• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Low cost substrate for snowball stand sign

S

scarface

Guest
Hey guys!

I have landed a excellent customer who owns a snowball stand locally and have done a banner and 2 menu boards so far for them.

They asked today about some yard signs (no problem) and a sign above the stand that says SNOWBALLS

They said up front that they didn't have alot of money for this startup but still wanted to get a sign up there.

They will be installing it and was thinking a rectangle sign (roughly 2x8') with some type of L bracket attached to the top of the stand which is a wooden shed basically. The roof has a slight pitch to it which is why it needs some kind of "legs" to attach it.

Does anyone here know a good substrate that would be durable but yet affordable? RTG MDO might work i'm thinking since it's around $60 a sheet 1/2"

Thanks!
 

iSign

New Member
oh well.. I guess I'm gonna dish out my own version of "sage advice" again...

...with my usual vinegar edge.. sorry, but I gotta say this...

I commented in your thread the other day, that I thought you would at least benefit from advice, and therefore were more worth giving it to then some of the n00bs who don't ever seem to "get it"

....but I'm gonna be honest with ya here... in my opinion, if you want to come here with questions like this every few days or every week, I think a sense of reciprocation is in order if you want people to enjoy helping you.

If you write about dealing with solvent fumes & all the experts say to properly vent them... but you say you don't think you need to, want to or can afford to... why ask?...maybe you did come up with some kind of solution... why not come forward & post your solutions so your friends here know their help did some good...

...or take that car show sign well over a dozen people tried to help you with? ...you never came back to show anyone you appreciated, learned from, or responded to anything said.. and then the famous jealousy thread.. hey 40 people can't all be wrong.. maybe you were wrong there.. hell being wrong happens to me all the time.. even saying "I was wrong... thanks for the new perspective" would go a long way...

...but once again, if you have so little participation in your own threads, and what there is ends up all defensiveness..

believe me, you can learn a lot here, and at least you're not afraid to ask questions... which is a good start... because I've seen a lot of helpful talented folks here try to help you... but bailing out of all your threads when you don't get the replies you want? ...that's getting old...

hey, maybe it's just me.. but I think the help is gonna flow more to a humble & appreciative apprentice who shows that what he has been told is paying off & improving him. I would have loved to see a really nice layout for your car show buddy, or hear a story about how you landed an extra hundred bucks upselling the guy to a classy aluminum panel with special order films & design fees... instead of a tacky sign-a-cade...

& I would have liked to hear that you had custom built your own low cost exhaust fans, maybe bought some large industrial filters from an automotive paint store.. maybe even posted plans to help the next guy... but for all we know, you didn't use ANY of the advice you were given, didn't even see the merits of it...

but you're back asking for advice again...

well, I got some for ya.
A guy who tells you he can't afford much needs you to draw a clear line between what ever it is that you can do, that he can't do.. if he can't afford much.. then DO THE MINIMUM!

Sell him cut vinyl, or a laminated print... or Techman's coro sign because once you start helping make a determination of what size or shape of "legs" is going to keep that cheap-ass sign he wants, from blowing into traffic & killing someone... that's when you become involved in CRITICAL problem solving, construction technology & industrial design... WHICH HE CAN'T AFFORD... and you can't afford to let him DIY it into some deathtrap without your even being a part of the actual installation... all the while for a $200 sign & some free installation advice, you could hook yourself onto a lawsuit..

make a coro sign, tell him to secure it to construction grade plywood.. if he's doing the install.. let him do ALL of it.

Good luck with the rest of your replies. I hope you let us know how this one pans out & I'll quit badgering you about it.
 

Fatboy

New Member
Scarface....no offense but if the customer can't afford quality signs then why do you call him an excellent customer?
 
S

scarface

Guest
Scarface....no offense but if the customer can't afford quality signs then why do you call him an excellent customer?

He's called a excellent customer because he is very easy going and i appreciate the opportunity to work with him. He owns about 2 other businesses which i will be doing vehicle lettering for very soon.

By him saying he doesn't have much money, he means for this business, his other businesses are separate and are established.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Jillbeans

New Member
Don't you have any Alumalite, Omegabond, or polymetal scraps?
I have oodles of 1'x8's.
MDO is heavy, while the Alumalite is lightweight yet quite sturdy.
I just had a 4'x8' Alumalite sign survive being hit with a pickup truck.
Does the customer really want a cheap and cheesy sign when he is trying to sell food items to the public?
Love....Jill
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Doug.... that was wonderful and inspiring.

