If you’ve looked on our website, you know we don’t have prices on our products. Here’s our explanation of our pricing guide info for custom metal work.
Pricing Guide Info
We wrote about pricing guide info early on in a 2015 blog post. The basic elements of pricing our work hasn’t changed much since then. We still deal with the price of materials and the labor it takes to create custom metal art and signs.
In this volatile time period of tariffs and trade, we watch steel prices go up daily. When we picked up steel the other day, prices increased 20 percent since our last purchase.
And, we have over 800 unique creations (aka products) on our website. And we don’t maintain these products in stock. We create them as they are ordered.
The shear effort to try to maintain a price on every product is mind boggling. (And I don’t like having my mind boggled that much!)
On-Line Shopping
We struggled early on with creating and maintaining an on-line store. In the long run, we decided it wasn’t a good fit for what we really loved to do. Custom work!
When we quit doing shows two years ago, we decided to focus on customers looking for one of a kind art and signs. A few of our products can be found in two Bend area stores – Red Pine Cone Gallery and Bendy Dog. Beyond that, customers can send a contact form to request pricing on items they want to order from our website.
Buy It Now
We realize this type of buying experience doesn’t work for everyone. A first for us, we received a contact yesterday from someone expressing their frustration with this approach. We’re sorry. It’s just Mike and Pat. And that’s the way we like it. Our business keeps us busy enough without having that “Buy It Now” button.
Custom First
Our custom customers keep us as busy as we want to be. From skylines to word art to ranch signs, we like creating something new each day. Happy “employees” (aka Mike and Pat) make for inspired designs.
Back to the Pricing Guide Info
It’s next to impossible to give a standard $$$ per square foot cost. We have a guideline we use, but the answer is truly “it depends.” Do you want special offsets or hangers or paint or… You get the picture. Because each piece is different, we treat it that way. But we are fair in our pricing. And, we’ve been told by some that we should increase our prices.
We’re happy with where things are right now. If you have questions, just give us a call. Or send an email. Or use our contact form.
Just know that you will always be talking with either Mike or Pat (in little Sunriver, Oregon). And that’s the way we like it! 🙂