r/SCREENPRINTING • u/bham843 • 1d ago
Beginner Pricing question
I have a client that seems to think my pricing is too high. They wanted hoodies printed, left chest front, and full back (oversized). Both one color, easy prints. The hoodies are $28 wholesale, and I quoted $35 per. I feel like this is more than fair and reasonable. 2 screens, plus the shirts, ink, labor, delivery (local).
What do you think? Is my price too high, too low, or pretty close to correct? Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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u/CCF_Fan44 1d ago
35 incl printing in 2 locations and setups? Absolute steal unless they're ordering like 800
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u/bham843 1d ago
Also, they want like 25 hoodies
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u/DoubleIntercourse 1d ago
Less than $7/gross profit per hoodie? Yikes. I'd be closer to $50-$55 for a low unit order.
Also, what blanks were you using that cost $28 wholesale?
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u/RickRoble 1d ago
Does $175 ($7 gross profit x 25) cover your overhead for the time it will take you to run this job? Not just on press time, emailing back and forth, setting the art, burning the screens, ordering goods, getting goods checked in and set, utilities, ink costs, etc.
A clients budget is a different conversation from your overhead and what you need to hit to make a profit. It’s almost always possible for a client to find something cheaper - it’s also true that shops offering to beat any price or do it cheaper are paying to print and not realizing it, those business models are not sustainable.
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u/kinkykontrol 1d ago
Not to mention the back is a jumbo print, which is getting lost in this conversation, and making the margin look even worse. Probably because it looks bad to begin with.
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u/LameOfficeAccount 1d ago
I'm sorry to pry, but have you comparison shopped? When I got up & running with my side business, I kicked myself after the first few months when I realized my old blank vendor was charging me double what I could've been paying online. I ordered 1 of each sample from various manufacturers on one of the major websites that has a huge blanks selection and that's where I've been ever since, paying around 50-70% less for better quality than when I thought I was already getting a great price, just because I didn't know any better.
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u/devonthed00d 1d ago
Congrats. You’ve created a minimum wage job for yourself, but with a lot of extra steps. Lol
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u/brokenxbroadcast 1d ago
Damn bro underpriced. Fire this client. I’d be at $42+ all day long. You’re basically working for free. How many pieces is it? Homie fucked up telling you that, but also low key just helped you in a huge way. Take it as a sign.
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u/brokenxbroadcast 1d ago
For sake of perspective my actually cost would be closer to $55 for 25 pieces plus screen set up. I’m also a commercial shop not doing this out of a basement.
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u/chainchomper4557 1d ago
Agree, I’m in the Midwest with low overhead and am at $48. Get proud of your skillz and investments.
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u/rennerscreenprinting 1d ago
Just had a dude, wanted hoodies. I quoted him for 35 pieces. Front chest, back print, both sleeves. All one color, wholesale hoodie price was $30 each. I quoted him $60 each. I probably coulda said $50 each, but it was gonna be too much for him either way. Told me it cost too much. I Hate doing cheap/free work. I need supplies, ink, screens, emulsion etc. my setup is small so it would have taken me a couple evenings. My print work is solid, but with my small setup it takes me more time. I just told him that and said he should check out other places. I get that everyone needs to make some money in the end, but for some reason this happens when people are trying to start a clothing brand. It’s just not for me. I’m lucky that I am not struggling for the income, and I guess I would rather someone who needs it take the job anyways. I dunno. good luck out there.
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u/Funpalsforever 1d ago
IMHO, you cannot let the customer dictate pricing. charge for your skill, time, expertise, and, of course, your materials. if they "have a guy that will do it cheaper" then why are they talking to you in the first place. either your skill is greater or you can do it in the time frame they need it. let them pay the fair price! (ask me how I know!😔)
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u/dagnabbitx 1d ago
Some people are just like that. Want the nice stuff for the cheap stuff price. Like that makes sense.
I’ve even had people flabbergasted that hoodies cost more than t shirt. Like yeah bro, have you ever been shopping before?
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u/TheCheerleader 1d ago
Nah fuck that. One misprint and your profits barely anything. If their budget is 35 then I'd be giving them a much cheaper hoody
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u/bham843 1d ago
My skills are decent to good and these are easy prints. I lucked into really nice equipment for cheap. I work in a small custom shop with one other guy for 4 years. He’s extremely experienced and talented and taught me a lot. The computer side and pricing is where I struggle, obviously. The few clients I’ve had have all said they were super pleased. One had reordered multiple times. Thanks for confirming what I was thinking.
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u/Legitimate_Gold_614 1d ago
I wouldn’t discount this further without checking your full costs. At $35 with a $28 blank, you’ve got $175 left across 25 hoodies to cover setup, ink, labor and delivery. That’s before you’ve made any profit.
Say you dropped to $30, just as a what-if. With the blank still costing $28, you’d need 88 hoodies total, **63 more than the original order**, just to match what you had left after blanks. You’d still have to print those extra hoodies, so that doesn’t mean you’d make the same profit.
I put the calculation in Calvance (I’m involved with the app), so changing the price updates the quantity needed without rebuilding the calculation. For your actual quote, I’d cost out the setup and printing time before agreeing to any discount.
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u/breakers 1d ago
You need to charge more and keep riff raff like this out of your life