Some engravers are all over the place with what they will charge to do a job.....one guy charges $1 and another charges $3. We all have our own calculation ($2/min or material cost times three, etc). If you charge too little, eventually you will go out of business. If you charge too much, eventually you will go out of business. So how do you find the sweet spot?
Let's play "What Would You Charge" and listen to each other's rationale. Here's an example of a job:
1) It's for an existing good customer with a national name brand (take your pick.....McDonalds, Home Depot, Sears.....basically a well known company) that has the potential for a lot of new business.
2) The job is to engrave 500 maple wood cutting boards that weigh 5lbs each
3) It takes 5 minutes and 20 seconds to engrave each board (you are not allowed to do the job faster......so it does not matter if you have a 30 watt Rabbit or a 130 watt Trotec). This time does not include loading and unloading. Regardless of the size of your bed, you can only engrave one at a time.
4) Customer supplies the boards......so your material cost is $0
5) Customer wants you to pick up and deliver the boards 40 minutes (one way) from your shop.....100 boards per week for five weeks.
6) Your shop is on the second floor.
7) No asking for additional clarification.
What would you charge? Would it be different if you were bidding on the job against 3 other companies? Would it be different is the customer was Joe's Automotive and Fishing Supply?
(hopefully, we can make this an ongoing series......I'll find it much more entertaining than a thread asking me to help identify a font).