Count Muppet Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 our engraving has cooled off a fair bit recently, it has been put down to thinking it is a luxury, which i suppose it is a little. i need to find ways to increase it. i think we have been over charging for a couple of years now, so i will definately try a lower price, but i was mainly thinking about pushing for large trophy orders. we used to get a lot, but sadly they have dried up and gone elsewhere. what i wanted to know was, when you get a large trophy order do you just charge for trophies and not engraving or do you charge on top, and how much if so? i have an is200tx (basic software) with backup support from our engraving centre if that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 If they spend 200 quid or more on trophies then I give free engraving on the trophies they buy. But still charge a reduced rate for engraving their existing annual trophies and shields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 I've found it harder to get these large trophy orders over the last couple of years.People are ordering online with companies like Running Imp who are doing free postage and free engraving for LESS than what I am paying for the trophies. I've priced up a couple for football clubs with 12 or 13 teams and I/we just can't compete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenB Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 The larger the trophy order, the longer I have to spend engraving, assembling etc. Therefore I always charge for engraving - if there are a lot of trophies all to be engraved the same I will charge based on the time taken rather than a per trophy price, as it will work out cheaper for the customer, but definitely never free engraving. Obviously I'm open to negotiation on trophy price if enough is spent, but not the ones who buy half a dozen shields & expect 50% off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 The engraving market has shifted for sure, Big orders are slowing, but I've found "emergency" engraving on the increase. I don't carry a massive stock but stock items which can be used for any occasion & yes I always charge extra for engraving. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny King Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Hi, Yep big orders seem to be drying up, Getting alot more parents in buying one off''s because the clubs have cut back on giving out trophies. So we carry a good selection. We have increased on gifts and glasswear which is doing really well We have just added silver Jewllery which has sold well this week and is all engravable which gives us a edge on the local jewellers. For excample had a guy walk in on Wed at 4.30pm wanting gifts for his twin boys, Ended up buying two solid silver ID bracelets and wanted them engraved. Job came to £120 he paid and collected 20mins later, Nice finish to the day So i guess i'm saying just look at different ways to keep that engraving machine working Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny King Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Also I always charge for engraving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windycity Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 I had this job just walk through the door. annual wood shield, wanted 10 extra shields added but no engraving. as we always use someone else but he does not stock these. they told me what they normally pay and it is more than i would have charged but they still use their engraver, so once you have a built up a bit of a relationship with your customer they do return. but on big orders like michael just quoted its going to be the cheapest option as the club/leagues will be working to a budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 do you have a well presented, clean, display of gifts? Do you advertise engraved Valentines/Mothers Day/Fathers Day/Graduation/etc gifts at the appropriate times of year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Muppet Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 thanks for the tips people. i think i might also try a few different lines if i can get my hands on them. we seem to be cutting down a lot on merchandise and moving towards keeping higher quality items. from speaking to others it seems that when people are short of money its the engraving that misses out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Yep big orders seem to be drying up Also, I always charge for engraving We supplied 200 trophies for our local kids football club, recently. All engraved and with a personalised Centre. They shop around and there's no way we would have got their order unless we'd given them free engraving! It does seem alot of work at the time, and can be a ball-ache, but at the end of the day if you want the big orders, you have to be a bit more competitive with your prices IMO. Also, because we did them a good deal on their 'main' trophies, they came back for their 'special' trophies, i.e. managers player, players player, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shop-keep Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 because we did them a good deal on their 'main' trophies Do you still charge the catalogue RRP or do you discount that as well as free engraing? Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 I agree with Dean, if I have to give free engraving to secure an order then I will do it. It often brings future orders in. I also ask them if possible to email their engraving details , then its just a matter of copying and pasting into the engraving software. Also its worth trying to negotiate with suppliers for trophy discounts and free carriage on big orders. (Don't forget they want your business too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 because we did them a good deal on their 'main' trophies Do you still charge the catalogue RRP or do you discount that as well as free engraing? Graham We contacted our Supplier, who gave us a discount which we were able to pass onto the Customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k4mrc Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 I had to quote a job recently, it was about £500-00 catlalogue price (Glenway) I offered unlimited engraving free - also a couple of sweetners i;e tankard for £20-00 with both sides engraved (free also) for the manager etc, and 10% off - did not get the order as another "engraver" did same order EVEN CHEAPER! so much cheaper for the trophies they came back for the tankards, which I still did - no need to cut off my nose to suit me face. it goes to show everybody is feeling the difference - or more shopping around, think thouigh if you were not in your shops, where/how would you get your trophies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covlocks Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Thats why I stopped doing car keys in the UK. It didn't seem to matter how competive my prices were, there was always someone in the area that was desperate for the work and would do it just for the turn over. To compete, I would have to have gone out to the car, decoded the locks, cut and programmed the keys and be happy to make a loss. I wised up and saved money by not bothering and staying in bed. There is always someone out there you have to compete with who forgets that it not just a case of turn-over, but you need also to make a profit to stay in business. I now work in Spain for 6 months of the year, where competition is a lot less and I can make a little on the car keys. I hope by getting into engraving, where I have found no other outlet in my area, I can make a little on that also. I just need to decide between the IS400 or M40G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Or umarq universal 350? eh? http://www.u-marq.com/product.php/76/1/ ... 48a9df5325 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenB Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Or umarq universal 350? eh? http://www.u-marq.com/product.php/76/1/ ... 48a9df5325 well said =D> =D> wise advice indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covlocks Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 I hadn't considered that - I didn't think at first glance it was versatile enough Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Behave yourself man. Its a top class machine more than capable. With very user freindly software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Not used the IS400 but have found the M40G a bit restrictive, The IS200TX was always a winner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDY Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 with soccer clubs i always find it best to contact my trophy suppliers towards the end of the year they always have trophies they are trying to shift "at crayyyzieee prices" negotiation is the name of the game i work out packages that i can offer my main customers and get samples in when i am armed with costs and stock levels i hit all my normal clubs leading up to xmas with special offers "while stocks last and for a limited time only kinda thing" then i hit new clubs asking if we can have a chance to quote them and at the same time showing off some stupidly priced trophies for a limited time some new potential customers even bring in old bills so you have something to go on with this method i sold around 1600 trophies before xmas last year with 50% deposits on all, most of these were all engraved and boxed up by the end of january one big club has not even collected his trophies yet for this year and he wants to look into next summers awards by getting big orders in and done early it frees up a huge amount of time during the manic season for all your last min dot com people it's also worth concidering sponsoring a club to secure a deal we can offer reduced engraving costs if we put "sponsored by us" on all trophies or how about "6 free man of the match trophies sir?" also have a rummage around to see what odd trophies you have gathering dust you can send money off vouchers out with a free trophy if they order if you get a large walk in quote never commit to a price on the spot, get all the details you need over a cuppa with the customer and say you will email them with your best price then you can contact your supplier and see if they can offer a discount for the bulk order or an even better price on a similar award if they have any then you have two price options to show your customer i really need a brew now ....bye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 =D> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDY Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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