-
More pricing problems
what do you make of this?
I guy in a second hand furniture shop asked me to quote him for a main above shop sign.
16 by 4 foot. one colour.
I said i could do it for him for £200 for pick up and without fitting; he said he had been quoted the same fitting included.
Was he just chancing his arm not realising that materials alone would be £100 odd.
Jimmy
-
4 Replies
-
Run a mile from this Jimmy!!!!
You can’t even make this sign properly yourself for under £200!!!
If you use 5mm foamex it’ll have more bends and curves than a skatepark.
I don’t even entertain jobs like this – let him go elsewhere.
To do it properly:
Materials….
2 sheets dibond or similar
Cast vinyl
app tape
FixingsYour time
Site survey
Design
ManufacturingI’d be looking at £540 absolute minimum for a simple sign on this basis, which would give you about £300 for your day’s work.
The more people who are new to the biz ( No disrespect to you Jimmy, You’re doing the right thing asking for help and guidance on pricing…), that churn out these huge signs for pennies cause so much harm to the sign business in the long term, and they usually don’t last longer than one year in most cases because they don’t make any money!
Cheers
Joe -
I would totally agree with Joe, walk away fro a job like this! you make no money from it , and the customer has no respect for you – if he needs something again he will treat you the same or worse becuase you were too cheap the first time! a job like that done properly should be 700 euro
regards
mike -
I sort of agree with Joe on this one.
Sure, I’ve knocked out 5mm foam 8×4’s, single colour for under £100 before – but it wasn’t even 20mins work, and it was to be ‘disposables’ for a very good customer.
If the customer wants cheap – give ’em cheap. Just explain that you get what you pay for…as he obviously doesn’t want to spend ANY money!
As for foam not being suitable at that size, IF it’s done PROPERLY a 16×4 sign will be just fine in a frame with no warping issues (retaining strips top & bottom, taped join etc.)…but will look ‘like a skate park’ if just screwed to a wall…and extra screws won’t fix it!
The customer’s trying it on with you. He may well have a cheaper quote. But I’d still be inclined to call his bluff on it, ‘chancers’ like this have a habit of complaining and wanting money back when it warps / gets broken during the first week it’s up!
A ‘proper job’ with good materials willl cost him £600+, but he’s not in the market for that and just want’s a cheap sign.
Best advice I can give is if you need the job – take the job….why go hungry to prove a point to somebody that doesn’t care? If you’ve got enough work to keep you going – stick to your guns…the hassle factor alone could be worth £200!!
Dave
Dave
-
thanks guys
between you you’ve confirmed what i was thinking all the time.
what happened was he bought some stuff from me form a flat i was moving out of and i noticed his van had no signage.
I offered and he said he was looking for a shop sign.
He said to come down and quote him later but when i said ( i have to take back the £200)it was £250 for pick up and self fit he said that he wouldn’t waste my time any longer: that’s when he quoted the 200 make and fit price.
I just shut my laptop down and said goodbye.
they local outfit he name dropped have a Cherry picker to work with I don’t know if its there’s but how can they make anything form 200 if they have that sort of expense.
tks all.
Jimmy
Log in to reply.