I constantly get 24 quantity tees. This last one was for 2 colors front, 1 color back on white 50/50's. They say they pay $8 per no matter the size and I keep coming up with $9 per and $2 more for 2 & 3 XLg. I am I nuts, you can answer that.
Why do I always feel I am too High in Price?
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I don't think you are to high...I am within a few cents of your exact quote.
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71 Posts
no you are not nuts. if you have low overhead and you are doing nothing anyway, you could do this job and not loose money. if you are a great salesman you could find better customers instead of printing the 24 shirts. if you need work, take on all the cheap customers you can. as you fill you shop start replacing the those customers with customers that appreciate your work and dont dictate your price
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766 Posts
If you have staff and you are paying them to do the work, you can't afford to do it at $8.
Do the math. You didn't say what color T. Let's assume white and keep the numbers rounded.
Assume:
T cost: 1.50 (yes i know you can get them cheaper) X 24
T shipping: 15.00
Screen Set up: $20 per screen X 3
Ink Cost: 0.05 * 3
$4.63 per shirt without acknowledging any overhead for site, facility, utilities, marketing, etc. The guy charging $8 will say they are making $3.37 or a 42% profit. I'd argue they are living a fantasy of free rent, electric, utilities, wear and tear on their equipment, etc. They are probably doing it as a second job that's supplementing their HOBBY.
They don't count the rent on the garage, building on their property, etc. The bad news is these folks will be in business for a long time because they have a second job supplementing their hobby, therefore the 42% is "real" to them and is good money. As soon as they lose the second job, their prices will go up. Meanwhile we struggle to outlast them.
Do the math. You didn't say what color T. Let's assume white and keep the numbers rounded.
Assume:
T cost: 1.50 (yes i know you can get them cheaper) X 24
T shipping: 15.00
Screen Set up: $20 per screen X 3
Ink Cost: 0.05 * 3
$4.63 per shirt without acknowledging any overhead for site, facility, utilities, marketing, etc. The guy charging $8 will say they are making $3.37 or a 42% profit. I'd argue they are living a fantasy of free rent, electric, utilities, wear and tear on their equipment, etc. They are probably doing it as a second job that's supplementing their HOBBY.
They don't count the rent on the garage, building on their property, etc. The bad news is these folks will be in business for a long time because they have a second job supplementing their hobby, therefore the 42% is "real" to them and is good money. As soon as they lose the second job, their prices will go up. Meanwhile we struggle to outlast them.
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1,455 Posts
No, you are not nuts. Actually, your price is too cheap, but with the economy the way it is, we have to charge less than we should. But, you can't go so cheap you lose money when all production and overhead costs are added up. Might as well just give people a fifty dollar bill and say "This is what I will lose printing your shirts at that price, so just take the money so I don't have to waste any actual time printing!".
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1,250 Posts
Well, if you get $8 for 24 T's then you have about $200 to play with. From that $200 you have to do all this stuff:
1. Interact with customer, ring up sale, create invoice, pay merchant processor
2. CreateArt/MakeSeparations/PrintTransparencies
3. Coat & Dry 3 screens
4. Expose, Washout, & Dry 3 screens
5. Set up Press, Register Job.
6. Order 24 shirts, Receive, Inspect, Inventory. Maybe pay shipping
7. Screen Shirts, Run through dryer, Fold & Package for delivery
8. Clean up Ink, Press, trash
9. Rinse & Reclaim Screens
10. Create Packing slip, Box, Create shiping label, Ship. (skip if a local pick up)
11. Possibly deliver to client. Mileage, Gas, Vehicle Insurance, Time.
That is alot of crap to squeeze out of $200. How successful you become in this business will depend greatly on how efficient you can become at these profit gobbling tasks.
Can you make money on this job at $8/shirt? Yes.
Can you lose your a$$ on this job at $9/shirt? Yes!
Depends on YOU!
An automatic can run this job in 10 minutes, but it might take you an hour on a 4 color manual table top...
You may buy shirts at the piece price instead of the 1000 piece price.
You may make mistakes, or work sloppy and scrap a shirt or two.
It might take you 2 hours to dork with the file to get useable screens.
