Deposit........

[wickedinhere]

I do alot of business on facebook and over the phone. People will tell me what they are looking for and i draw a quick sample and either text or email it to them. They always say how they love it and tell me to go ahead and cut it for them.
Then i tell them i require 50% down to start, I tell them they can send me a check or money order in the mail or drop by and pay me in person. I was surprised to see that about 90% never send a deposit. I was wondering how many tire kickers does everyone else gets?

[eggauto]

To many. I get a lot of people wanting it for about 1/4 what It's worth.

[wickedinhere]

Yeah i just had a person want a 3 foot round custom sign and i quoted 300.00 including powder coating. She actually said it should be anymore than 100.00. I laughed out loud.

[eggauto]

Sad to say a lot of people have that Walmart attitude about prices.

[JJsCustomDesigns]

Sad to say a lot of people have that Walmart attitude about prices.

Ive told people to come and see what it takes to make it and then tell me if its worth $100 at the end of the day. Ive explained, til im blue in the face, to people its not all a simple process. Some get it, some dont. Most of orders i do are done on good faith. Ive had a few orders where the person has never came to pick up an item. But those orders weren't expensive or big. But then i have customers that cant seem to get their checkbook out fast enough to pay me.

I tell them that everything i make is done right here. IN my shop. Not imported from China. What happen to the pride in an American made product?

If someone wants something bad enough. Price shouldnt be an option. I dont usually budge on my prices. For every 1 Tire Kicker i get- Theres 10 others that order and pay. Hope i didnt ramble on too long

[sodfarmer]

I don't do custom orders without @ least 50% down, unless I've done business with the person before. When it comes to custom the people I deal with understand this and don't have a problem. I've learned pretty quick who are the tire kickers and who are serious. What I do with custom is set some parameters, if you give most people to many ideas it just confuses them. They generally want something with their name on it, and want you to tell them what looks good. If the person has an idea of what they want then you can charge them for it and they understand. I'm not an expert by means, just sharing what I've learned the last 2 years.

[kbenz]

50% up front on custom orders. If they don't like it, try and get it at walmart with your name or house number cut in it

[wickedinhere]

I have only been burned one time by a guy i knew real good stuck me with 5 peace signs. I looked at it as money well spent so i don't have to deal with him any more.

[wickedinhere]

I had a guy call me the other day and wanted me to do his plasma cutting i said sure no problem. I get a file 2 days later
and he wanted a quote and he also wanted me to drive 35 miles to his shop and pick the metal because he had some in stock. I told him i would use my metal because it wouldnt be cost effective to use his since i would have to charge him to pick it up. Then his file had so many problems it needed a complete rework. I told him all of this and havent heard back from him. I dont mind people supplying the metal but i am not going to pick it up for free.

[pipeliner]

I have got burnt a couple time by people I knew well, with times getting tougher, you need something upfront I agree 100%

[prattswelding]

50% up front on custom orders. If they don't like it, try and get it at walmart with your name or house number cut in it

I agree, and the tire kickers kill me. When you talk "deposit" after they say "Cut it", they usually can't get out of the office fast enough, it's like a Tire Kicker Repellent. If they sold it in a can, I would spray it in my building every day to keep them out. Most of them come in with the attitude of "all you have to do is press a button and the machine does everything else"; they have no idea what it takes to produce a finished product. Then they want to provide the material?? I've tried that, it's always bent up, rusty junk metal they had laying around or found some where, you have to wire wheel it to even get current, and they expect you to use this scrap to come up with a masterpiece, then if you mess up on the cut, you owe them metal. Every single time I have ever tried to help a customer save money like that, it ends up being at my expense. They save, and I lose, no thank you.

I used to try and price by the cut inch and pierce, but the hard part is done by the time you lay out a design, scale it to size, convert it to cut paths, and measure it out. And it's usually just to try and get an estimate for someone who is going to say it's too high anyway. I spoke with one member who just does it by the square ft. and I started doing the same, it cuts out a lot of the hassle and time consumption and gets me down to the serious customers quickly.

I'm currently charging $20 a sq/ft on raw cut, and $26/a sq ft finished 12ga. Heavier metal will adjust the price. If a customer wants a 36" round sign that's 36x36=1296/144=9sq/ft x $26 = $234.00 finished 12ga. If it were a complete custom design I would add a $25.00 design fee, Bringing it to $259.00 + tax, and require a 50% deposit. After the deposit is received I will start on the design. If the price is too much, then perhaps they're only in the market for a 24" diameter sign, and they just didn't realize it. They usually want the same size piece, for a lesser cost, the only way to do that is to take money out of my end, again, No thank you.

