Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 23

Thread: Pricing? HelpPlease!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Franklin Indiana
    Posts
    25

    Pricing? HelpPlease!!

    I have a morntech 5040 laser engraver with all the extras and CorelDraw x5, photograv 2.0 and allot of supplies. My cousin and we have a school wanting some glasses with the school football logo, players name and their position etched on them on both sides of the glass. the etchings are about 2-1/2" tall x 3-1/2" wide, they also want a football helmet etched into the bottom of each glass with the players number.

    Now the glasses only cost about .80 cents each and the time it takes to engrave 1 glass (both sides & bottom) is around 13minutes (laser time and setup) I was figuring $15.00 to $17.50 for each glass but they only want to spend $10.00.

    What would be a good price for these?

    I'm having trouble uploading an image but on one side would have the helmet and under that would say center grove and Trojans under that but a larger font. the other side would have the players name, under that their # and under that their position.
    Last edited by chuck shaw; 09-18-2015 at 1:01 PM. Reason: Trying to upload pictures

  2. #2
    Why the same thing on both sides of the glass, makes little sense and it'll just muddy up the works with both images visible. If they drop that option your time will be right in their $10 ballpark...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Suwanee, GA
    Posts
    3,686
    Quote Originally Posted by chuck shaw View Post
    Now the glasses only cost about .80 cents each
    You need to mark up the cost of the glasses, a general rule seems to be about 3-4x cost ~ $2.40

    and the time it takes to engrave 1 glass (both sides & bottom) is around 13minutes (laser time and setup)
    You need to come up with a cost per minute that works for you - a good ballpark is $2.00/min ~ $26.00

    I was figuring $15.00 to $17.50 for each glass
    For the time you have into them that is way too low. Either you need to produce them faster or charge more.

    but they only want to spend $10.00.
    That really has nothing to do with it. I want to buy a Ferrari but only want to spend $20,000 - think the dealer will go for it? This is also like the customer that I'm going to charge $35 to engrave their item and they complain that they only paid $2.00 for it and how can it be $35 to engrave it? I have no control over their budget or how much they paid for their item, I have complete control over what my time and equipment are worth. I've spent about $100K on equipment, I'm not going to make $15/hour...

    What would be a good price for these?
    For me to engrave three separate images on a glass would run somewhere between $20 and $30 each.
    Last edited by Gary Hair; 09-18-2015 at 12:58 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Franklin Indiana
    Posts
    25
    I completely agree with you but my cousin on the other hand is thinking his kid will see more playing time if I agree to their price. I know for a fact the parents can afford to pay what little I'm asking and I don't think I'm being unreasonable at $17.50 each.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Gig Harbor, WA
    Posts
    1,157
    "my cousin on the other hand is thinking his kid will see more playing time if I agree to their price."


    You are being held hostage by your cousin? fine let him pay the difference ..... Now you both win............
    Mark
    In the Great Northwest!

    Trotec Speedy C25, Newing-Hall 350 (AMC I & HPGL), NH-CG-30 (Carbide Cutter Sharpener)
    Sawgrass 400 Gel Ink Printer, CS5, 5/9/x6 CorelDraw

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Franklin Indiana
    Posts
    25
    That's a good one I'm going to run that by him. He'll cry but I'll be happy!!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,664
    Blog Entries
    1
    Chuck,

    How many glasses do you need to do? Not sure if it is worth it, but have you though about using your laser to cut resists and using a sandblaster for the etching? Of course, that assumes you have access to a blaster. There are lots of discussions about that on SMC.

    Dave
    900x600 80watt EFR Tube laser from Liaocheng Ray Fine Tech LTD. Also a 900x600 2.5kw spindle CNC from Ray Fine. And my main tool, a well used and loved Jet 1642 Woodlathe with an outboard toolrest that helps me work from 36 inch diameters down to reallllllly tiny stuff.

  8. #8
    First of all, which I didn't mention before- not sure why it's taking 13 minutes per glass, my machine will sweep a 3" x 3" area in about 2-1/2 minutes @ 400 LPI, so 5 minutes plus 1/2 minute changeover, then 1:30 per glass to do the bottom, including changeover...

    But that's my machine...

    SO--Assuming you don't have a bunch of jobs waiting to go in the laser after the glasses are done, what's better:

    Insisting on $15 or $20 per glass and making $0

    or-

    Make a little less profit than normal but still have some $$ to put in the bank, and maybe some word-of-mouth goodwill you wouldn't have otherwise?

