Coroplast Sign Pricing...

[KeithMan]

We do NOT have a flatbed printer, so the only way we can do coro signs is to print on pressure sensitive vinyl and mount it on the coro. Doing this we cannot justify doing this in house, so we send out to trade shops like Signs365 for small orders or Gill Line for larger ones and mark it up about 25 percent.

We do a lot of political printing and mailings, but can't seem to get into the yard sign market. We regularly bid jobs of hundreds or thousands of yard signs and even going down to a 15 percent markup, somebody else is getting all of the work. I have searched high and low and can't find anyplace on line that is cheaper than we are and I wondered if anyone had any insight into who might be doing all of these campaign signs so cheaply.

 

[Sindex Printing]

I have a hybrid uv and I can't compete with the places that silkscreens them and can crank them out. Check FireSprint.com does them at a good price and from what I have seen good quality.
The one thing that I offer that the big houses can"t is small runs, fast turn and on demand printing. We also really push the benefits of buying local. Local campaigns need to buy from local businesses.
Also I have run into the problem that they want a union shop to print them.
I just do 10 4x8, 8 3x6, and 50 2 sided 18x24, 25 6x18 in 2 days using the hybrid printer and doing vinyl.
Most importantly it helped make payroll for 2 people and we did a social media blast thanking them for supporting small local business. This lead to the politician gaining 45 new followers.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

You need to have them screen printed or do it yourself, there are many wholesale compaines that do them much cheaper then 365

 

[KeithMan]

I realize signs365 isn't cheap for larger quantities. Gill Line does high volume screen printing and we priced 20x26 inch 2-color 2-sided signs for about $3 each and the politicians never bite on that price.

 

[rossmosh]

You're competing with someone providing wholesale pricing. So they are either going directly to a wholesaler or are getting wholesale pricing from someone else.

Being a middleman is tough because unless you're offering a unique service, you can be easily replaced / removed from the equation.

EDIT: Also, I recommend asking who they're getting their signs from now. You might have to ask 10 people, but eventually you'll find out.

 

[KeithMan]

Most places that do wholesale say they won't deal directly with the client. They tout that they are trade only, but I have suspected that they are dealing directly with the campaigns and giving them the same price we would get.

 

[Gino]

About 10 years ago, a local guy was getting his 18×24s for 78 cents ea. Is that what you want ?? A race to the bottom ?? It might keep ya busy, but you ain't making squat, unless you have the machinery for it. If that's your cup-a-tea, go for it..... otherwise, try to find a more profitable niche.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Let's talk. We should help you be able to win more of these. It might take a little negotiating with your customer, but we can typically help you win these larger coro yardsign jobs. https://www.firesprint.com/yard-signs/

 

[netsol]

gino,
it seems obvious that keith, with no investment in specialty , can't compete with someone's multi million dollar invetment in high speed printing of yard signs (4' x 8' /second), but i am curious. HOW FAST is your flatbed? at a midrange or draft quality, now quickly can you print 4' x 8' ?

i am trying to wrap my head around where WE ARE GOING, if a decent flatbed would improve our situation. obviously, we need to find our niche, my computer consulting business has served the real estate business since 1992. i have extensive contacts with the MLS's (who don't buy or use signs) and name recognition among our state's realtors. to me, Dee Signs own that niche, so i have never bothered with anything except short run jobs

now that we have enough floorspace,i am not sure if i want a flatbed (very versatile) or a small screen printing setup (better to try to compete on high volume coro)

 

[Gino]

Our flatbed is not fast by today's standards. At draft type speeds, maybe 8pcs 4×8 an hour. Normal good production mode.... 4 an hour. High end maybe 2 an hour. I have quite a few profiles, so those numbers can be fine tuned I stopped trying to compete with places that do that and really just try to supply more locally, also..... higher quality. I'd rather get one job that pays $5,000 than 10 jobs paying $500 a pop. Lot less headache and hassle.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Depending on what you want to spend. There are alot of options. You'll find flatbeds will produce in this range depending on how much you are willing to spend:

$100k - 10 BPH
$200k - 20-60 BPH
$400k - 40-100 BPH
$1mm - 100-300 BPH

We screen print yard signs at 400-1200 24x18's (1 color 1 side) per hour depending on how we run them & ink variables. A screen printing setup isn't all that expensive, but the learning curve is longer than it is on a digital machine - at least for the "Printing" part of the equation.

Again, all we do is run material for the trade. If we can help, we would love to. We'll sell over a million 24x18's this year. EVERY one of them is being distributed through one of our nationwide resellers.

Full color, free shipping - https://www.firesprint.com/fast-free-coro/
Screen & Full Color, more options - https://www.firesprint.com/yard-signs/
Custom sizes & shapes - https://www.firesprint.com/4mm-corrugated-plastic/

 

[binki]

We see the same thing. We are ok on pricing for short runs but larger runs we can't and won't compete on. I would rather let it go than be unprofitable. We have a saying, 'We take the profitable jobs and leave the unprofitable ones to our competitors'.

Basically we have a market we operate in. Unless we are going to purchase equipment to compete in a market channel (we do that every few years) we don't even try. We quote a price with a decent profit and if they bite we are good, if not, we don't worry about it. We are better priced on some things and not on others. That is just the way it goes.

 

[Jeremiah]

I was thinking about the same job comparison. One job that pays 5000.00 vs. 10 jobs that pay 500.00. In my market and profit margin, I would take the 10 jobs. I consider them less of a problem and more profit. But I do see small sign people who do tiny jobs to stay busy . I do not agree with that at all. There us a reasonable profit for jobs. But I will not sit waiting for a big job either .