That formula seems to be working well, and Now I avoid this converstaion and headache:
Customer: "How much is it if I get "this", "this" and "this" cut into a sign?"
ME: $$$
Customer: "Ohhh....that's more than I thought, how about if I take this out?"
Me: (turning around to remove part of design and remeasure) $$
Customer: "Well, how about if I just get this part cut"
Me: (turning to modify design again) Were down to $ now
Customer: OK we'll get back with you. (Customer leaves, 20 minutes wasted)
ME: (Bangs head on Keyboard before going back to what I was working on before)

[jmsrbrt]

Well I must be in fairy land....people call me out of the blue with an idea, I draw it up and send back a PDF file, and if they like it, I quote them a price plus shipping, and require ALL of my money up front. The few times I've said it was a custom piece I couldn't resell to anyone, they understood and sent me the money. Never had one complaint, or one who wanted to return it.

[Bigrhamr]

One thing I do that seems to save a little time is state the terms for custom work during the initial contact with the customer.
Tell them a rough lead time and say "On custom fabrication work we do ask for pre payment before work begins".
On large orders I may take a 50% deposit but usually get it all up front.
If either of those things are a deal breaker then I'd rather not waste my time or the customers talking design and price.

[comeoutswingin]

On custom designs I just tell people they're looking at anywhere from $35-45 a sq. foot finished for 10ga material. If they're a repeat customer or they want something I have already cut I can wiggle a little.

Surprisingly I have people literally open their wallets and try to hand me cash in full right after I tell them a price but I refuse that ALWAYS. My reasoning is if they are willing to do that, they're going to pay me when I'm done and without their money in my hand I don't feel like I have to deliver their item the next morning.

When its people I don't know (craigslist, online), or its a custom fabrication project, I will take a material deposit if its to order anything I don't have on hand.

I do try to run my business with a paid for inventory of material, which is hard for many people to do.

[DARRYL21270]

Cash up front or no deal. If you were buying something online would you send the company a message and tell them you'll pay half now and the remainder on delivery, hell no. If people can't pay up front then they can't afford it to begin with so move on.

[GoingCustom]

$250 or less requries full payment up front. Anything over that requires 50% down or some of my repeat customers just pay the full amount up front.

I agree with Darryl - ordering anything online or major chain requires full payment before item is shipped. Althought, for gates and such, I do the 50% down and the other 50% is due date of install.

[cstroke]

I was told long ago that you can eat labor but not matl..

not sure if that still holds true LOL..

Great site and great insight thanks to all that contribute..

[Eggman]

Not wanting to drag up an old post, but.....I had a guy a couple of weeks ago that wanted 11 railings 7.5 feet long by 30" and one almost 10 feet by 30" for around $1200. Finished with powder coating and delivery. Wow! When I relayed my pricing, $6,000 for cutting, material, artwork, he was just amazed that it would cost that much. Rant off.

We started with the usual 50% down, then went to 75% down, and now just require payment in full to start with. I will usually be able to give them a sketch fairly quickly before they leave the booth, if we are at a show.

[JTScoatings]

This is interesting, I'd hadn't thought this far in my planning stages. I'm looking to add a plasma setup to my services, but right now we just do media blasting, powder coating, and minor welding. I've never had to take money up front with the powder coating since I always have the customer's parts. Only exception is the bicycle frame that's been sitting in the office since last May....

I think the 50% now and remainder at pickup will work best for me. I like being able to adjust my prices if need be. I have learned in the coating business that estimates are just that, and taking a customers word on part size and current condition is never a good base to begin with. We had someone call in the other day that wanted a bird cage coated. So, we assume a typical bird cage, like for small birds. The thing shows up at our shop and it ends up being big enough for a damn eagle to live in. Needless to say, our estimate was a little off.

I suppose with cutting you know what you're getting into a little bit more, but I also like looking forward to money coming in as a reward for getting my work finished

[AnotherDano]

For larger jobs, I ask for 1/3 up-front and another third at a halfway point.
This is especially important with outfits that take 30 days to process a payment. I'm not risking my money for a lot of material for that long a period.

But like the previous poster, that last check is the reward. I hate to have everything paid for without a completed project - it makes the work feel like a job.