# My realtor wants me to sell him a set of calendars....



## JustJazzie (Aug 12, 2015)

My realtor contacted me recently and asked if I would put together a calendar of local nature/scenic pictures as gifts for his clients when they close on a home. I have no idea what a fair mark up is on something like this, and I would appreciate hearing how you would figure out what to price it at. Flat fee? Percent of printing costs? 

Thanks in advance!


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## Designer (Aug 12, 2015)

Double it and add 32.


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## tirediron (Aug 12, 2015)

There are two ways to price this:  (1) As a fixed, full-price job; or (2) as a loss-leader based on the potential for follow-on business from this client.  The problem with calendars is that they're expensive no matter how you look at it.  To be honest, I would start by asking him how many he wants, and how much he's willing to pay.  My basic price structure says that a job like this should bill out at about 3.5x my cost (unless he's ordering a LOT of them), but let's be honest, NO ONE is going to pay ~$18.00 each for give-away calendars.  If you can get them done at Vista Print or somewhere similar and get them down around $3-4 each, and get cost + 50% on say 250, that wouldn't be a bad deal.


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## JustJazzie (Aug 12, 2015)

@tirediron , I was thinking the same thing with how expensive printing is. I gave him a Costco calendar last year (which was relatively cheep) for Christmas but the print quality was TERRIBLE. I thought since their prints were okay, their calendars would be. Nope! The ink was scratching off before I even gave them away. :-(

I'm wondering if it's even worth my time. :-/


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## tirediron (Aug 12, 2015)

It depends on how much it's worth to him.  Like I said, find out what his budget is and work from there.  There's no harm in explaining to him that you simply can't do at a price point that's reasonable for him (if it is the case), and most people respect that a lot more than fudging your way through it and turning over a shoddy product.


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## Designer (Aug 12, 2015)

JustJazzie said:


> I'm wondering if it's even worth my time. :-/


Admittedly, I don't know your situation, but if it were me, I would do this.  The biggest cost will be getting a bunch of calendars printed up with good printing.

Tell him that you are willing to "share the cost" if your advertising can be on every page.  (Still make money on it though.)

If you put your watermark on the photos, you're going to be in high demand.  If that is something you want, then think of the project as a way to do some advertising with the Realtor paying the cost of it.


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## JustJazzie (Aug 12, 2015)

@tirediron I definitely need to call him back and ask some questions, budget included. He left the message with my husband so I haven't actually spoken to him at all, but I wanted an idea of what to say before I chat with him.



Designer said:


> JustJazzie said:
> 
> 
> > I'm wondering if it's even worth my time. :-/
> ...


Watermark? What's a watermark? ;-) lol! I don't even have a Facebook to direct anyone to. I've never really aspired to sell landscapes before, but I suppose I should consider setting up something if it could open up a small avenue of possible sales. I'm not sure how realistic that is, since my landscapes really aren't anything to write home about. Meaning, I'm not too confidant it will go anywhere but another request next year.


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## CCericola (Aug 16, 2015)

40% margin. Try this company. Although if you have no resale cert you will have to buy through a distributor which will jack up your price. 

Norwood Promotional Products Category Triumph R Calendars


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