How much do you charge for metal marking?

[Brent Franker]

Hey Guys!

I live in a small town and have mostly just been using my laser to make things for friends and family. I'd like to change that so I can start paying for this sucker

Today I did my first metal marking with the laser. Came out OK... I can see where it isn't quite as dark in some areas as others but it's not too bad. I ended up doing a stainless YETI cup for a friend to give to her husband. He's on the local SWAT team and she anticipates other SWAT members wanting me to do the same to their cups.

I did this on the large YETI cup. I did a front and back marking. I did this for free but would like to charge a "going fair rate" if somebody else would like it done.

1) Do you charge extra for for the initial setup (hunting down a good logo, laying it out, etc.) and if so about how much for something like this?
2) Assuming you have the layout all done and just want to do a 2nd cup, how much would you charge for just the front of the cup?
3) How much for both the front and back?

Thanks! Just looking for some ideas on a fair price to charge for something like this

Have a great Christmas!

[Jack Clague]

Pricing varies allot depending on where you are, local competition, availability of local services, cost for materials and running cost for machine as well as your time taken to do each job

My recommendation is to evaluate how much it cost "you" to make that cup engraving, both in time and in materials, don't forget the running cost for the machine as well (tube life, replacement, electricity etc) then work out what sort of margin you would be happy with

in the end you will get a good idea of your own pricing scale for items, some people like to quote in $/min for machine use which will include all the work excluding re-vectoring artwork, some like to charge an hourly rate and quote based on the time it takes to not only run the item but do the setup etc. both ways work well, you will need to decide which one works for you

I would also see what other local or relatively close companies charge, do some cold calls.

some tips from also being relatively new to the scene but learning allot as i go:

Do not discount a job just to get the business
Do not undersell yourself, its an investment both machine and your time and its worth X$/hour so charge for it

[Brent Franker]

Thanks much for the recommendations. Much appreciated It's hard for me to do much of what you mention because I may not run the machine for a month at a time currently. I just fire it up every so often to do odd stuff or a gift or two for a friend. Factor in that I barely know what I'm doing and it's difficult to know how much time it "should" take to do something like this. I've been doing vinyl stuff for almost 15 years so am familiar with graphics programs so have that going for me I suppose. Just apprehensive a little maybe on the laser part... but from start to finish today messing around and figuring out how to do that cup took only about an hour and a half so I suppose that isn't too bad... and I practiced on some old tools and a couple other "generic" stainless cups before jumping on the YETI. LOL

I was thinking of charging $10 for the main graphic and $15 for front and back. I would do "ok" assuming I did like 5 at once but my luck I'd probably end up getting them sporadically and doing one at a time. LOL

[Jack Clague]

Yep its very hard at the start to work out your pricing, Go with what you are happy with to start and work from there, I would seriously call up a few local companies or even search online to see what a custom engraved yeti mug would be, custom being the operative word here as a side business we cannot compete against the big boys who engrave 1000 units a day, if your happy with $25 a mug then go for it, I don't think that is unreasonable at all to ask but i don't live in the US so unsure of local pricing.

[Brent Franker]

Thanks! The other thing is there is nobody local I don't think there is anybody within probably 30 miles that does laser stuff. I'm about 1.5 hours from Tampa and Orlando and they would have lots of options but not much in this neck of the woods. Oh, and I was thinking $15 TOTAL for the mug. My girlfriend said that sounded a little cheap and said she would pay at least $20 for something like that.

I'm always afraid I'm going to charge too much. I know I can't be like that though and just charge what people are willing to pay. I'll do some internet searching to see how much something custom like this might be. Thanks again!

[Jack Clague]

Thanks! The other thing is there is nobody local I don't think there is anybody within probably 30 miles that does laser stuff. I'm about 1.5 hours from Tampa and Orlando and they would have lots of options but not much in this neck of the woods. Oh, and I was thinking $15 TOTAL for the mug. My girlfriend said that sounded a little cheap and said she would pay at least $20 for something like that.

I'm always afraid I'm going to charge too much. I know I can't be like that though and just charge what people are willing to pay. I'll do some internet searching to see how much something custom like this might be. Thanks again!

I was just like that at the start but you soon realize that you cannot make a living or even pay off your investment from small going cheap, put yourself in the customers shoes, you walk into a store and see a Yeti cooler, now you take that Yeti mug to a local engraver and they advise it can be done on a laser for $25, do you think this is unreasonable as a buyer? do you think as a buyer can i get it cheaper?

now the flip side, as the seller of the service lets say you get a customer only wanting one mug done, you have to source the mug or obtain there's, setup the file, setup the machine, make sure your bed is clean and the unit is placed correctly in the rotary, get everything checked and double checked, then laser the item, then make any corrections or redo's if you make a mistake, then clean up any mess afterwards, is $15 going to cover your time for all that, I know in real time this might be quick but you have to account for it all.

