# Would You Charge More?



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

My wife has a Vinyl business. Printing T Shirts, Vehicles and Signs. 

She is making Good Money but still charges half what everyone else is. Plus if there is an order most say it will take days to fill, she will have it done in hours if she has material.

She made up two Huge Signs for a Politician to put in back of his Pickup. She only charged $150 but he thought it was too much. She said it should have cost $300 but because she did it for a friend she only charge half.

I'm thinking she should charge what everyone else charges. But she keeps prices low taking in all the work.

Should she charge the going price?

big rockpile


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Slowly raise prices until to busy then charge going rate. Perhaps small premium for rush orders.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

She needs to remember that her time is valuable. A lot of time small business owners don’t capture all of their expenses for a job especially their valuable time. Things like the cost of electricity to make the items, wear & tear on her equipment, and even the cost of her office space should be calculated into her cost. If she is simply using the cost of the materials, she is cutting herself short. 

And, in my experience, friends and family are the worse customers. They often thing they should get things cheap or free.


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

I struggle with this all the time. Trying to stay competitive in the market while bringing in enough to cover all the overhead and expenses and still put some in my pocket is challenging. Plus every Joe Blow and illegal that has a pick up and a welder is doing stuff for bext to nothing and that puts a huge burr unser my saddle. I can't change the price of materials, can't change the price of insurance, taxes, tires, fuel, rod and gasses etc. Only thing I can really control is labor costs. I also can't do everything myself and I have to have employees. It's a constant tail chasing frustration. But it still beats the hell outta punching a clock for someone else!


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

And I did the very thing there that drives me nuts when I post asking a question..I didn't answer it so sorry about that. My answer is yes, if she can still make it profitable and stay under her competitors pricing to funnel more work to herself then absolutely!


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

big rockpile said:


> My wife has a Vinyl business. Printing T Shirts, Vehicles and Signs.
> 
> She is making Good Money but still charges half what everyone else is. Plus if there is an order most say it will take days to fill, she will have it done in hours if she has material.
> 
> ...


Yep.


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## diltine (Dec 26, 2018)

If charging lower than other could attract more customers to her business, then why not. As long as she is making sure that she's still earning from her products/services and it still worth the effort.


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## Tammy1 (Aug 31, 2011)

I would probably pick one or the other. Generally you don't get both speed and low price at the same time. Just depends what type of customers she wants in five years. 

With low price she can do the work at her convenience and her clients will learn to expect the extra time. Her clients will value savings over convenience. If she is speedy. Her customers will learn to expect it and she will need to accommodate them which may effect her personal life. customer but will need to work less orders and make the same money. Five years from now what type of customer does she want.


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## Tammy1 (Aug 31, 2011)

Sorry about the typos Granddaughter hit the phone while I was typing and heck if I know how to edit a post.


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## Snowfan (Nov 6, 2011)

Good question. A carpenter buddy of mine used to tell his customers " You can have it quick or you can have it right. Which one do you want?" Good luck.


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## gleepish (Mar 10, 2003)

Someone once told me that you have it Good, Cheap, or Fast. You can, at most, have two of the three and which ever is left over will always be sacrificed.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

OLD post.


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## gleepish (Mar 10, 2003)

**removed/self-edited as being... dumb.**

Sorry to those who saw it.. I am tired and grumpy.


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