How much to charge?

[daniel hernandez]

Quick question...

I am lasering the 30oz RTIC mugs; the logo takes 5 minutes to complete on each mug.

I was thinking of charging $35 per mug (this included the cost of mug), and if they purchase 30 or more mugs, I was going to charge $30.

Too much, too little? ...am i in the general ball park with that number?

Thanks,
Dan

[Klaus Madsen]

Hi there, I have been looking at the same. Can I ask you how much you pay for the mugs? Is it correct they come without a lid, that you have to buy that separate?
Thanks.

[John Lifer]

Well, in my opinion, you are low. Way low. $15 is cheapest rtic will sell individual mug. Even the Chinese knockoff are $12 each. You can buy quantity cheaper, but base on what they can buy.... $20 for your work is cheap. If you look at other sites, most are getting $35 for pc or engraving. Even in quantities, you need to get more. In my opinion, $30 each to engrave. Lid comes with them.... Facebook has a group that is decorating these and more info there. Don't sell yourself and us short. Keep price up as long as you can.... Oh the yeti engraved with initials, one side or team logo is $59. From yeti. $10 more for two sides.

[daniel hernandez]

Hello Klaus,

I go here to purchase: https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/drinkware/bulk

...they are having a sale right now too!!! ...cups are about 6 bucks a piece/w Lids....if you buy in bulk.

They also have free shipping.

Dan

[daniel hernandez]

Thank you John,

Don't plan on selling us short...prices just went up. :-)

[Klaus Madsen]

Hi Dan and thanks for the link, Free Shipping I live in New Zealand so I have to find out if that is worlwide, thanks for the Tip.

Klaus

[Klaus Madsen]

I just found out that they don't send overseas but are planning to do it in the future

[John Kleiber]

Laser engraving a stainless cup qty 1-5 is 25.00 in our area.
I value my customers and fire those that do not value my time and expertise.

I laser engraved this poem and hung it on the wall of my office. When it comes to pricing, it is my touch stone.

“I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;

For Life is just an employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have paid.”

― Jessie B. Rittenhouse

[daniel hernandez]

Is that $25.00 included price of cup?

Thanks for you response, and for the "words of wisdom"! :-)

[John Kleiber]

Is that $25.00 included price of cup?

Thanks for you response, and for the "words of wisdom"! :-)

$25.00 each is the service amount I charge to mark customer provided stainless steel cups.

There are places in our area that charge 20.00 each to mark a ss cup. Customers willing to spend 5.00 in gas, just to save 5.00, I do not want.

On the other hand, if we are talking quantity 20, 30, 50, I will sweeten the deal, but not to our detriment.

[Keith Downing]

I think a lot of it depends on whether you are doing a single custom cup for an individual, in which case I would charge $20+ just for the engraving on one cup. Or, if you are doing a bulk order (12+ cups) for someone that is reselling them.

In that case I charge a LOT less. You know bars, clothing stores, etc will only be able to sell the cups for around $30-35 after they're marked to their customers. And they're having to hold the inventory until they sell. So if you assume the cup is ~$10, then I would usually charge around $10 if I'm buying the cups (plus the cost of the cup) and dealing with that and holding some inventory myself, but only around $8 if I'm just marking their cups. You're still going to average around $60-$80 per hour for your laser time with most designs at that point. I don't know a lot of mom and pop shops that will pay more than that. Congrats to those that have high volume clients willing to pay $20 a cup just for the marking. That's an insane profit margin.

[Kev Williams]

Another lot of it may depend on your overhead. Which is why our 'home' now consists of about 400 sq ft of living space surrounded by an engraving shop.

As to customers willing to spend $5 on gas to save $5, I'll take 'em. -- they're the ones who come back, and tell other people about you--

For about 7 years now I've been working 12+ hours a day to keep up with the work load around here, this year I'm averaging 17 hour days, and I've had exactly 4 full days off to date. I'm this busy because I'm very good at this job, I cater to my customers needs, and I don't charge an arm and a leg. In my opinion, there's no work I do for whatever price I charge that constitutes a detriment. If a customer thinks my price is too high, I'll lower it to what he thinks is fair (within reason of course). Did that very thing just yesterday, a guy marketing a new product needed a little lasering on 50 pieces. I told him a buck-fifty. He asked if I could get closer to a buck. Done. A buck is fine for this job, I'll be done with the 50 pieces in 15-20 minutes. He's spending money he probably doesn't have on a new idea, I figure it's good biz to help him out. If it takes off, I'll have a new regular customer. If not, no big deal, his discounted job still nets me around $150 an hour. Regardless if his product flies or dies, it's almost a given he won't look elsewhere if he does need future engraving, and if he ever runs into anyone ELSE that needs engraving---

My Dad started this business in 1966. And in those 50 years we have never spent a dime to search out customers. They have always found us... That also keeps the overhead low

[John Lifer]

I'll insert my two cents into this again. I might have come across too harsh in what I said earlier, I've no dog in this hunt yet as I've just got laser ordered. But I'll relay a story about a guy I knew a couple of decades ago. Actually woodworking in nature.

Way back in the mid '90s there was a craze in central Mississippi over hand crafted items. I turned a zillion pens and sold at craft shows and had a pretty good location in Jackson that rented booths and sold crafts. One country boy made shelves. You've seen them, 1x4 pine, with coat pins and maybe cut out hearts.
At any rate, this guy was churning out the shelves. And had cheap prices. Way cheaper than I could buy material anywhere for. (pretty easy to figure material cost and time on the simple shelf) I figured that he had a source of wood, maybe backwoods mill and dryer.. So I asked him where he got his wood, that obviously he had mill prices and I had projects I'd like to buy bulk material for.

Oh, no, just buying from one of the big boxes.

So he was making a few cents on each shelf, probably working for a nickle an hour if you factored in just the machine time, let alone the travel time and gas to bring to store. Everyone that bought the shelves was HAPPY! But he didn't last too long. Finally figured out that he was not making a dime. But he was happy!
Now I'm not saying that anyone should jack up prices, just to make an extra $ or to run off business if it doesn't meet your minimum, but just be aware of what you are doing.
It is very hard to raise your prices if you sell too cheap. Do what Kev has said, determine an hourly rate and don't go below that unless for a good reason.

[John Kleiber]

A friend of mine who spent 30 years in the printing industry lived by this.....

good-fast-cheap-pick-two.jpg

Go ahead, pick 2....

[Tim Bateson]

I'm currently working on an order of 350 Yeti cups. Simple logos. It "looked" to be a slow month, so I lowered my normal rate to $9/ea for these (still over $100/hr). Once you're properly setup for a job like this, it's quick easy money. Note: I said "looked" - This has turned into one of those months where I've had to turn customers away again.