PVC Sign

[jimmya]

I've been asked to cut and paint both sides of this sign out of 1" white PVC. The numbers and border will not be painted. The sign is 8"x15" They gave me a price of $58.00. I think that is low? What would you charge?

Thanks For Your Help
Jimmy

10313

[harryball]

Two sided machining for 1 sign, face painted $150.00

Two sided / face painted qty 15+ $75.00 ea

25+ and we're getting into the $50 to $60 ball park.

Keep in mind, that is what I would charge because I don't care if I get the job but if I do I want to do it right and make something.

Don't forget, you'll likely have to buy a whole sheet even if you cut one sign.
You have to factor in hauling the pvc board.

Size doesn't so much matter, it takes about as much labor to do a 15 x 18 sign as a 24 x 48 sign (in this case). Once cut maybe what, 5 more minutes with a paint roller?

Good luck.

/RB

[bleeth]

Do you mean paint it first and then cut the numbers and border? Are they supplying material? Not much time involved for that one. Probably soend more time negotiating and doing paperwork than shooting some Krylon ($3.50/ can), programming (10 minutes) Setting up hold down and bit and cutting (15 minutes max). So you have 50 bucks for your hour. As long as you get it right the first time! Too much or too little is only to be determined by you, but lets face it, unless your business is built on multiple smaller jobs flowing through pretty quickly this is still minor part of a weeks pay.
If you're supposed to get a piece of material you don't already have laying around and supply it for that then you have lost money before you start.

[jimmya]

I forgot to mention it's for another sign company that I do very little work for.
I would have to supply the material on this job too.
Paint $3.50 material about $6.00. And it's only this one sign. They sent me a price list of what they would pay for routed Signs and Letters.
Jimmy

[myxpykalix]

I think you are looking at this the wrong way......

the price shouldn't be dictated by "what they pay"...

but by "what you charge".......

It probably will take less then an hour to do both sides for $50.00 profit.
Now you have to ask, for an hour of work is it worth 50., 60., 70? is the difference worth losing the job?
Of course the difference would buy you a couple more steak dinners (like you need them, right?) so keeping your waistline in mind i'd say take the money and run....lol:D

[Mayo]

If you have to supply the material, and you don't already have 1" thick PVC, keep in mind that will cost much more than what you will get for this one sign. How long will it take you to use the rest of the sheet?

Maybe instead of buying a full 4x8 sheet you can buy some PVC trim by the foot from the lumber yard. I haven't seen it at 1" thickness though.

Another thing to watch out for - you are engraving both sides, and if you're not careful with your maximum depth on the numbers, you may wind up cutting completely through the material if you engrave 1/2 inch deep on both sides. :eek:

[jerry_stanek]

I cut a lot of 1 inch pvc and it isn't a true 1 inch it is sold in MM not inch. 25 mm is what I can get. Don't know where to get small pieces of it but I get full sheets and I am able to use it up pretty quick.

[jimmya]

I have the material in my shop, no problem there, it's just doing this one sign without a commitment, there will be more than just this one. I think about the time I go get the color of paint they want and rout it,. I've made nothing to pay for my investment. And besides, unless I get more from them that uses the same color, I've got paint sitting there collecting dust and take up room that I don't have in the first place.
I'm like RB if they could give me 10 or 15 at a time, that might be good price.
I would like to send the price list to someone that would look at and let me know if it's the going prices as far as wholesale to another sign company.

Thanks for The Reply's!!!
Jimmy

cncsignshop@nc.rr.com (mhtml:{21D747F2-D910-46D7-A8D8-6E662C60DB81}mid://00000029/!x-usc:mailto:cncsignshop@nc.rr.com)

[JohnG]

I think you are looking at this the wrong way......

the price shouldn't be dictated by "what they pay"...

but by "what you charge".......

i'd say take the money and run....lol:D

I'd agree with the first part. You should be telling THEM what you charge.

