Hi folks I would like to find out how many sign people regularly make their prices reflect increased costs?(inflation, increases in material costs, heating and power, etc)
I know heating and power, not to mention gas prices(don't get me started!)have impacted my business this winter. I will adjust prices to reflect these changes.
I know some however,who haven't changed the price of a sign in 12 years, unless it is to price it LOWER in order to get a job.
I wonder how many people find themselves never consider a price increase, only decreases? Is this a mindset or a rut? I know I can't run a business that way.
BTW, here is my joke of the day.... A woman and her husband interrupted their vacation to go to the dentist. "I want a tooth pulled, and I don't want Novocain because I'm in a big hurry", the woman said. "Just extract the tooth as quickly as possible, and we'll be on our way." The dentist was quite impressed. "You're certainly a courageous woman, he said. Which tooth is it? The woman turned to her husband and said, "Show him your tooth, dear."
Ivan Allan Saskatchewan Canada
------------------
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Yes my prices regulary get increased. If they didn't I'd be losing money instead of earning money. I have never had a single customer ask about why the prices have increased because that is a normal part of THEIR business too.
------------------ Dave Grundy shop#340 AKA "applicator" on mIRC "stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!" in Granton, Ontario, Canada 1-519-225-2634 dave.grundy@quadro.net www.quadro.net/~shirley "A PROUD $ supporter of the website"
Posted by Brad Farha (Member # 931) on :
Yes, they do. But I would have to admit that for the first five years I was in business I didn't realize that they needed to, and/or wasn't willing to raise them and risk losing 'customers.' As my clientele was upgraded, the ease in which I adopted this routine practice increased.
Ivan, Yes, we occasionally have to but it seems to be not near soon enough. Everyone (including myself) should have an increase at least twice a year to keep up with inflation but I tend to only go up on shop labor every 4 to 5 years. We do keep up with daily increases in materials and supplies and these are passed on to the customer as they come but 'hidden' and out-of-sight expenses like insurance, taxes, and other things you don't pay for every day can soon mount up and suddenly you find you havn't equated this into your rates. The energy increases this winter is a killer on all of us in the colder climes, my heating costs have doubled and gasoline is on another rise, where have all the excess profits from this little ploy gone? The government has yet to tell us a when, where or how for the reason, they appear to be dumbstruck (as usual) and blame it on supply and demand. I bought my propane fuel well before winter and it was already near double from the previous year so that 'supply and demand' was not even in effect at the time,,,, except in the commodities and futures traders on Wall Street. In the news this AM, California came close to a 'blackout' yesterday because of damage at a nuclear site and because several power plants were shut down for (as the they stated) 'routine maintenance'. Makes me wonder why their routine maintenance can't be scheduled in a staggered time frame instead of all at once! Wake up America, there is no shortage of energy only a glutton of greed. There is no shortage of gasoline only a bunch of greedy people running OPEC. So what are we to do? Think I'll go up on my prices, (double) especially to anything that closely resembles 'government' and all it's subsidized entities.
------------------ Larry
Elliott Design McLemoresville, Tn.
If you can't find the time to do it right, where gonna find the time to do it over?
Posted by LazyEdna (Member # 266) on :
There's never a shortage of cheap customers.. just the high quality customers we all love... I'd rather fight over those rare customers than the cheap ones. Pick your battles. About fuel prices... I suggest the problem is INDEED greed, but the "oil boys" have made sure there's no support for R&D into alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar, and biomass, etc. And anyone with a functioning brain knows we have no solution to the "problem" of nuclear waste from that type of energy production.... so what's the solution? I dunno.. America just put two BIG OIL boys in the White House... Guess we will continue to steal from our grandchildren to support our wasteful lifestyle. So don't complain when they pick a crappy rest home for us when we start drooling. LE
------------------ LazyEdna in RL known as Sara Straw from southern Utah 5 National Parks within 3 hours drive Red Rock Heaven
Posted by Ron Percell (Member # 399) on :
7% at least, each year between jobs.
Also, I never want to be the low bid, so I tend to double the price guide, it seems to keep the quality customers coming in, most customers seem to go for the middle of the road bid.
One thing I did to get past the hurdles of best bids was to offer three different price ranges, instead of haggering over price, and backing that up with the best of materials that can be used.
This allowed me to bring all of my pricing up without losing any profit.
I prefer to take my best design, then make two or three copies of it that I dumb down(less complex/options). This way I can control my profit.
Bottom Line became that I used to take my bids personally when someone said I charge too much. Now they pick their own level.
------------------ Ron Percell Percell Signs 707-769-0639 Petaluma, California
wish i could raise prices....1986 i was getting $200 for a 4x8 and the 1/2 mdo was $28.00, now i get $250(unless they find some idiot with a new plotter and computer to do it for $100)and the mdo now costs $35.00. 2 truck doors in 86 was $100...got people doin em for $45.....find a few good customers that dont mind paying for good work....i think the quality of the customers...have gone downhill......
[This message has been edited by old paint (edited January 12, 2001).]
Posted by cheryl nordby (Member # 1100) on :
At times my prices increase with how much of a pain in the ass the customer is. And if needed, the price increases to the point where I am just too expensive for their sign needs. I have done this twice in the last year. Not because I think I am so great. But because the customer was so indecisive, and wanted such a 'deal' all the time, that it was taking too much time! And quite frankly, got on my nerves.