So... how much of that $200 will be left in the till completely depends on how well you make purchasing decisions, how well you do you organize your jobs (workflow efficiency), how well you actually do your work (fast, no scrap/waste), how fast you clean, reclaim, and recoat your screens, how good you are on the PC doing art/layout/design/separations, how good you are at setting up your press and registering the job.
Other factors that many people skip...
How much you pay for your overhead: Rent, Software, Computers, Equipment Maintenance, Screens, Insurance, Electricity, Phones, Internet connection, Website, Merchant Account, even toilet paper & soap in the bathroom!
A guy working in his mother's basement, with no insurance, on used craigslist equipment, using pirated software, and single ply un-quilted toilet paper is going to be able to charge less than you and still make a profit (all other costs being equal)
My excel sheet breaks this job down to this (see attached jpg). That does not mean YOU can do it for that... just that I CAN based on my costs structure and profit expectations. If you can do it for $7.50 then that is fine.. I will try to get better!
I present the price to the customer just as you see it here. They do not know about art charge or screen charges, or labor charges, or larger shirt prices. Just the bottom line, all inclusive price. Take it or leave it.
1. Interact with customer, ring up sale, create invoice, pay merchant processor
2. CreateArt/MakeSeparations/PrintTransparencies
3. Coat & Dry 3 screens
4. Expose, Washout, & Dry 3 screens
5. Set up Press, Register Job.
6. Order 24 shirts, Receive, Inspect, Inventory. Maybe pay shipping
7. Screen Shirts, Run through dryer, Fold & Package for delivery
8. Clean up Ink, Press, trash
9. Rinse & Reclaim Screens
10. Create Packing slip, Box, Create shiping label, Ship. (skip if a local pick up)
11. Possibly deliver to client. Mileage, Gas, Vehicle Insurance, Time.
That is alot of crap to squeeze out of $200. How successful you become in this business will depend greatly on how efficient you can become at these profit gobbling tasks.
Can you make money on this job at $8/shirt? Yes.
Can you lose your a$$ on this job at $9/shirt? Yes!
Depends on YOU!
An automatic can run this job in 10 minutes, but it might take you an hour on a 4 color manual table top...
You may buy shirts at the piece price instead of the 1000 piece price.
You may make mistakes, or work sloppy and scrap a shirt or two.
It might take you 2 hours to dork with the file to get useable screens.
So... how much of that $200 will be left in the till completely depends on how well you make purchasing decisions, how well you do you organize your jobs (workflow efficiency), how well you actually do your work (fast, no scrap/waste), how fast you clean, reclaim, and recoat your screens, how good you are on the PC doing art/layout/design/separations, how good you are at setting up your press and registering the job.
Other factors that many people skip...
How much you pay for your overhead: Rent, Software, Computers, Equipment Maintenance, Screens, Insurance, Electricity, Phones, Internet connection, Website, Merchant Account, even toilet paper & soap in the bathroom!
A guy working in his mother's basement, with no insurance, on used craigslist equipment, using pirated software, and single ply un-quilted toilet paper is going to be able to charge less than you and still make a profit (all other costs being equal)
My excel sheet breaks this job down to this (see attached jpg). That does not mean YOU can do it for that... just that I CAN based on my costs structure and profit expectations. If you can do it for $7.50 then that is fine.. I will try to get better!
I present the price to the customer just as you see it here. They do not know about art charge or screen charges, or labor charges, or larger shirt prices. Just the bottom line, all inclusive price. Take it or leave it.
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71 Posts
I am with you on this. It is frustrating trying to tell people what to charge when you have no idea what their overhead and lifestyle is.
I print enough shirts everyday that i could do several 24 piece jobs,give them away and not notice.
But a one person shop with no bills might need 200 bucks to make a car insurance payment tomorrow. if i were him i would print all day and night for 200.
I know my prices and reputation are good because my shop stays full and my customers are happy
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1,383 Posts
I came in a little lower, but I have a question for the "charge what you need" school of pricing. This seems to ignore the idea that there is a fair market value on our service. Surely the average price can't be ignored, or am I wrong?
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