{"id":21648,"date":"2025-10-06T03:55:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T03:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/?p=21648"},"modified":"2026-02-10T19:41:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:41:54","slug":"presidents-post-october-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/2025\/10\/06\/presidents-post-october-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Post – October 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

President's Post - October 2025<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A Reality Check on Pricing: It’s Not Always What You Think<\/h4>

The Season Shift<\/strong><\/p>

October already! With daylight savings in full swing, the days are longer, the weather\u2019s warming up, and summer\u2019s not far off. I love this time of year – there\u2019s a real buzz with mowers humming in the evenings, kids\u2019 sports back in full swing, and that extra daylight to get things done. For me, it means Monday nights on coaching my son\u2019s touch team and a Sunday arvo run-around at training. It\u2019s a bit of chaos\u2014but the good kind.<\/p>

Work\u2019s been steady, and as the weather improves, installs are getting a little easier to juggle. On the business side, I\u2019ve just finished setting up our N3 accounts\u2014another 2c per litre off fuel (about $100 a year for us), plus more savings on the regulars: timber, concrete, electrical. If you haven\u2019t checked it out yet, it\u2019s worth a look. I\u2019m loving the extra dollars in my back pocket.<\/p>

The Pricing Panic<\/strong><\/p>

Not long ago, I had a phone call from someone I know well in the industry, and he was fired up. One of his long-time clients had jumped ship to another signwriter down the road. Same job, same specs, but cheaper. “They\u2019re wrecking the industry,” he said. “Undercutting everyone. Selling signs for peanuts \u2013 What\u2019s the NZSDA going to do about it?”<\/p>

Sound familiar? Maybe you\u2019ve had these same thoughts and conversations.<\/p>

Maybe you\u2019ve shaken your head at the garage-based operator charging 30% less than you. Or cursed the big outfit down the road with flash expensive gear and a dozen staff pumping out signs at prices you can\u2019t buy the materials for. It\u2019s easy to get caught up in that emotion – frustration, disbelief, maybe even fear. But if we can hit pause for a second, there\u2019s a more helpful way to look at it.<\/p>

Different Models, Different Maths<\/strong><\/p>

Let\u2019s unpack it.<\/p>

You\u2019re running a tidy shop in town. Three staff, modern solid gear. You price a 2400x1200mm ACM panel with a five-year vinyl print: $570 (as per NZSDA Price Guide)<\/em>. Now a one-man band from his garage quotes $455. Twenty percent cheaper. “He\u2019s a cowboy,” you think.<\/p>

But the twist? He might make more profit than you. No rent, no wages, no overheads like yours. Older gear, sure – but his model works, he knows his margins and this is the lifestyle business he always wanted.<\/p>

Next week, you price a 2400x1200mm coreflute sign: $160. Then hear you lost the job to the big shop down the road \u2013 they did it for $80. Half your price. Outrageous?<\/p>

Maybe not. They printed direct to substrate in two minutes. No vinyl. No lam. No mounting. While you\u2019re still finishing one sign, they\u2019ve pumped out 15 just like it. It\u2019s not unfair- it\u2019s just efficient. Their scale gives them speed and economy you might not have, and that\u2019s okay.<\/p>

What You Don\u2019t See in the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>

So, are they the bad guys? Is the solo signee the villain? Not necessarily. They\u2019ve just built their businesses differently. Their pricing reflects their structure, not yours. And that\u2019s the trap\u2014we compare prices without understanding the backstory.<\/p>

The frustration is real – but it\u2019s often misplaced. Most of the time, they\u2019re not out to wreck the industry. They\u2019re just making it work with the tools and setup they\u2019ve got. And honestly? You might be more expensive on one job and cheaper on another. That\u2019s just business.<\/p>

Know Your Numbers<\/strong><\/p>

Pricing isn\u2019t about what a job “should” cost. It\u2019s about what it costs you<\/em>. Your break-even. Your strengths. Your efficiencies.<\/p>

This is where the NZSDA Price Guide<\/strong> comes in. It\u2019s not about telling you what you must<\/em> charge, but it gives you a solid rule of thumb for where pricing tends to sit around the country. It\u2019s a reference point, a self-check, and sometimes even a great way to start a conversation with a client before you\u2019ve sunk hours into quoting. \u00a0If you haven\u2019t opened it lately, give it a look. It won\u2019t dictate your rates, but it gives a solid benchmark, especially when you\u2019re second-guessing.<\/p>

Here are a few takeaways and things to consider:<\/p>

  • Hourly rates<\/strong> for designers, installers, and production should reflect actual costs: wages, rent, ACC, insurance, depreciation. If you\u2019re under $80\u2013$120\/hr, maybe check your maths.<\/li>
  • Material mark-ups<\/strong>: 25\u201350% is pretty common. If you\u2019re only charging what you pay, I guarantee you\u2019re losing money.<\/li>
  • Overheads<\/strong>: Admin, power, downtime \u2013 this stuff all adds up. If it\u2019s not allowed for in your pricing, it\u2019s coming out of your pocket.<\/li><\/ul>

    Your edge might not be price, so don\u2019t get too hung up on what others are doing – it might be service, your creativity, the relationships, your reliability. Know what makes you different and lean into that.<\/p>

    So instead of pointing fingers or panicking, get smart. Price with purpose. Build from your strengths. The customer doesn\u2019t always choose the cheapest – they choose what makes sense to them.<\/p>

    On Membership and Master Sign Makers<\/strong><\/p>

    I was stoked to see a good list of new members last month. The more people discover the massive value in what NZSDA is doing, the more people want in.<\/p>

    And to those working on their Master Sign Maker<\/strong> applications – awesome work. I can\u2019t wait to see the list grow. you’re helping lift the standard for the whole industry. This accreditation isn\u2019t just a title; it reflects pride in our craft, accountability in our work, and years of earned experience. If you\u2019re considering membership or want to chat about the process, get in touch. And if there\u2019s a topic you\u2019d like me to cover in the next update, flick me an email\u2014I\u2019m always up for keeping these chats relevant and real.<\/p>

    Enjoy the longer days. And take the wins where you can find them.<\/p>

    See you out there,<\/p>

    Logan Sutton
    Creative Director \u2013 Future Grafix
    President \u2013 NZ Sign & Display Association<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Not long ago, I had a phone call from someone I know well in the industry, and he was fired up. One of his long-time clients had jumped ship to another signwriter down the road. Same job, same specs, but cheaper. “They\u2019re wrecking the industry,” he said. “Undercutting everyone. Selling signs for peanuts \u2013 What\u2019s the NZSDA going to do about it?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nzsda-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21648"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21652,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21648\/revisions\/21652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}