pricing ideas

[Patrick Licata]

Good morning,
Was wondering what you may charge for doing an item like this.
one is 3" x 8" rowmark and the other is 3" x 3 5/8". Engraving time is less than 3 minutes. material cost is $1.50 and .70. Customer gave me measurement specs and I had to create from there. First time I've done a panel so set-up took longer than it should have, but I just want to be fair. Any input on how you would figure your price would be appreciated. Thanks, Patrick
230055

[Gary Hair]

A good ballpark is somewhere between 2x and 4x the cost of materials plus laser time. I have found that for signs under 8" wide that $0.50/sq inch plus $2.00 per vertical inch, gets me a reasonable price. I have a minimum price as well, I wouldn't do a 1" x .5" tag using that formula. I'd charge a minimum of $35 for those two parts, that's my minimum invoice amount. Unless, of course, they were going to take you up in the airplane... then the price drops pretty quickly!

Gary

[Daniel Wolanski]

230063
Surprised they don't want you to cut holes where the switches go!

[Patrick Licata]

Gary
Thanks for the info. It would end up costing me $$$ if they took me up. I get motion sick at the drop of a hat. So bad that I can actually get it on some elevators!!! Sucks! Dramamine works on the commercial airlines though!
Daniel,
I was too, but he said it was easier for him to drill them since he was drilling through another piece at the same time.

[Doug Griffith]

In case you didn't notice, you may need to add the backwards "L" graphic to the right of "ENG START".

[Terry Albrecht]

In case you didn't notice, you may need to add the backwards "L" graphic to the right of "ENG START".

Good catch

[Ross Moshinsky]

Setup Fee + Material + Engraving Time.

Typical numbers would look something like $45-75 for the setup, $.25-.50/in for the material, and $1-$2 per minute.

[Joe Pelonio]

I do a lot of that kind of thing, mostly for boats and usually about $6 and $12 for those sizes using their provided CAD files that include other sizes and shapes. If I did have to prepare artwork I'd add about another $30 for what I would expect to take 20 minutes.

[Michael Hunter]

Joe's suggestion is good if you think that you might get some repeat business, whereas Gary's price is about right for a one-off.

In my experience, boat people come back for more and tell all their friends - the average boater wants their console to look like something out of an airliner.
In contrast, airplane folk only buy panels and plaques when they are forced to by the regulatory authorities, don't ever come back and don't tell their friends.
(Dymo tape is the most popular labelling method for light aircraft in the UK!).

[Keith Outten]

Just a reminder.

If you operate a real business you have insurance, phone bills, electric bills, office expenses, software, hardware, taxes, etc.
Your method of charging customers should always include a percentage for profit and overhead in addition to material and labor.
Overhead fees help to pay for the day to day expenses and the cost to replace that really expensive laser tube WHEN IT DIES.
.

[Ross Moshinsky]

Hourly labor rate should always be (fixed costs + labor costs + consumables) / hours of operation. Also depending on the business, you have to figure in down time. If you figure out your hourly labor rate assuming you're busy 100% of the time, and you're only busy 70% of the time, you're not going to be in business very long. That 30% difference is going to be your salary more often than not.

Another thing people seem to forget to do is mark-up their materials. On some projects it doesn't matter as much but if you're working with a crystal award that costs $30, you should at least include $30 in case the laser creates an ugly chip. You lose out on the labor/machine time but at least you won't lose out on $30 right out of your pocket AND the labor/machine time. With this job, if you have to buy a whole sheet of material just for him, make sure he covers the cost or at least most of it. If it's stock material, you can't treat it that way but if it's special order stuff, it is what it is. Non-stock material has to be priced where they are essentially buying the whole sheet.

I think more people should follow industry standards. 90% of ASI vendors want $45-75 for a setup fee even if you provide them with perfect artwork. Why not charge the same? Why should you spend 20-30 minutes programming that panel for free? If you had to outsource it to a drafter, they would charge for it. There are certain things like plaque layout you have to build into the actual cost of the plaque, but for some plastic panel, you can't build that in. Charge for it.

[Patrick Licata]

Thank you all for your input. This forum and its members are great!
Doug, you would think the lines would be on the right as well, but he stated he only needed them on the left. ??? It would confuse me!! Thanks again, Patrick

[Daniel Wolanski]

Patrick, he may want to start the plane on only one mag. Strange but probable.

This person is building or refurbishing an "experimental" plane and can basically put anything he likes on the panel. If it were a certified plane (like a Cessna), he wouldn't be contacting any of us on this forum. He would be forced to buy a certified part or from a certified manufacturer. A lot of vendors "run" when they hear it's for a plane. I once had a motorcycle shop that wouldn't balance my tires once they heard it was from a plane....LIABILITY!

[Gary Hair]

Daniel,
I don't know about Continentals, but almost every Lycoming starts on one mag and then switches to both once running. I had a 1965 Cherokee 180 that was one of the first to use a starter switch that automatically selected the one mag when you turned the key to "start" and then both when you released it to "run". Prior to that you had to turn the mag selector to the proper mag, usually the right, and press the starter button, once it fired you moved the mag selector to both.

As for panel parts - it's one of the few things on a very short list that you can replace without worrying about certified, or STC'd, parts. Almost anything cosmetic, panel, upholstery, carpet, etc., can be replaced with whatever you like. The only "requirement" is that you either use commonly used materials or have a burn test to go with it.

Gary