Material Markup

[007sparky]

Just joined this forum, What a great tool. I live in Wa. state and mark up
small items x2 and items over 10.00 I mark up 65% It works for me.
I am a one man shop and seams great. :smile:

 

[Greg Swartz]

Fantastic!

Fantastic!

I've had customers complain that my materials markup is too high. This is what I ask them to consider:

1) My level of knowlege of product quality/usefulness/ease-of-install was bought with trial-and-error (my time and money) and is worth quite a bit. In other words, I know what to use/not-use.

2) When you buy it from me, it's right there at your house. The things involved in that happening include:

a) Vehicle expense to drive to supply house/store
b) My time to travel and shop
c) Bookeeping and Accounting costs
d) Inventory time to make shopping lists (to make sure the truck is always stocked properly)

3) Other factors

a) Waste (if I buy a 250' roll and have 15' left over it goes to waste)
b) Items involved in installation that are not itemized on the bill
i) Nails, screws, anchors
ii) Connectors, staples, pig-tails
iii) Caulk, duct-seal, tape

4) Warranty - Buying from me means that I warrant the item for a reasonable period of time. If something is defective, then it costs me the following:

a) Labor and Travel to replace the part
b) Time and Travel to return the part

5) Tools - The cost of replacing tools is really proportional to the amount of material installed and not time spent on a job. Five hours of troubleshooting is no wear on my tools, but virtually every part I use puts some wear on a tool.

If all this doesn't justify a 3x markup on small things and a 1.3x markup on the largest -- well then just buy it yourself and do it yourself.

Mark

Mark,
I think your layout is fantastic. I have customers who also complain. I have told them to do it themselves too... They just whine less.

I have laid out my proposal in front of a customer and they freak out at the detail I put into it, and yet they choose the guy next to me who sells for $200 more and provided absolutely NO information... someone else said it: "Less is More" I truly believe people do not want to know how much each item costs. You charge $200 for a panel... they go to Home Depot and see the same panel on sale for $100... and they call you up and call you a rip off...

Yep... less is more!

 

[brian john]

Could not agree more, I detail everything we will include but avoid cost break downs,

My accountant's name, Les Ismore of the firm Dewey Cheatam and Howe..

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