Forums » Making Money

1. Kemper
   Member

   

   I have been approached by a local organization to shoot an interview/promo spot to be distributed on DVD. I have a good idea what to charge for my efforts (time, equipment, etc) but I am stumped on what to charge for the actual DVDs. The initial package will include 100 copies but they also want pricing for future quantities. I am handling all of the work from start to finish; lighting, audio, directing, editing, authoring, printing, burning and packaging. The finished product will be an inkjet hub printable DVD-R (Verbatim) in a clear plastic "clam" shell case. They want paper sleeves but I hope to convince them to protect them a little better.

   What should I build into the proposal for the first run of 100 DVDs?

   What is a fair price (more or less per unit?) for future orders? Do I establish a set quantity or minimum for future orders?

   Any help would great. Thanks in advance for your time.

   Rob

   Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM

2. Johnboy
   Member

   

   there are so many factors to consider like market, cost of time and materials, what profit margin you need vs. what you will get, actual production time (writing, set-up, shoot, edit, render, client consultation, possible re-shoots, re-edits, render, burn and print dvds, delivery), length of the video, expected distribution and future order possibilities...

   You are right to insist on clam shells for protection, but the client is probably looking to keep costs down by requesting sleeves.  I would nicely suggest the hard cases, but if they don't want them, that's their decision and you'll have to just deal with it.  I would set bulk quantity orders with progressive discounts on volume, but not a big percentages, maybe cap at a 10% to 15% discount on the highest level.

   John

   Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM

3. LDPLDP
   Member

   

   Figure out what your normal hourly rate is.  Divide it by the number of DVDs you can burn and package in one hour.  Add the material costs and that should be your per-DVD cost.

   Let's say you charge an hourly rate of $20 during production.  If you can burn and package 5 DVDs per hour, then your labor cost is $4 per DVD.  Add cost of DVD and Case @$1 which totals $5 per DVD.  You might also need to add in equipment depreciation.  Oh, and don't forget to charge for sales tax if applicable.

   Posted 2 months ago # Login to Send PM

4. BarefootMedia
   Member

   

   I don't know if this is helpful or not. But when I used to produce DVD's of dance recitals, I charged nothing for the production services.  I just required them to buy a minimum number of DVD's.  For a really simple dance recital, I wholesaled to the studio at a low disc price so they could add profit margin and still sell the DVD's for less than $19.95 (remember you only charge taxes when you sell to the consumer, so let the company deal with that problem.)  Rather than trying to sell the DVD's as cheaply as possible, I wanted them to cost what is typical in the marketplace.  So I charged $17 per disc.  My clients were not surprised at the price, only that I'd do the production for "free."

   Charging the same $17 per disc, you'd earn $1700 dollars.  And every disc after that would be pure profit.  Actually worth your time to duplicate just a few DVD's.  Don't be fooled into thinking a low price per disc will encourage sales.  If it priced dramatically below market, your clients will think it is an inferior product.  So don't even consider selling for less that $10 or $12.  They just won't take you seriously.  And most clients can't tell an adequate job from an excellent job, so they judge the quality by the price.  And don't you want them thinking your work is a cheap knock off.

   When you are calculating your costs, give yourself a salary for the 20 to 25 hours the duplication will take.   And don't forget that the ink for printing will cost more than the disc (assuming you put a color background or graphics on it.)  And I feel i would be remiss if I didn't mention outsourcing your duplication.  They have a do-it-yourself custom service where you send in the duplication master and they return your initial 100 in just a few days, then you can have them duplicate DVD's anytime later using a free "storefront" online.  They charge like $10 a disc for the service, so you'd want to bill for your production expenses.  Then you can add your profit margin to the DVD's and whenever you sell thrm, they take care of duplication & shipping and send you a check.  I know several companies do this, but I'd choose Disc Makers for personal reasons.

   Sorry I prattled on for a bit.  But trying to get the lowest price for your DVD's is a lose/lose situation.  You lose out on money they expect to pay and they view your work as a discount production.  So they won't think of you for their big deal productions.  The theory behind this is found in marketing research.  Consumers will buy an inferior but more expensive product because they believe expensive is better (in general.)  Since DVD's from a store cost around $20, significantly lower prices will represent lower quality to the consumer.

   Posted 2 months ago # Login to Send PM

5. Kemper
   Member

   

   Thanks to all that replied.

   I will absolutely consider all of this when I shoot my next recital. My bid was accepted for this corporate shoot, it has since been shot, and I am knee deep into the editing. Since this group will be giving these away and not selling them I didn't feel that a huge mark up was necessary on the re orders. I did state that they needed to re order in quantities of fifty but the unit price was very reasonable. Maybe a bit too reasonable but it got me in the door and another shoot is lined up assuming they are happy with the finished product. The exec that hired me sat in on the interview and was more than satisfied with the look, feel & content of the shoot so now its up to me, Adobe and some Digital Juice.

   Thanks again!

   Cole

   Posted 2 months ago # Login to Send PM

6. cdanddvdpublisher
   Member

   

   Thanks to all that replied. I will absolutely consider all of this when I shoot my next recital. My bid was accepted for this corporate shoot, it has since been shot, and I am knee deep into the editing. Since this group will be giving these away and not selling them I didn't feel that a huge mark up was necessary on the re orders. I did state that they needed to re order in quantities of fifty but the unit price was very reasonable. Maybe a bit too reasonable but it got me in the door and another shoot is lined up assuming they are happy with the finished product. The exec that hired me sat in on the interview and was more than satisfied with the look, feel & content of the shoot so now its up to me, Adobe and some Digital Juice. Thanks again! Cole

    Good luck getting the editing done; glad they liked your work

   Posted 2 months ago # Login to Send PM

RSS feed for this topic