What would you do? Bidding a job. - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	Jo (OAAE)	6 Feb 2006
To:	ALL	1 of 4

2891.1

I would love to hear your opinions on this.

Today I received a call for a total of 220 to 250 trophies. They will range anywhere from 24 - 18 inches in height. They will have plastic figures, columns, base and caps and of course the engraved plates.

The company has been dealing with an internet site which is a wholesale company and can provide a very good price.

My question; should I try to meet their price within a couple dollars or should I leave it alone and let them continue to work with the internet site. The site is www.aaatrophies.com

I look forward to what you have to say. Thank you.

EDITED: 6 Feb 2006 by DGL

From:	Engravin' Dave (DATAKES)	6 Feb 2006
To:	Jo (OAAE)	2 of 4

2891.2 In reply to 2891.1

Jo,

The other company has no bearing on what you need to charge for these trophies. I would determine what you need to charge to make the job worthwhile, give your customer the quote, then let them make the decision.

I guess you could take a look at the prices that they are currently paying to determine if you want to sacrifice the time it will take you to even put the quote together.

From:	logojohn	6 Feb 2006
To:	Jo (OAAE)	3 of 4

2891.3 In reply to 2891.1
We sell tons of trophies at small markups for bulk buyers (but at least double cost). The price is similar to theirs on some things. We have 2 full time assemblers so it is still profitable. If it means the owner spending time doing it while the laser sits idle or marketing suffers, it likely wouldn't be a good choice. We had a local trophy war 10 years ago and decided to fight. We have enough higher margin stuff to pay the bills. Most of the challengers have closed or changed hands since they were only selling the cheap stuff and couldn't make money. If you only sell low priced stuff you have to do a hugh volume to make it work. A lot of people dis trophies but if is done right it can even out dead periods and actually make money when combined with other awards. Ordering online may be cheaper but if there is a mistake, damage or last minute change, there will be problems. They may be willing to pay a little more for better service. .

From:	Jo (OAAE)	7 Feb 2006
To:	logojohn	4 of 4

2891.4 In reply to 2891.3

Thank you for your input. This gives me something to mull over before I commit a bid.

I so appreciate how much you all are so helpful on this forum. You're worth you weight it Las Vegas gold ;)