    I will ALWAYS do a job for less money if the alternative is NO money. But, my biz is me, the wife and a BIL (sub-contractor), we have no employees so I have more cushion than others when it comes to pricing, so there's that, but still...

    And speaking of word-of-mouth, in 49 years, aside from paying a few bucks a year to put our name (not an ad) in the yellow pages in the old days, we've never spent a dime on advertising.
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Franklin Indiana
    Posts
    25
    You make a good argument on the word of mouth, I really haven't used my machine or the programs all that much, maybe a total of 6 hours playing around on it and I could get the time down considerably, the time I posted was for the practice glasses (3 of them) The money isn't really a big concern to me, I'm doing this for my cousin since his wife recently got layed off work so I was joking about him paying the difference. and to tell the truth this will be the first thing I've actually done on this machine, I've had it for about 2 years now and it's just been a dust collector until now. but I want to start making various items with it like custom coffee & end tables with granite tops with country or animal scenes engraved into multiple tiles.

  10. #10
    Are you going to be able to produce the product? Glass is tricky and you have little to no experience engraving at all let alone doing glass. Combine that with a Chinese laser and I'm slightly concerned for you. You won't build a good reputation doing bad quality work.

    As for the pricing: You can make money at $10 but I'd tell them for that price they can get only one side. Convince them it's the best option. It's your call, but if you want to run a business, you need to set up boundaries. Your customer has every right to name a budget but it's your job to tell them what they can afford for that price.
    Equipment: IS400, IS6000, VLS 6.60, LS100, HP4550, Ricoh GX e3300n, Hotronix STX20
    Software: Adobe Suite & Gravostyle 5
    Business: Trophy, Awards and Engraving

  11. #11
    Totally agree with Ross on the glass and experience factor. Glass is hard to do with any kind of consistency. Many people here with years of laser experience won't do glass at all and the few who do it with any regularity have been doing it for years and will tell you it took them years to get it right. If your going to charge $10 or more per glass I hope its a quality piece of work. Good Luck with this, show us some pictures and let us know how it works out for you.
    If the Help and advice you received here was of any VALUE to you PLEASE! Become a Contributor
    Rabbit RL_XX_6040-60 watt Laser engraving/cutting machine Oh wait its a 3D Printer my bad LOL
    Lasercut 5.3
    CorelDraw X5

    10" Miter Saw with slide
    10" Table Saw
    8" bench mount 5 speed Drill Press
    Dremel, 3x21 Belt Sander


  12. #12
    I sandblast and do tons of glassware. My engraving into glass is very deep and detailed. $13-20 per glass minimum. That's one sided and possibly doing the bottoms, not to mention a $2-$3 add on for personalizing each glass with a different number. Anything less and you're diluting your efforts and undercutting anyone else's prices.

    I would say, if you're going to be a "benefactor" take the money they offer to "cover basic costs", make sure it's understood that they're getting a deal. Then enjoy playing around and making cool stuff, use this job as a resume bullet to get the word out that you can do this kind of stuff. Ask them in return to advertise for you by putting your logo/add/phone#/website in their football program and school paper. I donate work a lot and in return most folks send me customers or advertise for me which widens my customer base and brings in paying jobs.

    Pricing items is challenging at times, do charitable work and help people out, but don't put yourself in the poor house because folks can't "afford" your work. Best of luck!
    Last edited by Matt Geraci; 09-18-2015 at 4:21 PM.
    -
    BIG Sandblaster, 100 lb Empire Pot with Footswitch
    80 Gallon Polar Air Compressor
    Frankenstein'd Blast Cabinet
    "Go Deep or Go Home... when you're engraving..."

  13. #13

    Also remember

    Also remember someone who has experience may be able to produce the product in less time due to experience with the product. Be prepared to fail a few times before you get it right. And that can be lost profits.
    Redsail x700, 50watt & Shenhui 350, 50 watt

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    1,843
    Doing work for little or no profit will NOT get you more business.... Unless you want to continue producing at little to no profit. Take Ross's advice.
    Tim
    There are Big Brain people & Small Brain people. I'm one of the Big Brains - with a lot of empty space.- me
    50W Fiber - Raycus/MaxPhotonics - It's a metal eating beast!
    Epilog Fusion M2 50/30 Co2/Fiber - 2015
    Epilog Mini 24 – 35watt - 2006 (Original Tube)
    Ricoh SG3110DN
    - Liberty Laser LLC

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Medina Ohio
    Posts
    4,534
    Also take into account where you live. Different parts of the country have different pay scales.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •