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Kyle Zack
11-10-2016, 10:04 PM
I'm not certain if I'm allowed to post a link and if not my apologies. https://www.groupon.com/deals/american-laser-crafts-2223 This company is selling $5 custom marked luggage tags. I know from experience that Groupon takes exactly 50% of the sale price. However, they've sold over 30K of these tags. The card blank is what <.50 each? Shipping is $3.99 per tag and i'm assuming they're sending via very low cost post possibly first class at < .75ea. So my elementary math says their gross profit per tag before labor, production and overhead is $5.24. That's over 150K gross. How many machines, operators and how much time would it take to pull this off?

John Lifer
11-11-2016, 10:48 AM
7 colors to chose from. And what 6 designs. Yes, cheap as you can find envelope bags. And small enough that 2 are first class so maybe a dollar to bag, label, and ship. making $2-3 per tag. Good money!
Smallest machine you can get. And a Monkey to pick place and press button :) Software to import direct. I'd want an Epilog or at least a laser that would print directly from Windows. Not my Chinese one. Too many extra steps.
Maybe do multiples after thinking about it. A dozen forest green at one time. Keep colors together, or maybe pairs if that is how most are sold. Two monkeys.......

Gary Hair
11-11-2016, 11:48 AM
I'm not certain if I'm allowed to post a link and if not my apologies. https://www.groupon.com/deals/american-laser-crafts-2223 This company is selling $5 custom marked luggage tags. I know from experience that Groupon takes exactly 50% of the sale price. However, they've sold over 30K of these tags. The card blank is what <.50 each? Shipping is $3.99 per tag and i'm assuming they're sending via very low cost post possibly first class at < .75ea. So my elementary math says their gross profit per tag before labor, production and overhead is $5.24. That's over 150K gross. How many machines, operators and how much time would it take to pull this off?

I don't think it would be worth it for the hassle factor alone. If you could process, produce and ship them in 2 minutes, it would take you 1,000 hours - I'm guessing that would be more like 3 minutes overall. If you factor in paying labor and buying the machine to do the job, you are not going to make much on this. If it continued past the 30k then there may be some actual profit, but I still think I'd pass.

Kev Williams
11-11-2016, 12:44 PM
The company making is supposedly "American Laser Crafts", they're about 27 miles from me, and less than 2 miles from 'our' boat harbor. Appears it's a home-based business like mine. Probably just one guy with a couple of lasers. I say "supposedly" because now it's "Qualtry.com". The only other thing I can find that they sell is custom cutting boards. All online sales, thru Groupon, Amazon, Storenvy, etc.

In addition to the income from engraving, $2.25 each on pairs after Groupon's cut, he's making $1.40 on shipping, deduct 50c material, so his net is $3.15 each, on parts that will take a fiber 20 seconds to engrave. $9.45 a minute machine time, that's $567 an hour... that'll make up for time wasted on shipping & such!

I'd do that all day every day :)

Ross Moshinsky
11-11-2016, 1:01 PM
You need to do volume in order to make it worth while. You need to average out the needy customers that need 5 emails sent for a $6 order and it takes 10+ customers to do it.

Gary Hair
11-11-2016, 1:18 PM
parts that will take a fiber 20 seconds to engrave. $9.45 a minute machine time, that's $567 an hour... that'll make up for time wasted on shipping & such!

I'd do that all day every day :)

Kev - you have been doing this too long to think that you can completely process an order in 20 seconds. You have to deal with ordering product, receiving, unpacking, entering customer info, setup lasering file, laser (ok, this may be 20 seconds), package, print shipping labels, take to the post office. Per piece you would be lucky to finish it in less than 3 minutes. as Ross mentioned, add in the needy customers and I bet you'll be over 3 minutes per.

John Lifer
11-11-2016, 1:46 PM
If Groupon didn't take an unfair 50%, (IMO), he has a great business. loosing 50% is what hurts and makes it somewhat marginal. I think you could get good at copy - paste into templates but you will still spend a lot of time with setup. BTW, he doesn't go to the PO with this. They will pickup...... just like your regular mail. And as far as supplies, with this volume, you take one day a month to order what you need. And I'd probably have a minimum wage employee doing the packaging and labeling orders. Pay them maybe 10K a year.....
And you ignore the needy emails. They will have their product before you answer them. :)

And say 5 minutes to process one order (any you forget that there are 30K orders, I'd bet 90% are 2 tags per) 150k minutes, 2500 hours / 40hour work week is 62.5 weeks. A year and a half of work. Net minimum of $150k. (I'd bet it is closer to $225K as most are two tag orders) YEP, I'd do it!