 

[Gino]

Alright, let's put it this way. Do you wanna d!ck around with 10 different customers, set up 10 different files, weed, print or whatever 10 different jobs and then collect on those jobs individually........ or do it one time, set up one job, do it and make a whole lot more profit ??

Let's say it's 10 different vehicles at maybe 1 a day. That's 10 days to make what one vehicle might do in 3 or so days, with a lot less headache and labor. You want to work smart..... not hard. At any given time, there are various jobs coming in and going out.....,all at the same time. So, while ya might have a few smaller jobs going on, that big one makes things run a whole lot nicer. Makes ya breathe easier, too.

Can you get 10 trucks back to back every 10 days ?? Will you have time to do anything else ?? Are you set up to do multiple jobs at once ?? If you're just waiting for jobs to show up, then yes...... you gladly take them all in, but as you grow, you will be getting rid of those less profitable ones. Wait and see. That's also how you raise your prices and become more efficient.

 

[Jeremiah]

Let's put it this way . I would love to have 5000.00 jobs walk in the door constantly all day long . But i know that doesn't happen and if it does, we have more overhead. There are 3 of us and sometimes 2 of us working. At the end of my business day ( not the work day) and we close out our register. We are in great shape! With the smaller jobs, everything is paid for as it goes out the door. No 30 - 60 days waiting for a check. That is why I will take 500.00 jobs with a smile. Sometimes I will take a 150.00 job and tell the customer that he is in production line. Estimated delivery 5 days. I point to the big jobs we working on. They always understand.

 

[Stacey K]

I like a variety of jobs. I usually take one day a week to do all my smaller jobs. Some days I'm surprised at how much profit there is, other days it feels like a wasted day. I have been turning away the smaller "personal" jobs unless I know I can pound it out quick for a good profit. And sometimes it's for a regular customer and you just have to do it.

I had a good customer ask me if I could make a recall sign. I said sure but don't advertise that I made it. I try to avoid the limelight with politics. So, she put it on her FB page and overnight had 75 orders for them. I figured maybe 2 or 3...It was 15 minutes of time to design it quickly and send the order out. It's a nice profit for me because I charged per sign, not for the bulk of 75. I should consider giving her a tip I suppose...

 

[d fleming]

I've been screen printing for over 40 years now and I won't lower my price to the point that I would win most political jobs. I do some, but they are mostly short run (by printing standards) or for a local race. I just scratch my head at some of the prices I see occasionally. I've seen some that are cheaper than my buying power can even acquire stock for.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Again, we can help with the 1-2 color corrugated plastic political signs. We should be able to help you win those jobs of 100-2500+ signs without too much trouble.

Low cost signs get campaign managers in the door. The signs are critical and what everyone looks at pricing on first, but once you get the signs, there's a fair amount of other business that can come with it. Promo products, advertising creative, etc. These products are often harder to compare and able to help with the overall profitability of the client.

https://www.firesprint.com/join

 

[Geneva Olson]

During the onset of the covid outbreak, I was doing yard signs for seniors. I made a cool $5000 doing 1 or two at a time. I had priced them right for individual consumers to gobble them up 5 at a time. I even got a school with it. We did custom orders and it was a nice boost to our sales. During that time I learned a lot about choroplast. One of the local UPS shops got a big order from a school. The only problem was he didn't have a printer to do the order, so he asked me to do them. When I saw how many there were, I gave him a good price on them. I was actually going to outsource them to a flatbed guy I work with. Turns out they were all going to each have a different photo on them, so the price went up. Suddenly the UPS guy said no go. WTH did he expect? He needs to find his OWN guy to work with. Plain and simple, that's 3 different people touching it. I wish the school would have come to me directly, I would have given them a better price. But, they see UPS and think that must be the best deal.
I have dealt with Realtors. They are the worst in the sign industry. They want everything at a deep discount. Sorry, no go. They can get their stuff online cheaper than my cost.
I do coroplast signs for customers but it looks like my accounts are shaping up to construction guys and roofing guys, house flippers, drive by birthdays and small schools needing custom signs. I'm ok with it. I'll make my money off of graphics for vehicles. ALL...DAY...LONG.

 

[Stacey K]

During the onset of the covid outbreak, I was doing yard signs for seniors. I made a cool $5000 doing 1 or two at a time. I had priced them right for individual consumers to gobble them up 5 at a time. I even got a school with it. We did custom orders and it was a nice boost to our sales. During that time I learned a lot about choroplast. One of the local UPS shops got a big order from a school. The only problem was he didn't have a printer to do the order, so he asked me to do them. When I saw how many there were, I gave him a good price on them. I was actually going to outsource them to a flatbed guy I work with. Turns out they were all going to each have a different photo on them, so the price went up. Suddenly the UPS guy said no go. WTH did he expect? He needs to find his OWN guy to work with. Plain and simple, that's 3 different people touching it. I wish the school would have come to me directly, I would have given them a better price. But, they see UPS and think that must be the best deal.
I have dealt with Realtors. They are the worst in the sign industry. They want everything at a deep discount. Sorry, no go. They can get their stuff online cheaper than my cost.
I do coroplast signs for customers but it looks like my accounts are shaping up to construction guys and roofing guys, house flippers, drive by birthdays and small schools needing custom signs. I'm ok with it. I'll make my money off of graphics for vehicles. ALL...DAY...LONG.

I made a TON off the individual senior signs and banners also! I was concerned about labor but once I got my templates, it went super fast. Only ran into a couple issues with photo quality. Will do this again next year for sure! I used Signs365 so had to order 10 at a crack but had weekly deadlines and it worked out fine.