Signs Express
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How do you deal with vistaprint customers?
- Thread starter Signs Express
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Rodi
New Member
Rodi
New Member
Have her pay for the design, and you don't have any worries of color matching or fonts or anything else. That is good!
Circleville Signs
New Member
This one is easy:
Vista doesn't offer free design services. If you already have your artwork ready to go, and you dont' care if it looks like crap, then hey - use them.
otherwise, you are paying for a DESIGN first and foremost - and a physical piece of cardstock second.
Gary
Vista doesn't offer free design services. If you already have your artwork ready to go, and you dont' care if it looks like crap, then hey - use them.
otherwise, you are paying for a DESIGN first and foremost - and a physical piece of cardstock second.
Gary
mark galoob
New Member
vista print is a lot like the walmart of printing...usually business people that want this type of product, arent your customers anyway. when somebody shows me one of their cheap crappy looking products, i can identifiy them immediatly and tell them so and why.
it does not matter to these people, they really are not my customers.
mark galoob
it does not matter to these people, they really are not my customers.
mark galoob
ucmj22
New Member
I think these .com printers are great for freelance designers. I even found one that gives out free hard copies to wholesalers/designers. But as was said before, if you're not a designer, you're going to get a cookie cutter design. people have a real hard time right now paying for design and of course everyone thinks they are a designer. What I have done, it put my best cards out front, die cuts, spot gloss', superior designs, and when they see those and want something that good. they will know they cant get it from their templates.
Dice
New Member
We usually say, "Keep our number handy when you get your stuff from VistaPrint you'll be calling us" They do absolutely horrible work.
We did some competitive analysis of them and many was their quality poor. Business cards were cut badly, frayed edges. Car Magnets were a joke, light as paper, cut badly (you could see a barcode on one side). We'd had a few customers call in say that they have ordered from VistaPrint after ordering with us, apologized and said they are never leaving us again.
"You get what you pay for"
We did some competitive analysis of them and many was their quality poor. Business cards were cut badly, frayed edges. Car Magnets were a joke, light as paper, cut badly (you could see a barcode on one side). We'd had a few customers call in say that they have ordered from VistaPrint after ordering with us, apologized and said they are never leaving us again.
"You get what you pay for"
Slamdunkpro
New Member
Fun Vistaprint story.
Woman came in wanting 15 18x27 coroplast signs. I gave her a price and got the "deer in headlights" look and the "but I can get them from Vistaprint for $xx.xx" Ooookay, "Can't you match them?". I asked her what the art looked like and she gave me a flyer. "We want this reproduced"
What was it? C'mon, you know, you can say it.
"Stop WalMart - Save our local businesses"
Never one to let a teachable moment pass, I immediately told her. "You know, I can come close because I send a lot stuff out to Vistaprint also, I just love them! Since I started using them to keep up with customers like you, I've been able to lay off 3/4 of my staff and save a ton on salary and labor. In fact I'm getting ready to close up the shop, sell the equipment, and go internet only so I can just outsource everything to large remote companies".
She gave me the order - at my original price.
Woman came in wanting 15 18x27 coroplast signs. I gave her a price and got the "deer in headlights" look and the "but I can get them from Vistaprint for $xx.xx" Ooookay, "Can't you match them?". I asked her what the art looked like and she gave me a flyer. "We want this reproduced"
What was it? C'mon, you know, you can say it.
"Stop WalMart - Save our local businesses"
Never one to let a teachable moment pass, I immediately told her. "You know, I can come close because I send a lot stuff out to Vistaprint also, I just love them! Since I started using them to keep up with customers like you, I've been able to lay off 3/4 of my staff and save a ton on salary and labor. In fact I'm getting ready to close up the shop, sell the equipment, and go internet only so I can just outsource everything to large remote companies".
She gave me the order - at my original price.
Vista Prints does some great work. I don't use them.. but, they offer a 16pt cardstock instead of the flimsy crap that most printers offer (12pt). For paper printing I'd use Jakprints they offer a great product and print with SOY inks and use an aqueous coating instead of a UV coating.
Anyway, short run business cards are usually printed digitally and longer runs are done with an offset press. Usually there is a big difference between digital and offset. Check your sources first.
Does your sign shop charge set up fees? If so, I think it's time to get rid of the set up fees and get with the rest of the world. So many screen printers are still charging $30 screen fees. If you're looking to get more business study the competition. If you want the short run stuff (runs under 2 dozen) then this doesn't apply to you.
People are complaining that the economy "stinks" and that there is no work out there. False, there is work everywhere. Just because someone doesn't walk into your shop today and buy a sign doesn't mean "no one" is buying anything. I think it's time for the people who are complaining they aren't making money to step up their game or get out of the other shops way who actually are motivated to get work.
If pricing jobs (3) times the cost of the competition is something you've seen happen more so then not.. it's time to look at how efficiently your shop is running. There must be a reason some shops can charge less then you. How much money is wasted on "retail" fronts. Why not look into getting a warehouse where you can have 3 times the space for the same rent cost... I still think it's funny that all the sign shops out there are cutting down decals by hand.
Sorry for sounding like Im b*tching but, what I said is true. It's 2010 now and the way people run their businesses needs to change. Old school isn't going to work in this economy.
Anyway, short run business cards are usually printed digitally and longer runs are done with an offset press. Usually there is a big difference between digital and offset. Check your sources first.
Does your sign shop charge set up fees? If so, I think it's time to get rid of the set up fees and get with the rest of the world. So many screen printers are still charging $30 screen fees. If you're looking to get more business study the competition. If you want the short run stuff (runs under 2 dozen) then this doesn't apply to you.
People are complaining that the economy "stinks" and that there is no work out there. False, there is work everywhere. Just because someone doesn't walk into your shop today and buy a sign doesn't mean "no one" is buying anything. I think it's time for the people who are complaining they aren't making money to step up their game or get out of the other shops way who actually are motivated to get work.
If pricing jobs (3) times the cost of the competition is something you've seen happen more so then not.. it's time to look at how efficiently your shop is running. There must be a reason some shops can charge less then you. How much money is wasted on "retail" fronts. Why not look into getting a warehouse where you can have 3 times the space for the same rent cost... I still think it's funny that all the sign shops out there are cutting down decals by hand.
Sorry for sounding like Im b*tching but, what I said is true. It's 2010 now and the way people run their businesses needs to change. Old school isn't going to work in this economy.