Now if the customer wanted 50 Mugs done then I'd be considering $15 a mug (40% discount)

[Keith Winter]

Don't forget to factor in your mistakes. There will be some, and replacing those expensive yeti products when you mess up will be expensive.

[Brent Franker]

I was just like that at the start but you soon realize that you cannot make a living or even pay off your investment from small going cheap, put yourself in the customers shoes, you walk into a store and see a Yeti cooler, now you take that Yeti mug to a local engraver and they advise it can be done on a laser for $25, do you think this is unreasonable as a buyer? do you think as a buyer can i get it cheaper?

now the flip side, as the seller of the service lets say you get a customer only wanting one mug done, you have to source the mug or obtain there's, setup the file, setup the machine, make sure your bed is clean and the unit is placed correctly in the rotary, get everything checked and double checked, then laser the item, then make any corrections or redo's if you make a mistake, then clean up any mess afterwards, is $15 going to cover your time for all that, I know in real time this might be quick but you have to account for it all.

Now if the customer wanted 50 Mugs done then I'd be considering $15 a mug (40% discount)

Thanks again and all good points. I do similar with my vinyl... if I make one I might charge $10 but if the guy wants 15 then maybe $4 each.

I did some searching and looking specifically for engraving custom YETI cups. It seemed the average was $20 for marking one side and then $10 more for the back. Having to mess with a logo one place charged another $25. My $15 for both sides is too cheap it appears Also, the cheap marking stuff I bought on eBay (which actually worked pretty good I think) a few years ago doesn't appear to be available so I need to factor in buying the more expensive marking material.

I'll charge $20 and maybe even $25 for it considering the cost of the YETI cup if I screw it up... it's not like messing up on a $1 pint glass. LOL

[Brent Franker]

Don't forget to factor in your mistakes. There will be some, and replacing those expensive yeti products when you mess up will be expensive.

For sure That cup is $40 and right now, since they are out of stock everywhere, it looks like people want about $70 for a standard blank one! Since I'm a rookie, I might need to charge like $70 each figuring it's not unlikely I mess up every other time. Hhahahaaha!

[Matt Geraci]

Don't forget you're giving them something completely custom designed on a premium, hot trending product. Business is business, and you've got to have a plan - work on it, explore it, make changes as you need. Friends are friends, and I tend to undercharge them but I let them know what I would normally charge (so they can pass that info forward and not their "special friend" pricing) and I always ask them to promote me to friends, businesses, and through social media as a return favor. I agree you have to charge for your time with the customer, art rendering, set up, laser time, clean up, delivery effort PLUS the risk you're taking on if you screw it up. Look at the folks who are buying these "luxury" items, $40-45 for a cup is a little pricey (if you ask me). Now during the holidays people are paying $70-90 for them, even saw powdercoated Yetis selling for $135!!!
That first effort picture turned out well. Keep up the good work.

[Brent Franker]

Don't forget you're giving them something completely custom designed on a premium, hot trending product. Business is business, and you've got to have a plan - work on it, explore it, make changes as you need. Friends are friends, and I tend to undercharge them but I let them know what I would normally charge (so they can pass that info forward and not their "special friend" pricing) and I always ask them to promote me to friends, businesses, and through social media as a return favor. I agree you have to charge for your time with the customer, art rendering, set up, laser time, clean up, delivery effort PLUS the risk you're taking on if you screw it up. Look at the folks who are buying these "luxury" items, $40-45 for a cup is a little pricey (if you ask me). Now during the holidays people are paying $70-90 for them, even saw powdercoated Yetis selling for $135!!!
That first effort picture turned out well. Keep up the good work.

Yep, I've done the same for friends... either free or greatly reduced. They take care of me then with stuff they do so it's all good but do let them know, like you, that's the "friend price" and how much it would normally be.

I hear you on the Yeti craze... don't get it myself but whatever. LOL I have a friend who is a commercial fisherman so he MIGHT need a cooler that'll keep ice for 4 days that costs 20 times more than the awesome Coleman I got on a special daily deal at Home Depot for $20 but other than that, nobody I know that has one probably needs it. However, I probably don't need that 900+hp ZL1 Camaro in my garage either so I suppose we all do stuff that isn't always needed/necessary! hahaa

And thanks! I too I am pleased with how my first effort came out. I just need to find a replacement for what I used. It was only $30 for the bottle and most the other stuff out there looks a bit more expensive. I used some of that Color Laser Productions stuff (which I see I bought in 2012... wow, I'm a slow starter LOL) which seems to be defunct now. Bummer.