I hope everyone reads that one.... because it sure is how most people feel.
 

SignManiac

New Member
Hey, give me a great cheap price on this sign an I have two other established businesses I might let you make signs for? This sounds oddly familiar.
 

UFB Fabrication

New Member
Hey, give me a great cheap price on this sign an I have two other established businesses I might let you make signs for? This sounds oddly familiar.


Funny I pulled into get some fuel and tried the same plan out. I told them if the sell me diesel today for 1.00 per gallon today and I will send a check over later in the week. I also explained that I have more trucks that need fuel as well. I dont understand they did not go for it.

Heyyyyyyy wait a minute I am thinking that all those people were not telling me the truth when the said the would buy more stuff from us if we gave them a really under priced job.
 

SignManiac

New Member
P.T. Barnum understood human nature very well. :Big Laugh

And what the hell is wrong with coroplast? Use your brains and you can engineer the stuff in the most surprising ways...
 

chopper

New Member
Hey, give me a great cheap price on this sign an I have two other established businesses I might let you make signs for? This sounds oddly familiar.
I use the wimpy line.....
I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today....
of course you could insert desired product in place of "hamburger"
//chopper
 

chopper

New Member
oh well.. I guess I'm gonna dish out my own version of "sage advice" again...

...with my usual vinegar edge.. sorry, but I gotta say this...

I commented in your thread the other day, that I thought you would at least benefit from advice, and therefore were more worth giving it to then some of the n00bs who don't ever seem to "get it"

....but I'm gonna be honest with ya here... in my opinion, if you want to come here with questions like this every few days or every week, I think a sense of reciprocation is in order if you want people to enjoy helping you.

If you write about dealing with solvent fumes & all the experts say to properly vent them... but you say you don't think you need to, want to or can afford to... why ask?...maybe you did come up with some kind of solution... why not come forward & post your solutions so your friends here know their help did some good...

...or take that car show sign well over a dozen people tried to help you with? ...you never came back to show anyone you appreciated, learned from, or responded to anything said.. and then the famous jealousy thread.. hey 40 people can't all be wrong.. maybe you were wrong there.. hell being wrong happens to me all the time.. even saying "I was wrong... thanks for the new perspective" would go a long way...

...but once again, if you have so little participation in your own threads, and what there is ends up all defensiveness..

believe me, you can learn a lot here, and at least you're not afraid to ask questions... which is a good start... because I've seen a lot of helpful talented folks here try to help you... but bailing out of all your threads when you don't get the replies you want? ...that's getting old...

hey, maybe it's just me.. but I think the help is gonna flow more to a humble & appreciative apprentice who shows that what he has been told is paying off & improving him. I would have loved to see a really nice layout for your car show buddy, or hear a story about how you landed an extra hundred bucks upselling the guy to a classy aluminum panel with special order films & design fees... instead of a tacky sign-a-cade...

& I would have liked to hear that you had custom built your own low cost exhaust fans, maybe bought some large industrial filters from an automotive paint store.. maybe even posted plans to help the next guy... but for all we know, you didn't use ANY of the advice you were given, didn't even see the merits of it...

but you're back asking for advice again...

well, I got some for ya.
A guy who tells you he can't afford much needs you to draw a clear line between what ever it is that you can do, that he can't do.. if he can't afford much.. then DO THE MINIMUM!

Sell him cut vinyl, or a laminated print... or Techman's coro sign because once you start helping make a determination of what size or shape of "legs" is going to keep that cheap-ass sign he wants, from blowing into traffic & killing someone... that's when you become involved in CRITICAL problem solving, construction technology & industrial design... WHICH HE CAN'T AFFORD... and you can't afford to let him DIY it into some deathtrap without your even being a part of the actual installation... all the while for a $200 sign & some free installation advice, you could hook yourself onto a lawsuit..

make a coro sign, tell him to secure it to construction grade plywood.. if he's doing the install.. let him do ALL of it.

Good luck with the rest of your replies. I hope you let us know how this one pans out & I'll quit badgering you about it.
This is some of the best advise I have ever read here.....
kinda hard say it any better...
//chopper
 
Top