what do you charge? im gunna be making up some buisness cards and looking for some work n wanted to know what kind of prices to charge. im good enough to not be giving it away n wanted to know. thanks for the replies.
Thats nice, I'd pay. Just joking about stripers. I don't now how pinstripers and sign-panters charge, whether they bid a job ahead of time or charge hourly. I played around with it for a while thinking about doing it for a living...but I shake way too much and never did anything as nice as that.
And to be more helpful, I always look at anything I'm going to do for the money as an hourly thing to decide if its worth it. If my time is worth no less than $20 an hour I'll figure out how long its going to take and bid it accordingly, and not do the job if I can't make at least my predetermined hourly wage.
Pricing is always difficult. I've been doing it for ten years, and I still have trouble sometimes. Problem with pricing by the hour in pinstriping is that you will inherently get faster as time goes on. Heck I've got one buddy in Houston that can literally do two lines down the side of a car in 12 seconds (I know, sounds impossible until I saw it in person, and I've got video proof). Of course he was showing off, but even taking his time he could long line a car in 5 minutes. Add designs front and rear, here and there, he's got no problem doing a full job in 30 minutes. After 20+ years practicing and working to get as good as he can, should he make less because he's good and can do it in a fraction of the time? I'll spend and hour and a half on the average job, but when I started, it was more like 3 hours. In addition, every maket is different. I've seen average jobs go for $300-400 at big league car shows with lots of work around. I'm sure that in some places like southern California, that might very well be the going rate all the time, I don't know. Here in Tulsa, most average full jobs (2 lines, designs front and rear) run around $150, but can go right on up if you start adding more designs, lettering, graphics, flames, ect. It's tough, but you have to find out what your local market will bear. One might expect a beginner to be cheaper than pros in the same area, but if you radically undercut other stripers in the area, you will not only get a bad name with your peers, but you do yourself an injustice by undervalueing yourself. And it can be hard to raise your price later, and you don't nessecarily want to be known as the "Cheap guy". Now, on more long term projects like flame jobs or murals, where it can easily take a week or longer, an hourly rate is more appropriate, but most people don't like open ended projects and want a firmer figure, so you'll still need to be able to estimate it for em. I usually guarantee estimates within 20%, and materials are extra. Just my 2 cents.
i think it all depends on the size of the work. i usually charge 20 for a smaller peice, 40 for a big peice
But that's the case with everything. The more you do it, the faster you get. It's why I used to contract out at $25/hour to write software and now get $200/hr. Not only do I do it faster now, it works the first time. And, nobody has ever told me I'm too expensive.
yeah im not gunna be trying to get rich but just dont want to be the cheap guy. mainly just want to get more work cause iv striped everything i own and i want more work. thanks. hey seymore ill try harder from now on ok?
Turn tables are out....CDs are in.................... Your best bet for pricing is to see what the market will bare, just try to be a little more reasonable than the next guy and you will never run out of work.
Personally, I would think charging by the hour, would not be fair to the painter. It's kind of like art work. An idea in someones head. Then there's the talent to apply the idea. Sometimes there's travel time, if you go to a shop or a home to do the work. You've also got materials (paint, tape, thinner, brushes, etc.). As you get proficient, your work will hopefully get better and faster. Charge what it's worth, not by the hour. JMO......Stu
I like pricing by the job better than an hourly rate. That being said I have a minimum of $25 to bust open my kit. I like having a price agreed on from the get-go.
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