatever. I see leather shops and hobby stores sell stuff like this all the time. Just bag up all the small offcuts and sell it to a hobbyist.

 

[Oroscoe]

here is the deal. They are going to sell items to your customers there by costing you business. I would not and do not sell vinyl. I buy vinyl to use not to sell. We have had several people call asking about material for there cri-cut and silhouette machines. DON'T DO IT. You are cutting your own throat.

 

[Gino]

here is the deal. They are going to sell items to your customers there by costing you business. I would not and do not sell vinyl. I buy vinyl to use not to sell. We have had several people call asking about material for there cri-cut and silhouette machines. DON'T DO IT. You are cutting your own throat.

Not if you saw the caliber of what comes in our door wanting that sh!t. They're a pathetic looking crew. I give it to them, just so they go away. One of them doesn't even look at you. She's always staring at the floor and mumbles a few words which are practically inaudible and then leaves without thanking us or anything. Nope, they are hardly future competition. They'll be lucky if they're still alive in 3 years.

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

here is the deal. They are going to sell items to your customers there by costing you business. I would not and do not sell vinyl. I buy vinyl to use not to sell. We have had several people call asking about material for there cri-cut and silhouette machines. DON'T DO IT. You are cutting your own throat.

If somebody needs materials, they are going to find it regardless of where they end up buying it from. Why not mark it up and sell them what they want? The guy that's going to cut your throat already has the initiative to seek out a supplier for their materials.

 

[TimToad]

We try to be as friendly, fair and helpful as we can to anyone who comes in as long as they treat us with respect and its not completely obvious they aren't out there mucking up the legitimate sign market with low cost, badly done sign work.

If we're pretty sure they are just hobbyists and only need a few yards of material, we'll sell it for triple its cost.

If they want full rolls of fairly common material and colors, we'll pass because its almost certain they are working underground making signs. We have to pay a lot to be licensed, insured, have a shop, etc. We all have to put in a fair amount of time keeping our bookkeeping, records, tax reporting, etc. We don't care if they think they aren't impacting the market much, they are.

I understand the rationale that anybody can buy the stuff online, so why not profit off them. That may be true, but I don't need to make it any easier for them to undercut the local market. We have enough regular brick and mortar sign companies doing that already. Let them go through the effort, pay shipping, etc.

 

[Signchief]

I always look online to see what things are going for. You can find 10yrd rolls of 651 selling at wholesale all day. I add 30% on something they can buy at the sane price as me and atleast double or triple the price on items that I can't easily find on the web.

 

[heyskull]

The big issue is the man (or woman) of the street looking for a 20 foot off cut!!!
In our business their is no such thing as an off cut, everything can be made into a sign or graphic.
I basically mark up any pieces of vinyl 500% if they want it that badly they can pay for it.