Kev Williams
11-11-2016, 2:48 PM
You need to do volume in order to make it worth while. You need to average out the needy customers that need 5 emails sent for a $6 order and it takes 10+ customers to do it.



Kev - you have been doing this too long to think that you can completely process an order in 20 seconds. You have to deal with ordering product, receiving, unpacking, entering customer info, setup lasering file, laser (ok, this may be 20 seconds), package, print shipping labels, take to the post office. Per piece you would be lucky to finish it in less than 3 minutes. as Ross mentioned, add in the needy customers and I bet you'll be over 3 minutes per.

First of all, there's none of that "can I see a different font?" headache with these parts, the job is done except color, name and qty. I do similar 'dinky' jobs routinely for several customers. One as an example is a company who builds wood-working machines, I make the ID plates for them. They order like 3 or 4 a week. They're 2x3x1/32" black anodized. They send me a spreadsheet (that we worked out together) that allows me to copy/paste directly into Gravostyle. From email to imported into EZcad ready to engrave, less than a minute. To walk to the shear and cut a 6x4 piece for 4 plates, another 30 seconds. Red light align, press start, done, less than 2 minutes. Cut the plates, tape them, bag them, 2 minutes. 6 minutes absolute max time to make $24. That's $240 an hour. What part of that isn't worth my time? :D

-- This luggage plate job would be exactly like these ID plates, everything done but the variables, which can be entered in seconds. I do notice a few different layouts, but those are just pre-arranged choices for customers to make...

Ordering batches of blanks is normal biz activity, I can do that while eating lunch, and I'd alwayshave an inventory of blanks ready to go. Entering info to engrave is a few seconds of copy/paste. Set up time is negligible, the job would already be saved, pop the names into Ezcad, and run 4 at a time, EZcad will automatically change the names. With the wife sitting next to me, engraving, and packing to ship will take exactly as long as the fiber takes.

So yes, I would take this job in a heartbeat, it's pretty much normal routine around here
(and could be why I'm always busy, because I WILL do dinky jobs!) :)

Ross Moshinsky
11-11-2016, 4:35 PM
You're too used to doing industrial work. I do way more than I want of 1's and 2's and dealing with retail customers. I literally had 3 phone calls and 2 emails about 1 trophy and 3 medals yesterday. It was a last minute $20 sale to boot.

Customers have questions and they'll want them answered. I'll get a call on a Saturday for stuff that day and it's a small order. $20 or less. They ask what I have available and then want to see all the options. They can't help themselves. I tell them they'll have to just trust me, but they can't do it. They feel this need to see exactly what they're going to get. It's the nature of the beast.

Most will submit their info properly and be no problem to deal with, some will email you with a last minute change or a special request, and then a few will just eat up time like you cannot believe. Also unless you invest properly in tech where you get the info emailed properly, you cannot count on them even typing in the text properly. Even then it's a crap shoot. I still get emails that people use spaces to center align and people that include extra spaces before and after lines. No matter how many times I tell them, they can't format an email to save their life. All of these things eat up time.

I won't deny you can make money doing this type of work. I just think estimating just a few minutes per plate is simply unrealistic. I'd assume an average of 6 minutes per plate.

Kev Williams
11-11-2016, 4:51 PM
Oh I know all too well about time-eating street customers, nothing I love more than sitting next to the computer with Bob & Sue not agreeing on this font, that size, 'can you go back to that one'... all for a trophy plate for a kid who probably won't appreciate it... ;)

But yeah, being industrial, and not having employees, AND having plenty of machines usually available, it all helps.

You guys in the awards biz, I have a LOT of respect for what you deal with every day.
Dealing with buyers is very easy, they just want everything yesterday. But at least they know what they want.
Retail customers DON'T know what they want. AND they want it yesterday! http://www.engraver1.com/gifs/pullinghair.gif

Bert Kemp
11-11-2016, 11:12 PM
Its groupon no conversing with customer, they fill out a form and pay you engrave and ship.



You need to do volume in order to make it worth while. You need to average out the needy customers that need 5 emails sent for a $6 order and it takes 10+ customers to do it.

Ross Moshinsky
11-12-2016, 12:11 PM
Its groupon no conversing with customer, they fill out a form and pay you engrave and ship.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/american-laser-craft-orem
http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/general-merchandise-retail/qualtry-llc-in-orem-ut-22364724/
http://www.houzz.com/pro/americanlasercrafts/american-laser-crafts

I've been doing this for a long time. While some will type in the information and wait the couple of weeks to get their item, there is a percentage that will require extra work. It's just a fact of being in the business of doing custom work. I've come across this in most of the industries I worked in where customization was involved. It's the nature of the business.