Help with pricing door/window decals and install

[Johnny Best]

Smoking? Purple Monkey Balls, really nice, got some from California last month when I drove out there to visit friend. Xman, you need to charge more for your work but maybe talent holds you back and smoke something to take your anger away.

 

[Gino]

In this place, ya hafta take the good with the bad. Keep asking pricing questions.... along with all your other inquiries, but be warned, many people lie.

 

[MikeSly]

Holy crap I'm in the wrong business. 30 mins layout, 1 maybe 2 hour install by yourself. It's 2 mins to remove a door handle.

You forgot 4 hrs drive time.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

You forgot 4 hrs drive time.

I didn't. I'd send a small bottle of rapid tack a squeegee and a youtube link of how they can do it themselves. Not driving 4 hours for a window, don't care what the pay is.

 

[signs_welly]

We'd charge a little more than Gino but that doesn't include travel time. We charge the same for travel time that we do for simple install time - that's time my guys aren't making money somewhere else so it's billable. If the customer is willing to pay for 4 hours travel time they must REALLY want to use our shop for some reason. That being said, we don't charge for travel time on local jobs within 10 miles of our shop - they get bundled with other jobs.

I'd send an installer and an apprentice for the larger job and just one installer for the outside door vinyl. I might send the apprentice out for experience but I wouldn't bill for it. Design time is padded into the cost of the decal itself. Some clients are easy and love the first thing I send them - some want to do a ton of revisions. It all evens out in the end. For jobs I know will take a lot of design time, we charge a design fee upfront - but this probably wouldn't have applied to this situation.

We're relatively new to the business - we took over this shop in early 2019 - it was previously run by my brother-in-law and I worked as administrative/customer service help in the shop for about 6 months before we took it over. I had limited knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and my husband was a CNC hobbyist. That was our background. We learned everything from reading forums, trial and error (and error and error) and as much training as my brother-in-law could give. In the beginning, I might have spent all night designing one banner because I was learning and second guessing myself. My husband and teenage son would do storefront installs at night when the customer was gone so they could take all night and not have anyone watch the screw ups. I cannot tell you the amount of vinyl that went in the trash. But we learned and we still learn. Jobs that might take us an hour from start to finish now might have taken us 4 or 5 hours back then. We worked ALL THE TIME. But we didn't charge our customers for our learning curve.

Keep asking questions and keep learning from the forums here - I search them on the regular. Some of the comments back will be a little rough no matter what you ask - just try to brush it off because there's always something to be learned even from the snarky comments.

 

[Lindsey]

$2k for a door vinyl and an 8’ x 3’ frosted window decal? I will order what you’re smoking. Make it a double! Thats the funniest **** i read all day!

I don't think Johnny is yanking your chain. I'd be pretty similar in pricing too. Near Toronto, in an urban area, in Canadian dollars...

A)
Frosted Vinyl - 8'x3' -No printing / Die-cut only ($600)
2 hours design time ($150)
Travel time - 2hrs each way x 2 installers ($400)
Installation on door and window (door required handle hardware be removed and reinstalled) ($300)
= $1450

B)
Frosted Vinyl - Printed / No Die-cut ($150)
White Vinyl - No Print / Die-cut only ($150)
2 hours design time ($150)
No travel time (within 1/2 hr radius)
Installation on door - 2 installers ($250)
= $700

If they were ordered at the same time, and installed at the same location, I'd lower it a bit, maybe 10%.

 

[Boudica]

Hello, islandwide! It was an interesting topic to read, and I am preparing to order some window decals and install them at my office doors, so now that I know the medium pricing, I can be sure that no one will trick me with an unfair price. I'm planning to install the UPVC french doorsin my office, so I wonder if maybe someone from here can give the approximate prices of each? I'm looking for 2 side decals for 4 of them, and one would be onesided. Any input on pricing and door material would be much appreciated.

Hey Mellissa, when we discuss pricing on this forum, it's for and among SIGN PROFESSIONALS. Not so you can argue price with your local printer.

 

[Stacey K]

Hello, islandwide! It was an interesting topic to read, and I am preparing to order some window decals and install them at my office doors, so now that I know the medium pricing, I can be sure that no one will trick me with an unfair price. I'm planning to install the UPVC french doorsin my office, so I wonder if maybe someone from here can give the approximate prices of each? I'm looking for 2 side decals for 4 of them, and one would be onesided. Any input on pricing and door material would be much appreciated.

Sounds like the perfect job to order online and install yourself. Then you only have yourself to trick!

 

[netsol]

In this place, ya hafta take the good with the bad. Keep asking pricing questions.... along with all your other inquiries, but be warned, many people lie.

Gino, i hate to tell you, but they lie in real life, as well, not just here...

 

[Gino]

What is real life, if not here ??

Actually, my statement was geared towards everyone in all walks of life.