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13' Box Truck - Straight Cut Vinyl

JAMEY

New Member
Here is one I did Friday and Saturday. The photo is not the actual because we forgot the camera yesterday. I actually bartered this job and some more for a snowmobile. It was my first box truck. The customer chose the font and colors. IMO, the Capital District Services should have been all solid. Maybe an outline if he wanted. We gotta do what makes the customer happy though.

  • 1 hour meeting to design with customer to his likings.
  • Cut and prepare Oracal 651 vinyl.
  • Install with 2 people. It took us a day and a half.

What would you guys charge for this box truck alone?
 

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Malkin

New Member
(realizing that this is in the public area, so I'll only speak in terms of retail prices)

I would probably quote it in the $1400 - $1600 range, depending on some factors. With the tighter economy, the customer would probably ask what could be done to get the cost down some, and I would suggest reducing the outlines and multicolors.

My material of choice would be cast 220 or maybe digiprint&cut with 180c/8518 lam.
 

JAMEY

New Member
That's what I was figuring close to. He is my brothers best friend.

I also did his pickup truck. I hated the "District Services" placement but he had to have it there. The truck looks real good in person. I wasn't real crazy about the colors. I attached a couple actual pics of it.

I also did a bunch of shirts, hats, hoodies, and 50 uv printed yard signs for him. All for that snowmobile. I told him he got a STEAL on what I gave him but he didn't seem to think so.

Overall, he is real happy with what he got...and I know he should be.
 

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Malkin

New Member
I would say it was a steal (did he have a reasonable asking price on the snowmobile?)

Generally pavers/sealcoaters and the like are sorta like typical real estate agents, they aren't happy about the price until it's free.

I find it hard to understand the mentality. I've always been happy to pay a fair price for something I find to be of value, even more so if it's a local business. I want to help them be there in the future.
Of course, lots of times I just can't afford it, so I have to wait.
Lots of people though seem to get their kicks on getting stuff for as cheap as possible, with no thought as to how it affects others.

/rant
 

OldPaint

New Member
1 hour meeting to design with customer to his likings.
Cut and prepare Oracal 651 vinyl.
Install with 2 people. It took us a day and a half.
the hour should be a minimum of $50. even with intermediate vinyl, doing all the 2 color lettering, which is double the application time and tape, would almost double the price per sq ft i would charge for a single color.
just figuring the 2 sides at 72 sq ft, and doing this in one color, i would get no less the $8 a sq ft, so being double application, i would go to $16 a sq ft. or $2300.00 for both sides.
if you did the back door same way, that is usually a 7' x 7' area so add another $800.00
also there was 2 of you for day & half.........i presume your day would be 8-10 hours and 5 more for 1/2 day, total 15 hours.
15 hours @ $30 an hour.......is $450 each. so doing this at $1400 or less, you did give it away. @ $2300.00 it was a profitable job.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Not gonna discuss pricing here in the open forums, but if everyone's happy, then all must've gone well.

There are a multitude of things to discuss on this, but since price is the only one you brought up..... I'd say you... more than him made out.
 

JAMEY

New Member
Thanks guys. I was thinking in the same range really. I told him it was worth around $2000 no problem and he was like "no way."

My bro said he knew a guy that does 24' enclosed trailers for like $600. I told him that yeah...probably a single color name and phone number.
 

AUTO-FX

New Member
to me, ..... it's hard to read from a distance. so how much is that worth....
but no disrespect at all intended to your design because it
DOES look cool!!! looking cool means ALOT these days - wether you want to embrace that or not, but sometimes we forget about readability and advertising impact, dont you think ?
 

JAMEY

New Member
to me, ..... it's hard to read from a distance. so how much is that worth....
but no disrespect at all intended to your design because it
DOES look cool!!! looking cool means ALOT these days - wether you want to embrace that or not, but sometimes we forget about readability and advertising impact, dont you think ?

I told him the same thing and could not change his mind. Those letters should have been solid. Asphalt & Sealcoating Division should have been bigger also. Even the yellow and green being switched in capital would have make it better putting the darker outline on the outside for more contrast against the white.
 

The Sign Dude

New Member
Here is one I did Friday and Saturday. The photo is not the actual because we forgot the camera yesterday. I actually bartered this job and some more for a snowmobile. It was my first box truck. The customer chose the font and colors. IMO, the Capital District Services should have been all solid. Maybe an outline if he wanted. We gotta do what makes the customer happy though.

  • 1 hour meeting to design with customer to his likings.
  • Cut and prepare Oracal 651 vinyl.
  • Install with 2 people. It took us a day and a half.
What would you guys charge for this box truck alone?

A day and a half with 2 people on a truck that size? Why did it take so long?
 

JAMEY

New Member
A day and a half with 2 people on a truck that size? Why did it take so long?

RIVETS, WIND, AND DOUBLE APPLICATION...


This was supposed to be done on a trailer where we could remove the rivets. The customer bought the truck and said lets do the truck instead. He said it was flat. He said not to bring our ladders because he had it all there. He does have a really nice shop so I figured it was okay.

I was told the surface was flat so we used calendered vinyl to keep the cost down. When I got there, I saw those rivets and knew it would be a PAIN with calendered and told him all about it. The trailer we were supposed to do was sitting right there and we could have taken the rivets out. It was brand new. He still wanted to put it on the truck. I will never lay calendered over rivets again. NEVER.

The customer (2.5 hours south of me) was supposed to register the truck so he could get it to his father-in-laws garage because it wouldn't fit under his (10' doors). Guess what, the truck would not fit in his father-in-laws garage either. We had to do it outside with occasional wind gusts...so there was a LOT of taping/untaping going on.

We could not get a lift so we worked off 2 step ladders (one was a 6 footer) and the back of his rack truck.

In the end...he got what he wanted, and I got an education.
 

JAMEY

New Member
I sold the snowmobile for $1900. And 651 over rivets....that was his fault. He had a perfectly new trailer right there where the 651 was supposed to go. All we had to do was take the torx head rivets out. That was what the 651 vinyl was SUPPOSED to go on.

Once I cut/weeded all that 651 and put on application tape...it was his. He owned it. There was NO WAY I was gonna come out of pocket or time for some 751 or whatever. He knew what he would be getting if I went over those rivets and he still wanted it. I told him not to put my name with it though...lol.

Again...in the end...he got a steal...and I got an education.
 

B Snyder

New Member
I hope a lot of people that read this post got an education too. Most important lesson, IMHO, is that when it's your business you need to be a leader and be in control of it. These sort of nightmare jobs occur when you believe "We gotta do what makes the customer happy..." and allow the client to dictate everything.
 
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