Price Help

[David James]

I have a client that would like a price quote for 150 pieces cut out of 1/8 oak of each key, key hole and lock image. They are supplying the 1/8" oak wood. I am not very good at estimating vector projects. I am running an epilog 35watt 12x18system. Any help on the pricing would be much appreciated. Thank you, DJ

[Ray Mighells]

You have someone to run the machine too?

[Steve Clarkson]

David, run the file on your machine and see how long it takes.....multiply by 150....add in some time for weeding out and overhead....divide by 60....then multiply by your hourly rate (ie. 2min x 150 = 300 min + 60 min = 360 min / 60 = 6 hours x $100 = $600).

[Gregg Vaughn]

David ....

I just did 400 pcs out of 1/4" poplar that were vector cut (circle) and engraved on one side and priced the job @ $820.00. The general response from others was I proced it way to low. After doing the job I agree I priced it too low.

It seems there is always a tendency to price the job too low ....

[Steven Wallace]

I agree with the prior responses, I am always told I am way too low on my prices. However, I am making money on the jobs.
Here is one of the problems, you are a business and therefore you know the mark up on things. So when you shop retail you think things like, I wouldn't pay that for that. Take the "I" out of the statement. Trust me someone is or that business would close. Secondly, have you ever noticed that the more affluent the area the higher the prices are for the same products that are selling for less in other areas. If it is not expensive there must be something wrong with it, or its not as good as if it had cost more. That is their belief not yours.

I do as Steve suggested by running the job and pricing it by laser time multiplied by a fix rate.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

David,
Are you pricing per piece or per set?
I would be very careful of grain direction for items like this. I would ask for a sample of material and do a test so you get accurate real time info. Then put a keyring on them and see if they are strong enough. I see lots of break points in the key and the lock. I personally use our 3mm Baltic birch ply for 99% of our key-chains. They are virtually indestructible and can even survive a run through the washer and dryer unphased (I left one in my pocket one time :D). I have not cut 1/8" solid oak but just from what I know about wood grains, I would test it first and be like the old Samsonite gorilla with it. If it passes that test then you may be OK.

Back to pricing. I almost always run a sample to make sure my settings are accurate and use that time as my base. Will roundup a bit to cover load and unload and then multiply by my hourly. When you price the one piece and run multiples at the same time you will see you per piece time shorten which gives you room to discount on volume runs.
My idea is not to make a big killing on the one job but to have repeat business. Some are priced at $100.00+ an hour or wholesale ones that I want more of are $60.00 to $75.00 an hour. If you price it too high you may get this job but then your customer will be shopping your competition on the next one. If you go for the "Win Win" situation, you don't just get a customer but you build a relationship which is much more profitable in my opinion and you'll get far more referrals in my experience.

Hope this helps and ...