Muliple Underbids

[Joe Pelonio]

Out of curiosity, I'd like a rough idea what people would charge for this job.

I gave the guy what I thought was a great price, below which I am not interested, and he claims he had several lower quotes from other people.
I offered them at the price I did because I thought it might be fun, but I still want to make money. It was for quantity 100 9" hammers, engraving words and a simple small logo over about 90% of the handle (one side). One line of text,
about 1/2" letters.

[Chris S Martin]

No picture and what did you quote the price at?

[Doug Griffith]

So about 7" x 1/2" of engraving on an odd shape that takes a little bit of work to align the first batch. Multiplied by 100. 4-5 hundred dollars depending on how many I could gang up and the customer PITA factor.

[Dean Fowell]

Yes I would say 4 to 500 we have to eat

[Joe Pelonio]

OK, maybe I was high then. My price was $700.

[Doug Griffith]

$700 is more realistic. I think I'm on the low side because I double dip when lasering (ie. sit next to the laser and program other work while it's running).

[Rodne Gold]

Joe , without any offense , it appears $700 wasn't realistic as the customer had multiple underquotes , I don't even feel $4-500 is realistic for this job. In my part of the woods I wouldnt get more than $2 per hammer and would probably even lose the job if I quoted at $2!!!
In determining pricing for a job one has to take into account what other marking tequniques would cost , what the cost of the item is , what competiton you have around you willing to cut your throat.
The problem these days is that you can buy much cheaper machines to do more or less the same as our more expensive ones can do At $3k , anyone with a bit of spare cash can afford a laser and all are fighting for a piece of the marking pie - driving prices downwards big time . Thats one of the reasons I am currently avoiding the promotional marking field .. no real profit in it and multiple problems. No matter how good you are in quality and turnaround , promo co's are fickle to a 1c price differential..
One of the hassles of quoting for a job like the hammer and being radically underquoted is the fact that what was once a good customer , now sees you as a "rip off artist" , albeit you are NOT.

[Dan Hintz]

$4-500 is probably where I'd be.... I wouldn't touch those things for $2/each.

[Rodne Gold]

It's worth my while at $2 - I have multiple machines and operators to program , run and load the machines , my operators get paid $200 a week , which is actually quite a good salary over here. Like in a lot of other countries , you cant really equate US$ with exchange rate $'s as exchange rates don't translate to what $2 is worth in the US , $2 here is worth more if you exchanged it to Rands and bought local goods etc.

[Dan Hintz]

my operators get paid $200 a week...

I'd expect to pay close to $200/day out of my pocket for a good operator when you add in all of the taxes, benefits, etc. For that money, I am the operator Paperwork, setup, laser time, etc. for those hammers is several hours, easily, which brings the "hourly rate" dangerously close to dipping far below the magic $60/hr rate.

[Ron Hartl]

I would charge $2-$3 each. If the laser was already running 8 hours a day, I would say 4 or 5 dollars each.

[Tom Sieczkarek]

I would think $6.00 to $7.00 each is a fair price. Run time of about 2-3 minutes each,+ set-up time.
Plus the customer supplied the item and there is that risk factor. The problem with customers is they want the highend look of laser engraving but want to pay sublimation pricing.

[Ross Moshinsky]

This comes down to business model and overhead. If you run a commercial business where your machine is idle until you get a run, you'd probably be more competitive. If you run a smaller shop or work out of home, your bid will be more competitive.

I see this as an 8hr job. If it makes you feel any better Joe, I think we'd bid at $7-10. I see this as a, I have to come in on Sunday and work all day baby sitting the machine, type job.

[Richard Rumancik]

Hmmm . . . . if I quoted $7-10 I think I would have my Sunday free . . .

[Tim Bateson]

Probably $3-$4 each depending on how much work I currently have waiting. Could be $5 or more if I was already busy and really didn't care if I got the job.

*** NOTE: I still have a day job. I believe this is Joe's living.