DSF

accdave, I know where you're coming from and understand you'd rather be busy than thumb twiddling as at least you making some money. I'm in the same boat as you, small business with overheads, but I stopped trying to compete with the guys with no overheads and working out of their bedrooms a long time ago, it was pointless. Yes, I've lost a lot of hen shirt business to these guys, but I still get a few and the extra I charge works out the same as I would have got if I'd dropped the prices - less work - same profit. I too thought that i'd lose follow on business but after studying the sales there wasn't any - the people that buy hen shirts aren't going to come back and buy business cards, flyers, promo items or vehicle livery - they go to vistaprint or ebay as price is always going to be an issue.

spot on John, its about working smarter not harder!! Rather than working for a couple of quid I would rather be out and about trying to drum up new business or getting in touch with previous customers to remind them of my service and see if they have anything else they require now or in the near future. Which whilst working like a headless chicken for a couple of quid I can't be doing both.

In my previous business (carpet cleaning) I started out offering stupidily low prices, working 12-14 hour days most days with a minimum profit margin on each job. I also found that with my low prices I was attracting the skankier customer that meant the job was harder, I was using more chemical and more time on each job all of which ate into the bottom line. When I decided to rebrand I doubled my prices overnight, lost 95% the previous customer base I had worked hard to get, but what I did notice was the clients got better, the jobs were easier and less chemical was used which meant my bottom line went up. My hours dropped to less than 8 hours a day sometimes only half days. I wasn't as stressed so I could focus on not only providing the best possible job but outstanding customer service. I had less customers than before but over 12 months my actual net profit nearly doubled and the return custom was better meaning less advertising.

I have to say, fortunately i work from home, however i like to provde a quality service, not only because i take pride in my work but also as most of my work is word of mouth and everyone knows how quick bad news can spread!! Ive had one customer whos also a friend moaning about the price of some t shirts he wanted, (about 3-4 different colours of vinyl) front back and sleeve printing and he wanted it for less than £4 including providing the shirt!! Needless to say i said im sorry but if you want that have fun finding it!! I may have minimal overheads but i refuse to skimp on quality!! The worst i will do is use b grade mug's occasionally however i do discount for this!!

busybusybee;30035 wrote:I have to say, fortunately i work from home, however i like to provde a quality service, not only because i take pride in my work but also as most of my work is word of mouth and everyone knows how quick bad news can spread!! Ive had one customer whos also a friend moaning about the price of some t shirts he wanted, (about 3-4 different colours of vinyl) front back and sleeve printing and he wanted it for less than £4 including providing the shirt!! Needless to say i said im sorry but if you want that have fun finding it!! I may have minimal overheads but i refuse to skimp on quality!! The worst i will do is use b grade mug's occasionally however i do discount for this!!

The way that reads is that quality is only measured by price. On that basis I would definatley price myself out of the market

Paul;29606 wrote:well. i wouldn't print on somone else t-shirt. but £7 is not to bad if you take £10 as a standard rate. but i would charge more for slaves.

Hi Paul, How many slaves do you have and how much for one?

:redface:
it should be sleeve :rolleyes:

Most low cost operators don't last long.....
The longest lasting brands are those with premium prices.

The way I see it, there is a transaction cost, and then a unit cost per item.
the raw material cost for decorate only is only a tiny fraction of the sell price.
Customers prefere simple pricing structures.
Most customers have simple designs that are quick and easy, but occasionally they can be very complex.
If someone wants a one off both sides I will aim for £15, but for about 10 or a dozen - typical for a hen do I think £10 per item is fair and simple.
Garments supplied by client or extra cost.
Sure, there are times when I do work for just a few pounds each, but only for hundreds, and in my time scale.
As a rule of thumb I try to never do a pressing for less than £2.25 - so arms, and tails, and multiple colours can and do add up price.
Many businesses have come and gone while we continue.
At these prices trade is still a struggle, with many loss making months, but we have a high level of repeat custom after our 19 years.
This is for retail sales and fast turnaround.
I employ staff
web and home based business will be very different

i'm with logo on this, i did some tour t shirts recently really simple, charged £10 per t, they had one guy who wanted his own t shirt printed, i said yep £10 lol - he let me order one of mine instead. had another order they were slightly more print on them, but they were via a member of the original t's so i said that they should be £15 per t, but as he had come to me first, i could do them at £12 per t, when he queried why they were more, i explained that he wanted more on the shirts, so if he wanted to take off the individual name on the sleeve etc, we could get the price back to £10, he ordered them at £12, he then ordered some mugs as presents for when they got back - with him texting me a slogan for each while he was away, i charged him £7 per mug - and they were a pita with all the text messages, but i got a good price for the mugs, and have had one other job since so, it all works out in the end, and this is from a full time business that myself and my husband run with business unit rent etc etc, not a home based "extra income" business