Van pricing – opinions?

[Robert Lambie]

not too low… but you can get stung in two ways…
lets say the guy has a small van and only wants a business name and number both sides. its the too high…
same thing if he wants lots on the van with colour matched vinyl and complexed logo… then your too cheap.

you should have a picture or mockup artwork showing indications of what you get for the prices your quoting. with disclaimer for things like un-stocked colours, logo setup etc all being extras

also, mack sure you indicate what is a "big van" would this be a transit swb or a sprinter lwb… big differences 😮

your also backed to the old argument… what i recon a good price for a van is probably to low for what folk expect to pay the in the London area.

[David Rogers]

Rob’s right.

It’s such a wide variety of coverage and areas, with dozens of options for overlays, shadows & logo generation.

A cheap ‘escort’ van can can just be the two side panels, a name & tel # in one colour – you can churn it out in 40minutes..including the ‘design’ work for £60 if the customer wants it REALLY basic…and some do! – Or have every panel, multiple layers – blending into the door handle recesses – £180.

I do big LWB transits & sprinters with almost total coverage in standard vinyl that go out at over £350 without getting into extra expenses like reflective vinyl, but also done some with minimal coverage – just the side & rear panels for £150.

When quoting a customer – especially over the phone I ALWAYS ask what sort of coverage they are after, that way you don’t scare off the wee guys that want just a basic "name ‘n’ number" or screw yourself when it turns out its a LWB H/T that needs flood-coated panels.

1. What type of van
2. What variant
3. What coverage
4. How many colours, and shadows or separate or
5. Any fades, gradients or photographic required.

Then ball-park it, eg. SWB Transit Normal coverage, two colours – (shadow), customers own easily replicated logo.
£150 no shadow to £190 with the shadow plus £25 for the logo.
Customers SEEM to be more responsive when you narrow it down & leave the final amount in their hands.

Or you can just do what I do (for about 75% of all jobs). Ask, "What’s your budget?" Can save a lot of embarrassed faces – and can actually help MAKE you money as when you then say that you will give them two or three options – budget – a bit under – and max it out.

If they already have in in their head that then have either £100 or £600 to spend, you can save YOUR time & money by targeting what they are willing to spend.

Dave

[John Simpson]

I find that the best way to handle a phone enquiry from a prospective customer who is asking the age old question of "how much will it cost to letter my van"……….is to invite them to your office to design the van in front of them for a fee of £30 (to be taken off the price of the completed job)

This way i find you are almost certain that the job is yours.

Make sure they know that the cost of £30 is paid before you let them take a print out away with them…..that way the chances are they won’t go to your competitors with it to try to get a cheaper price.

It works for me.

Cannot really comment on your idea of pricing as it depends where you are in the UK as to what you need to charge, also depends on your overheads.

L J

[Hugh Potter]

i carry around a portfolio of most of my previous work, the date and the price are always clearly visible, that way you can show the customer a better idea of what his/her money will get, admittedly it’ll not work too well over the phone, though i have guided people to my online folio and then given prices for jobs they asked about,

if the customer wants a price there and then, i just say "start from £80 mate… all depends on the design" if they’re serious they’ll take the time to see you, £80 would only realistically get them name and number on 2 sides of a small van !

[Dennis Van Der Lingen]

we charge per square meter.
to be simple here’s an example of cut vinyl:

for cut vinyl we have a basic price
we add a percentage according to the jobs specs for instance:
cut vinyl on pick-up: basic price
with application (no heat gun needed) +25%
with application (heat gun needed) +50%
when letters or shapes are smaller then 5cm in height +10%

with digital white the’re are more specs like printresolution, lamination, blablabla

if you have counculated (hope i spelled that right) it right with respect for the time and material difference and it’s cost you’ll get a good price for a job well done

[Jon Stephens]

thanks dennis … i’ll try that on my next quote and see how it comes out !!

Jon