But unlike Jarvis, I wouldn't boot up my computer for that price. Gotta figure an extra hour cleaning up that pvc mess also.

[jshoes51]

Well, if this is the first time you are working for this customer, you might want to go ahead and lose a little on this first job. It may be worth it in the long run if they keep coming back because they are happy with your work and your excellent service. That's the time for you to tell them what you are going to charge for a given sign.

[Gary Campbell]

Let me see if I understand.... Lose a little on each job, and then go for volume? What if the customer wants 50 more at the same price... all with different numbers?

Not that we dont want or need every job, especially in this economy, but its sometimes better to be sorry that you didnt get a job, than to be sorry you did.

The first job, in this case a single, should be priced higher than a unit price on a multiple unit job. Reduce the price only as a quantity discount. Quantity first, discount second.

If they are quoting you the prices, they must have info from another vendor, possibly one of the majors. You may be able to deliver quicker and without shipping charges. Gives you a leg up. Sell local service, not low price.

[bleeth]

I think I've heard that one before:
"Do this job cheap and I'll make it up on the next one."
"What's the matter, don't you trust me?"
"Don't worry, I'll still respect you in the morning."

Jim: If you are looking for an approval to do this job this way here it is-"You are an adult and can freely make your own choices."

If you wanted advice, looks like you got plenty.

Good luck with however you handle it and let us know the outcome. We're with you either way.

[coach]

If I have the material and didn't have it ear marked for a project and only painted before v carve, I would do it for 50.00. I have tried to sell signs like that for 25.00 but couldn't tap the market.

I would guess both sides cut at less than 10 minutes. At 50.00 that would be about 300.00 an hour.
I am doing a foam job now and not going to make nearly what I have into it. But it should turn into a good job. In this economy I take my chances.

[jshoes51]

Is the sign business different from other business? I've only been at it for a few years as I transition from the remodeling business, but here's how I built my remodeling business.

When we started remodeling houses 25 years ago, we started from scratch. When people called, they were interested in two things...price and how well they could interact with the contractor. We would always discount our price on the first job with a new customer if the customer met our criteria: easy to work for and communicate with, paid bills on time, could make decisions about the job quickly etc. Somewhere between year five and year ten, we found we didn't have to advertise. All we did after that was sponsor a few local kids' little league teams. We had such a good customer base built up we didn't need to advertise at all. Some customers dropped off the list, but they were always replaced by others who had gotten our name from existing customers.

So I think it's okay to discount the first job to get a new customer if you do it in such a way that you can still keep the upper hand. I was asked for quote on 40 trail signs for a local company that was doing a reforestation project. Signs had to be posted every 100 feet along the road. The old signs were mdf and falling apart. They wanted 40 12x18 two color signs with logo and text. I sent them a quote of 40 signs at $50 each. They countered saying they could only pay $40 each. I countered with a price structure of 40 @ $50, 50 @ $45, and 60 @ $40. They ordered 60 at $40, I cut them all in three days. I got 20 out a sheet of King Colocore so they needed no painting. I netted $1800 in those three days.

[jerry_stanek]

When I worked for one company they would tell their suppliers that if they did good then there was going to be more work for them. There rarely was it was just to get the job done as cheap as possible. The place I work for now ran into that problem where a customer said he wanted 450 units built and got a price per unit. Then only ordered 150 to start with and would be ordering more when those where shipped. They never did order any more.

[signtist]

I do this all the time for local shops. The trick is to keep it profitable.
By this I mean don't put in more time than needed. Spray paint with something quick and cheap-Krylon.
Not buying a special color to match the customers request.
Not painting and sealing the edges.
It has to be something that can be made in LESS THAN 1 HOUR TOTAL!!!
Incuding-e-mails, programing tool paths, painting, cutting, invoicing, chit-chat with the customer, etc.
John
www.signgraphics1.com (http://www.signgraphics1.com)
Make 1 as a test sample for your shop so you can point to one and say that one is $60 or that one is $500!!!! This works great.
Ive been doing it for 32 years now.