Possible New Customer Idea

[Scott Shepherd]

I concur with your pricing on that Joe.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Joe,
just an FYI but if you get a 4" lens it lengthens the depth of focus, allowing you to engrave on a radiused item. It may not be a intricate as a 1 1/2" or 2" lens but it definitely allows you to have a larger window for text and when you add a 1/4" to a 1/2" area that's 50% more engravable area.

Spell check and Merriam can't locate "engravable" as a word but I think it is.

[Stephen Beckham]

Joe - my problem exactly... I had a friend that brought me a humidor that cost him a couple 100 and he loved it. When he took it back to show the store owner he purchased it from, the owner had me do a couple more... The better they looked, the more expensive box he'd bring out...

Today - I'd jump all over it. As a neewb, I told him respectfully I didn't trust myself yet and I'd get back with him when I was more efficient with my laser. Now that I'm up and confident - I'm still a bit reserved to take on a couple thousand dollar item in my machine.

Next question was do you have them sign a statement of understanding? Will that scare them off? How much do you refund if it's wrong? Have them sign off on final artwork? Man... I like etching $2 pieces of glass....

[Darren Null]

I just tell the customer that I will do my absolute best to do it right, but stuff can and does happen. And you only get one burn. If the customer looks like a wanker or if the object looks particularly expensive, I get them to sign that they understand this- usually on the back of a paper napkin.

My worst f--k up so far is engraving 'Frederico' instead of 'Federico' on a quite expensive watch box (a mistake only an Englishman in Spain would make). Luckily, the chap was doing a bunch of 'em for Xmas; had bought a couple of extras to get a better price on the whole and had a few spare. Since then, I now check every name and foreign word letter by letter, even if I KNOW I've got it right.

[Larry Bratton]

I'd go for more like $8-10 per cigar. Chances are you aren't do it for someone buying their cigars at CVS. You're talking about big ticket items with big ticket spenders. I just finished some inlay work on a humidor that will be in the $2,000 range. Sitting in his shop, he's got about a $15,000 humidor he's finishing up.

It's a status thing as well. Don't undercut yourself on cigars.

The price some people will pay to enhance a habit that causes death. Makes no sense to me at all. But they would make good customers coz their nuts to begin with. Tobacco kills.

[Darren Null]

Driving causes death. And breathing. And eating. Life is a fatal disease.

There is no point whatsoever getting hung up on the small stuff.

[Larry Bratton]

Driving causes death. And breathing. And eating. Life is a fatal disease.

There is no point whatsoever getting hung up on the small stuff.

Darren:
This is not the place for a debate on this. I feel pretty strongly about though as I saw my dad lie and suffer from lung cancer and died when I was 12 yrs old. He smoked when no one was really aware of the dangers. He has been dead 50 yrs this year. Sorry, not a hang up, but just a strong feeling.

[Frank Corker]

Larry, calm down, I really don't think Mike was upholding thoughts he has on smokers. He might be anti smoking himself.

[Joe Pelonio]

I must remind all that this post is about laser engraving a product. While we can acknowledge that the product is unhealthy it is legal and any discussion of whether it "should be" is controversial and political and will not be allowed to continue.