Cost to produce and post a printed mug

[scotty44]

I think everything has already been said mate, if you can find a market for it then go for it
If it's the Paul I'm thinking it is then you have the design side of things sorted

[ArferMo]

Huuum..... must put my prices up...... quite happy turning out 500 mugs a day on large orders and making 70p per mug.

[pisquee]

Sorry I should have been clearer, I am not selling to John Lewis - I am trying to sell to people who do shop at John Lewis and who I can sell to at a decent profit.

If I was supplying JL then they would be buying at about £2 a mug maximum which may be worth it if the numbers stack up and I am happy giving them at least 4 weeks to pay an invoice.

John Lewis will be more likely 90 day invoice terms
Emma Bridgewater bought a mug/pottery factory to make the mugs from scratch, but you're right in being a brand helps to sell mugs for a better price, we're someway there, but not at Emma's level yet!
We find sales on Etsy are erratic, NOTHS is better, and our own website somewhere in the middle.
y

[pw66]

Huuum..... must put my prices up...... quite happy turning out 500 mugs a day on large orders and making 70p per mug.

That is probably a good approach to take, and it is the one I take when screen printing (garments). There is room for both high margin, low volume and low margin high volume production in most businesses.
I always find it strange when printers can't see past the profit per item when turning away volume jobs. Set up and design time is the same for one piece as it is for 1000. I'd much rather keep printing all day.

[froggy]

Huuum..... must put my prices up...... quite happy turning out 500 mugs a day on large orders and making 70p per mug.

If its not broken dont fix it.....if you are generating cash every month after paying all your bills and you are happy keep going.Its easy for others to be brave with your money.500 mugs per day isnt chump change.However if you are struggling to keep up then maybe a very small increase. Also your return on investment aint bad either.

[technick]

The most profitable line of my sublimation business BY FAR has been corporate shopping. I have recently been visiting some of the UK's largest call centres and head offices holding anything between 500-3000 employees, with the mug and coaster press in tow. I have decided to move on from the visits and also pull out of craft fairs and focus on my new clients which i have built up over the last year and bring me more than enough business to allow me to work from home, otherwise i wouldn't be telling you all this.

Most large organisations and corporations encourage local businesses to turn up and sell to employees on site. Get in touch with facilities management or reception desks who usually look after bookings and watch the £££ come in:)

[Andrew]

The retail price has nothing to do with the price they will be paying you Adrian. John Lewis sell kids framed clocks for over £30 each. I could make (and have made) a better clock in an IKEA Ribba frame for less than a fiver - frame, mechanism and print. That doesn't mean JL will pay me any more than a fiver for them though.

Also, 'trying' to sell to a large distributor like JL is different from actually being successful in selling to them.

Sorry, but I'm not convinced. I don't think there's such a thing as an up market mug. A mug is a mug, no matter which way you dress it up and the competition is fierce, driving down already meagre profits.

You are wrong. There is such a thing as an upmarket mug. It is just different types of buyers you target accordingly. You can get pound shop mugs mass produced in the cheapest way possible or short run bespoke items. There are various factors that can make something upmarket. It is largely the same through many retail sectors. We have and do supply at all levels. You just need to find where you fit in. Going for the high volume retailers can work upto a certain level where volumes sit below the level where China kicks in. Supplying shorter runs for artists will command a higher cost and also justify bone china styles with base prints or stickers etc. The way a mug is packaged can put the mug into a higher market bracket. All different ways can work as long as you understand the market you are aiming for.

[webtrekker]

Fair enough, but we weren't really talking about bone china, decorative mug boxes, or printing/stickering the bottoms of mugs.

A standard 10oz (or 11oz) mug is the same thing, no matter which way you look at it, and saying that it is an 'up market' mug just because it's sold at John Lewis rather than ebay doesn't change the quality of the mug. That's what I mean when I say there's no such thing as an 'up market' mug.

[Andrew]

Fair enough, but we weren't really talking about bone china, decorative mug boxes, or printing/stickering the bottoms of mugs.

A standard 10oz (or 11oz) mug is the same thing, no matter which way you look at it, and saying that it is an 'up market' mug just because it's sold at John Lewis rather than ebay doesn't change the quality of the mug. That's what I mean when I say there's no such thing as an 'up market' mug.

Not wanting to needlessly argue but.......... I still disagree on both points. Strip away all of the packaging Atcham and you can still have an up market mug on the standard 10oz. What is printed on the mug dictates this. A high end, sought after artist allows a limited edition run of one of their prints on a mug of just 100 and they will sell for a vast amount more. We print many 10oz mugs and they are retailed usually between £5 and £10. £15 tends to be the max but we have produced a box set previously of 4 mugs that was sold at £80.

When they are blank they are not all equal either. Straightness, colour, flaws, coating, etc all govern the quality deeming whether it is budget or premium. Price.reflects this. You can got mugs in the low 50's but also over £1. Not always, but generally this is down to quality.might only be 30 or 40p but still 70 or 80% more.

Ultimately, it is what you make of it. Mugs can be sold for little or lots. How you get there is a whole d8fferent matter but the higher end goal Is possible.

[Skarekrow]

Well this thread has expanded somewhat. All I wanted to know originally was how much it costs to provide one printed mug which I have worked out as being around the £1.30-£1.60 with a box (small quantities) with £2.85 postage.
I have learned a lot more from this thread than just that information though and I has encouraged me to go ahead with my venture of printed mugs.
We are now looking at lots of different markets and not just selling online via auction sites.

I do believe there is such a thing as an up market mug because it depends on the design and where and to whom it is marketed but I am not sure our designs could be called up market although this will be something we will be exploring.

Our designs will be aimed at specific niches and those niches will be identified using keyword analysis and research into those markets.

I doubt we will get our equipment this side of christmas as we have enough on our plate at the moment but the research will continue and we will carry on building out portfolio of designs, website etc.

Thank you all for all your replies. They have all been helpful. Keep em coming.

Paul