What would your price be?

[Colorburst]

I have been asked to quote a job to provide graphics for 12 police cars. Installation is NOT included. There is a stripe that runs the length of the car on both sides and some other lettering. I can get all of the graphics for one car out of 30 sq. ft of reflective material (Oracal 5600). I need to provide these cut/weeded/taped ready for installation. Just wondering if anyone has done similar jobs and what ballpark the price should be in?
Thanks !

 

[slappy]

looks like your going to have to go "paid subscriber" for the inside information

 

[Si Allen]

Ha ha! Does this come to mind?

http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=77866

 

[WrapperX]

If you aren't doing installation, then just charge the square footage of the material. Then track your time it takes to cut, weed, mask, etc. Do one and multiply by 12. Pretty straight forward I would think. You don't want to short change it. If you want to put a "group discount" that would be up to you, although I wouldn't unless they gave you the installation as well.

 

[SignTech]

Yeah premium section has pricing, where it should be ... especially for your question. Post some dimensions and pics too ....... and why not 3M? Did all my Emergency Vehicle with 3M, amazing stuff ........

 

[modernmav]

heck all the police stuff we've done they've required us to use 3m. It is great stuff to work with

 

[Colorburst]

3M makes several reflective vinyls, which do you recommend?

 

[Jillbeans]

Definitely go with Scotchcal (3M) it costs more but it's worth it.
I don't post my prices out in the open tho, sorry.
Love.....Jill

 

[wes70]

Well... we're not going to discuss price, so I'm hijacking this thread

Just want to know what are the differences between 3m reflective and the others? I have Oracal 5600 and I really don't like it. Actually, I hate all reflective, but that's for another hijacked thread.

In all honesty, I like Avery reflective better than Oracal... yep! I said it!

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Well... we're not going to discuss price, so I'm hijacking this thread

Just want to know what are the differences between 3m reflective and the others? I have Oracal 5600 and I really don't like it. Actually, I hate all reflective, but that's for another hijacked thread.

In all honesty, I like Avery reflective better than Oracal... yep! I said it!

You might still have time to take it back.

 

[Colorburst]

I really didn't mean to step on any toes by talking about price in a forum with "pricing" in its title. I was just looking for a ballpark pricing idea. Is $100 too little, $200 too much?
But since we've been hijacked, I'd like to see the comments on types of reflective also.

(I'll check out the info on premium subscriber pricing)

 

[SignTech]

well ....... Jill is correct regarding the 3m brand ....... I have put Avery up against 3m in the past when you light it up with a camera flash or headlights, Avery has a darker hue to it ... barely reflective ....... 3m lights up bright and clear. Also 3m is a bit heavier and in my experience easier to work with. Also I have never liked anything Avery offered. Hope this helps ......

 

[Gino]

I really didn't mean to step on any toes by talking about price in a forum with "pricing" in its title. I was just looking for a ballpark pricing idea. Is $100 too little, $200 too much?
But since we've been hijacked, I'd like to see the comments on types of reflective also.

(I'll check out the info on premium subscriber pricing)

No one likes just bursting out with numbers, unless it's in the 'Premium' section. You can call it whatever you like, but it just seems to be the way it is.

Only you can tell what your material costs are... plus your overhead and profits are going to be. If you have to sharpen your pencil to get the job, then that's what you have to do. It's called competitive quoting. Your numbers are what you and your shop need to exist.... not what someone in a town across the country is getting. Get to know your competitio and find out what they are quoting and then judge from there where you have to be in order to land the job.

I know people doing things at cost while others are getting 4 and 5 times their cost. How is that gonna help you ?? Really, it's all about you and your needs. Ballparks aren't gonna land you any job.

 

[slappy]

one thing to figure,, some copers only keep there cars for 3 years or 5. So that might help you determine a reflective to use, no point of putting 10 year reflective on a car that might only be kept for 3. IMHO....

but i'd still stick with the 3m

call them and get the color chart. it tells you the life span and uses for

 

[Tim Aucoin]

I really didn't mean to step on any toes by talking about price in a forum with "pricing" in its title.

Really, you've made a great point there! It is rare for anyone to actually talk about prices here, so maybe this "non-premium" board should actually be called "Sales, Marketing, Etc." Whaddya think Fred... um, Fred, are you there? :Big Laugh

 

[wes70]

Thanks SignTech. I'll give 3m a go next time around.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Really, you've made a great point there! It is rare for anyone to actually talk about prices here, so maybe this "non-premium" board should actually be called "Sales, Marketing, Etc." Whaddya think Fred... um, Fred, are you there? :Big Laugh

No Tim, pricing can certainly be discussed here. This forum cannot be seen by non-members. The premium version of the same forum has an extra level of privacy to it and is generally preferred for the candid discussion of prices.

 

[SignTech]

one thing to figure,, some copers only keep there cars for 3 years or 5. So that might help you determine a reflective to use, no point of putting 10 year reflective on a car that might only be kept for 3. IMHO....

but i'd still stick with the 3m

call them and get the color chart. it tells you the life span and uses for

I understand your position regarding length of product use, but I still choose 3M for ultimate in safety. That usually is good enough for some of the cop'r agencies, but if they could care less about safety, then so be it. At least you informed them.

 

[Colorburst]

No one likes just bursting out with numbers, unless it's in the 'Premium' section. You can call it whatever you like, but it just seems to be the way it is.

Only you can tell what your material costs are... plus your overhead and profits are going to be. If you have to sharpen your pencil to get the job, then that's what you have to do. It's called competitive quoting. Your numbers are what you and your shop need to exist.... not what someone in a town across the country is getting. Get to know your competitio and find out what they are quoting and then judge from there where you have to be in order to land the job.

I know people doing things at cost while others are getting 4 and 5 times their cost. How is that gonna help you ?? Really, it's all about you and your needs. Ballparks aren't gonna land you any job.

I understand the need for privacy in pricing and I understand that prices in another region may not relate to me and that I need to figure out my own costs, overhead, etc. (which I have done for this job) However publications like Signcraft and others routinely print pricing guides and pricing surveys. I presume so that we can get a sense of where we fall in relation to others across the country. They can give us a "ballpark" idea of what similar products sell for on average.
But now I'm beating a dead horse, so I'll stop.
Thanks everyone for you comments.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

colorburst, everyone pretty much hit this one on the head of that proverbial nail. Ball park pricing is fine, but there are too many things on your end to consider. For example, the cost of your materials (that includes vinyl, transfer tape, cutting blade wear and tear, machine wear and tear, hidden materials like tape and knife blades, squeegees and the such) the cost of your time and what you would like to make from the job, your mark up, and your cost of doing business (rent/lease, taxes, power, water, gopher punching fees, etc). ball parking is fine in most cases ... but with this one, just quote as you normally would and try not to think about what others would quote on a job like this. if you get the job ... good, if not ... there will always be tomorrow.