Screen Printed signs pricing question

[thinksigns]

I rarely have large orders that need screen printing. Just wondering if when you sell someone screen printed signs (in this case 250 18" x 24") if you go to the trouble of putting the signs on the wire stands. If so, do you charge extra for that? Obviously on the smaller quantities that I produce in house I do.

 

[SIGNTIME]

No. We never put the stakes in and I doubt anyone adds that to their quote, besides the way people throw them in their trunk I'm happy that we just hand them a box of stakes.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Never. Far easier for them to transport when the stakes are boxed up plus the stakes slide out anyway. In 20 years of doing this I don't think anyone has ever even asked for us to install the wire stakes.

 

[Gino]

Never. Far easier for them to transport when the stakes are boxed up plus the stakes slide out anyway. In 20 years of doing this I don't think anyone has ever even asked for us to install the wire stakes.

We've had people in here asking how do you put them together. After I stop staring at them and raise my jaw up off the floor, I'll actually show them on one. Another person asked if we count the little 'tubie' things to make sure they're centered. Someone else asked how far do they have to go up in ??

Once, a lady came back and said they were 'faulty' because they didn't fit right. Now, I mean.... C'mon folks, how much instruction do you need on these things ?? She said her husband had broken a few of these and she brought the bad ones in.... and some of them still had the signs on. The goof had them spread unevenly and were going up either too far apart or too close together.

 

[Locals Find!]

I put them on for the client. Of course the clients I have that order those quantities regularly are some of my better clients so they get extra special treatment.

I would just gauge it on what you think the client is worth to your business and whether or not it will help your relationship with them. If it doesn't make a bit of difference to them then don't worry about it.

 

[thinksigns]

I put them on for the client. Of course the clients I have that order those quantities regularly are some of my better clients so they get extra special treatment.

I would just gauge it on what you think the client is worth to your business and whether or not it will help your relationship with them. If it doesn't make a bit of difference to them then don't worry about it.

I do many large orders for this customer, but this is the first one with this quantity. I told him the price did not include the signs on the stands and that it would be an additional charge if he wanted them put together. It's not something that would only take a couple of minutes. Since I'm already getting them from a wholesaler, there isn't enough profit for me to spend a few hours doing it at no charge.

 

[Gino]

Anyone ordering 250 signs should not expect to have the step-stakes already inserted. Do you realize how much more extra space that will take up in a normal trunk..... or even an SUV or pickup ?? How much more careful you have to be transporting them ?? I doubt someone is gonna put all 250 up at once, unless this is one of those furniture stores going out of business sales or something like it, but for realtors and normal conditions, it's much easier to store without assembly included.

 

[Mosh]

NO let the customer do it or charge them for doing it...

for signs like these call Firesprint, that is a cake-walk for them....

 

[d fleming]

Not once in over thirty years. I screen print coro by the box and pallet. I can't imagine what a pain it would be to ship them assembled.

 

[FireSprint.com]

We get this question alot. Every once in a while I do hear about our customers handling the assembly.

A few tips:

1.) Put small ticks in the print that help your customers align the stands to the middle of the sign
2.) Stack the signs upside down against a wall and do them all at once. This helps you determine the placement of the frame using the last sign you just did.
3.) Many sign shops we work with will handle the assembly if their customer is only ordering a few signs (1-5). This is a bit of a value added service and is worth the effort in my opinion.

To answer your question though, doing 250 of them should probably require some kind of charge for the labor involved. One reason to tell customers not to assemble before they're ready to be used is storage. Signs and stands sit nicely in boxes on their own, but after assembly they seem to take up 5 times as much space, they are somewhat unsafe and they risk getting scratched in handling.

Good luck!

 

[TXFB.INS]

No. We never put the stakes in and I doubt anyone adds that to their quote, besides the way people throw them in their trunk I'm happy that we just hand them a box of stakes.

1.) Put small ticks in the print that help your customers align the stands to the middle of the sign
2.) Stack the signs upside down against a wall and do them all at once. This helps you determine the placement of the frame using the last sign you just did.
Good luck!

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