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pricing advice on vinyl please?
Hi Guys
I’m opening my own business very soon but I’m worried about pricing my vinyl !! do you think it would be best to price it per letter and size to start off with until i get the swing of things?Any help and information on this subject would be greatly appreciated
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31 Replies
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There is a ton of information here and on other websites. I would get a nice big cup of coffee, (or like me, Beer) and start going over old posts. You can use the search button to narrow your search. Good luck.
-Marek -
Hi Hunter
I think you’d be better off manufacturing blinds or conservatories. There’s already too many wannabee signmakers in this country 😕
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i personaly think for general text and stuff its better pricing by letter to give a good consistant price. others have their own methods… as you progress, you will find you can look at a van and guess roughly how much you want for that amount of work.
back posts are probably fastest way of getting help on this subject as there are many ways to find out a costing, find the one that best suits you is a preference i think. 😀 -
now now phil… we all started somewhere once !!! 😉
i personally charge by the metre, a rough mark up of 3 to 4 x the price (incl vat and any delivery cost, ) then charge for time at x amount, you’ll soon find your level,
as others have said tho, there’s loads of info on here that will be useful to you as you progress, have a look thur it as many charge in different ways.
Hugh
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because letter styles vary so much, helv condensed v eurostyle, I have always found the safest way to charge is by the metre.
Just a personal view, but that way it easier to include your waste in the price. Someone has to pay for it anyways….
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quote Phill:Hi Hunter
I think you’d be better off manufacturing blinds or conservatories. There’s already too many wannabee signmakers in this country 😕
you having a bad day phill?
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😕 Phil there is always room for a talented sign-maker but I do agree sometimes it does seem like the old west at times. Charge by the metre and don’t go down the cheep cheep line Quality is what is needed Quality product and a cracking good design.
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Hi, ignore the grumpy one at the top! Maybe he is having a bad day 😀
I charge by the metre, and as has been said don’t be conned into using the cheapest vinyl you can buy, do some research into qualities and properties of vinyl, there are many different grades. Dont come in too cheap with your prices or people will tag you as a cowboy.
Good luck and remember there is lots of help and advice available, you only have to ask 😀 -
charge by the metre on vinyl.
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quote Dave Rowland:charge by the metre on vinyl.4 large letters from one metre of vinyl is one thing, but what if you have 1inch text covering the same area? much longer cutting, weeding, taping and so on… charge 35p minimum per 1 inch letter and it soon adds up. then discount as you feel best suits customers budget.
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Hi and welcome
charge by the square metre used, dont forget to include your tape and build your overheads in as well as your margin. Dont sell yourself or your products cheaply.
Smaller the text goes then add 30% for small text to cover the hassle factor of weeding small lettering.
Best bit of money you can spend at the moment is ugrading your membership to Gold or UKSB – good prices on supplies and materials.
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quote Phill:Hi HunterI think you’d be better off manufacturing blinds or conservatories. There’s already too many wannabee signmakers in this country 😕
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
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We charge by the metre 😀 Cant quite get my head around the per letter way 😕 But we all do things our own ways!!
Im sure Phill meant what he said in the most loving of ways 😉 :lol1:
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quote Phill:Hi HunterI think you’d be better off manufacturing blinds or conservatories. There’s already too many wannabee signmakers in this country 😕
Nice to meet you too Phil 😉 😀
thanks guys the information is very well appreciated
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quote Chris Hooper:Best bit of money you can spend at the moment is ugrading your membership to Gold or UKSB – good prices on supplies and materials.
I’m waiting on it as we speak matey. more looking forward for the write ups etc
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Hi Derek
welcome
we also charge by the metre, dont forget if you are doing a shadow you are using twice as much vinyl I’m sure you know that any way 🙄Lynn
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good point that Lynn, i’ve almost forgotten to order the shadow colour when ordering the vinyl on a couple of occasions !!!
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Hi Hugh, try & get as much as you can for your work, never mind the begrudgers, phill you were in the same position once! a wannabie i think you call it!!!!
