Higher prices appear to be here to stay

[Kim Stevenson]

Higher prices appear to be here to stay.

Let’s talk about managing inflationary costs, or more passing them along to the market.

Vinyl, laminate and so on are pretty straight forward as the increases are simply passed through when quotting.

But have you increased your sq/fr price for printing? How about labor? Enough to accommodate for the changes?

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

yea

 

[Gino]

Higher prices are always here. Get used to it.

 

[netsol]

of course high prices are here to stay
the election results said "give me more of the same"

 

[Kim Stevenson]

of course high prices are here to stay
the election results said "give me more of the same"

The monetary policies of this country and most all other large nations and the actions (really existence) of the Federal Reserve have going on much longer than the recent election cycles. But the point of the post was about coping with the resulting market conditions. Has your business raised price per sq/ft of output and labor, not just passing along material increases? How much, perhaps as a percentage?

 

[Kim Stevenson]

Higher prices are always here. Get used to it.

Oh, we haven’t seen anything yet… Just wait and see what the next 8 or so years of the next business cycle will bring. So have you raised your per sq/ft price for print and labor, or just passing on material cost increases?

 

[FireSprint.com]

Yes. All these cost increases are and should reflect in pricing. You can use something like our shop rate calculator to figure your hourly shop rate. My guess is that many of your input costs today are 10-50% higher than they were two years ago. This doesn't necessarily mean your hourly rate will go up that much, you just need to calculate it out.

Shop Rate Calculator: How To Calculate Your Shop Rate

Estimating the average rate to charge customers can be difficult, but thankfully there are tools out there, like the FireSprint shop rate calculator, that can help!

firesprint.com

In a perfect world, inflation wouldn't actually "hurt" anyone's business. Our shop rates and material costs would rise (and sometimes fall) based on the market prices of stuff. But in reality, we're all hesitant to pass on price hikes to customers, so we eat the cost for a while. At least until we see our competitors start to raise their prices.

 

[garyroy]

KIm, what is you approach to it?

 

[Gino]

Oh, we haven’t seen anything yet… Just wait and see what the next 8 or so years of the next business cycle will bring. So have you raised your per sq/ft price for print and labor, or just passing on material cost increases?

I'm not really sure what or who's crystal ball you're looking into, but you might consider what puts food on the table, keeps your employees happy and pays the taxes. If you're doing that, you should be happy. Otherwise, raise your prices (if you're worth it) and move on.

Your question is kinda basic business101. One is ALWAYS raising pricing according to their environment. If you wait to see what everyone else is doing, you'll be left in the dust. Be a leader, not a follower. Besides, what's it matter what ABC company is doing ?? They might have a totally different model, which could hurt you in what you do.

 

[Kim Stevenson]

Are you familiar with Austrian Economics and Praxeolgy? Very insightful study on business cycles. Not crystal ball theory. lol.

These fine folks have done studies on the Signs & Graphics industry and have presented very insight data for NASSD and SGS over the course of more than 10 years.

Home - ITR Economics

ITR Economics is committed to providing the best economic intelligence to reduce risk and driving practical and profitable business decisions.

www.itreconomics.com

 

[Gino]

According to your calculations, I've been through 6.5 business years of your scenarios. There are so many therioes taking place you can pick several at a time and run with 'em. Rather than dwell on theories, I just tend to push forward with my own business model. It has its ups & downs, but it wasn't based on fascism, nazism or any other fearing factors.

So, what do you really want to discuss..... or debate ??

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Kim, you'll have to try harder than these open-ended vague questions to engage this crowd. We've all been discussing this for while now and you're just now asking this question? No one is impressed with your "we haven't seen anything yet". I've seen a lot of weird stuff on the internet, so I doubt you can show me something I havn't seen yet.

 

[Kim Stevenson]

Kim, you'll have to try harder than these open-ended vague questions to engage this crowd. We've all been discussing this for while now and you're just now asking this question? No one is impressed with your "we haven't seen anything yet". I've seen a lot of weird stuff on the internet, so I doubt you can show me something I havn't seen yet.

Don't really care if you're impressed or not. Feel free to not engage in conversation.

 

[Kim Stevenson]

KIm, what is you approach to it?

Hi Gary,

Good question. We've haven't really raised our per sq/ft cost of output yet, but I think we need to. We have raised our labor/shop rate considerably. Also considering raising boom lift install rates. Other than that, we're investing and changing our go to market strategy and not taking own any debt in the short term. We're looking to run lean, be small but profitable. Looking to bring on staff in more of an apprentice role rather than paying over-valued labor rates. Certainly don't have all the answers.

How about you?

 

[garyroy]

Prices go up, not usually down. It's a good business practice to raise overall prices to customers just a little bit every year.
We're trying to keep as profitable as possible. If we don't raise our prices for 10 years and then try to do it all at once, that's price shock to everyone.
So, we do a little increase every year. Covid brought some unique dynamics to material prices, but I don't know what the future holds.
I certainly would not base anything on what the Austrians say. Their entire GDP is about 450 billion. We have 2 companies that are each bigger than that, Walmart and Amazon.

 

[Gino]

Hmm...... one could go either way on this. Could say, sounds like ya got a good plan, but easier to say..... using key words and hoping for the best, seems more appropriate.

Feel free to engage or get real. Ya can sh!t up your customers with throwing buzz words around, but many of us have seen your kind come & go. Wanna stick around ?? Get real. We're here to help, if ya really want help. Your choice.

 

[Kim Stevenson]

Prices go up, not usually down. It's a good business practice to raise overall prices to customers just a little bit every year.
We're trying to keep as profitable as possible. If we don't raise our prices for 10 years and then try to do it all at once, that's price shock to everyone.
So, we do a little increase every year. Covid brought some unique dynamics to material prices, but I don't know what the future holds.
I certainly would not base anything on what the Austrians say. Their entire GDP is about 450 billion. We have 2 companies that are each bigger than that, Walmart and Amazon.

Completely agree. Good practice to raise prices a little each year vs. big ones. We price just about everything based on current costs anyway, so it’s somewhat transparent to our customer base. Also, Austrian Economics is an economics discipline that has nothing to do with the country other than the economist that originated it were from Austria (late 19th and early-20th-century). Some consider it the lens through which to view all other economic theories. The company I referenced (ITR) have done work specifically for the Signs & Graphics industry and have some very compelling insight into the business cycles of the market.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I lowered my prices to get more work. Southern economics.

 

[Gino]

So, if you think ya have all this knowledge, why not share it, instead of backhanded questions ??

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Notareal, I'd like to circle back around and expand a little on what you said earlier. I think some of us could pivot and adopt your market strategy. Grabbing the low hanging fruit with compelling pricing strategies is the kind of innovative thinking I can appreciate. I think we could synergize our business ideas so feel free to expand on that and touch base with me tomorrow. I'll run it up the flagpole. Make sense Kim?