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as were we all Eddie 🙄
Lynn
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you’re right eddie, i’ve actually begun to lose jobs based on price now, so i guess i must be about right, geting about 75% or more of jobs i quote for now,
i also agree with ???? who said about adding 30% for small lettering, it can be a real pain, and often cost you more time, either n slower painstaking weeding, or re-cuting a job because you’ve not noticed a letter or two has come away with the weeded vinyl, and 8 out of ten times you’ll not find it, and rarely if you do will it be useable !!!
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quote eddie cotter:Hi Hugh, try & get as much as you can for your work, never mind the begrudgers, phill you were in the same position once! a wannabie i think you call it!!!!Phils turned into a grumpy ol’ geezer recently, he must be going through something serious Trust me, he is not usually like this.
Peter -
Phil- you got an opinion and you made it- can’t see what’s wrong with that.
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Derek said:
quote :until i get the swing of things?And you will get swing of things and know what to charge
As the others: Don’t sell yourself shortRemember too its not about vinyl
Its about intelligent design and craftsmanship…You can’t buy this in metres -
I had this terrible dream.
I dreamed I was up a ladder and I accidently banged my head on a projecting sign. Anyway, the blow to the head made me go a bit funny and I started slagging off newcomers to the uk signboards.
Thank goodness it was all just a dream 😮
Anyway – welcome to the signboards Derek and good luck with your new business 😀 😳
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😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
good morning Phill
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 -
Phil – nicely put mate 😀
Well done Derek on going Gold I’m sure it will be worth every penny it was for me.
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always the diplomat phill :thumbsup:
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Pricing can be difficult at the best of times but I use a very simple formula that has worked for 25 years and I still make a healthy profit. I simly add up ALL the materials costs I mean everything including travel, double it and add 50%, My prices always seem to be within a few quid of other sign shops.
Also a bit O/T and NOT aimed at Derek or this post subject, but I can actualy empathise with Phills comment to some extent, there does seem to be a load of new blood coming into the trade within the last year, nothing wrong with that they are most welcome, we always need talented designers / applicators etc. However there also seems to be a lot of posts around from newbies of the “how do I apply vinyl” “will you design my sign for me” theme, and there have been some that basic. I wouldnt dream of suddenly saying “I know I’ll become a plasterer today” then go on ukplasterboards (pun intended) and post how do I apply plaster. I did an apprenticeship in the trade and learnt about colour, legability and layout, but now you just spend £2k on kit and wey hey your a “signmaker”……… not. I stress this is NOT aimed at Derek or any particular “newbie” just as I see it from the posts of late. I should also say that I have also seen some newbie work posted that was of very good quality. I know we are all prepared to help out anyone, I have also asked for advice. I teach signmaking at the local college and I know I’ve helped a lot of youngsters and not so young into the trade many of them are now my competition but newcomers should really seek some kind of training in the basics and while some of that training/help can come from these boards in the way of advice and tips and tricks it is not a substitute for hands on training. My workshop doors are always open to anyone and still do get past trainees coming back or phoning for advice which I gladly give where I know the answer. My signature on these boards when we had them was “never too old to learn”
Just my 2p’s worth and slap on th wrists accepted with grace. Off my soapbox now. -
could not agree with you more signworxs, again my comments are not aimed at any one in particularly, but i spent 8 years learning my trade working for other sign makers before i started on my own and did a two year city and guilds in sign writing, but as you say 2k and your a sign maker, a very big not (:) i have no problem with new comers at all but please try and get some experience before you set up on your own. i see to many signs of late that are just crap, poor design and my pet hate, poor colour choice, and the lowering of the price of full colour machines has even court some of the established sign guys & girls out, how many full colour jobs have you seen that are just crap and illegible? designing a full colour sign is much different to cut vinyl in many ways, but good design and choice of colours is key to both and that comes with experience.
rant over
Paul
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Good recovery Phil 😉
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£3k actually 😉
plus a whole lot more invested in stock, workshop etc 😕 !
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