Trust your LED Sign Dealer

If you’re a salesman you often stumble into a potential sale where the customer was sold a really horrible product. In the world of LED signs this can be a tremendous mistake costing potentially thousands of dollars. There are many companies out there selling Chinese displays with no support and a really poor product. This week I ran into the mother of all LED sign sales disasters. The University of Colorado was having some major problems with the North LED Display; they called a friend of mine who then referred me to help them diagnose their problem and to see if I could get them up and running.

After spending a few hours getting some background on the display, I had come to find out it was sold by a company called Display Ad, out of Las Vegas. The company promptly went out of business on year after the sale of the sign to the University. All the University had to maintain the sign for the past 12 years was a box of parts, a short homemade video, and their own know how. The athletic department was responsible for maintaining the sign and for nearly 12 years they kept the sign running. Amazing!

 Unfortunately, the main controller had failed and there were no more spare parts. So we were in a scramble to get it fixed. The good news is that we were able to find someone to fix the controller and all was not lost for the mighty Buffs! Here are some lessons for those of you who are looking at buying a digital LED sign.

How do I start to buy a Message Center?

The first thing you need to understand is how the industry works. There are manufacturers and then there are resellers for the manufacturers (Dealers). Signdealz is a dealer. Just like the car industry, manufacturers sell to dealers who represent their product to prospective buyers. They are educated in the product line, how it works, what it can do, and then they usually have the staff available to service your LED Display.

There are display companies that play both sides of the fence, meaning they both manufacture and sell their own products. Daktronics and Yesco are both major manufacturers who do this and it's bad for the industry. They are basically taking the food out of their dealers mouths because they have become so greedy, they feel the need to control parts of the market and keep all the profit for themselves. How is this bad for you the consumer? Well, they can monopolize a market segment and control pricing, driving up prices, and driving out small business.

So, you need to find a knowledgeable dealer who sells multiple lines of Displays from various manufactures. This keeps the manufacturers competitive and is going to get you the best deal.

Who are the Manufacturers?

Here are the largest players in the market today:

• Optec Displays
• Watchfire Displays
• Daktronics
• Yesco

Because of competition in the market, most of the manufacturers carry similar warranty programs. If your salesman tries to sell you a maintenance contract, you need to run. Your getting robbed! Maintenance contracts are scams designed to get more money out of you, and believe me, you wont get what your paying for! I dont sell them because I dont believe my customers need them. If you need service on your sign call me and we will come out and fix it. Maintenance contracts serve a purpose for large corporations with multiple locations, but for small businesses they are just a waste of money.

How do I know which LED Sign Manufacturer is the best?

Honestly, like most car dealers, a good salesman is always going to tell you their car is the best. Well, it's usually the same thing with LED Signs. Each manufacturer is going to have some piece of technology that is going to set them apart, but when it comes to the projecting the image, the average person can't tell the difference from one to the other. What's important is the resolution of the display and the price you are willing to pay.

How much should I pay for my LED Sign?

LED Signs are expensive. Why? There are two reasons. The first is the cost of the technology. These signs have to last for years and are tested and improved every year. That means there are R&D costs and manufacturing costs that go into the product. The second reason is the value they bring to you. You control your message. You control how and when you want to advertise. If your sign is on a busy street, that could mean thousands in potential dollars in sales.

Most small businesses should expect to pay between $10,000 to $30,000 for a standard LED Monument sign. The average display I sell is around 3'H X 8'L and costs on average about $22,000, for full color RGB (Red Green Blue). The cost can vary greatly based on the resolution of the display. If that seems like a lot, compare the cost per impression to a news paper or magazine ad and the fact you can change your ad every day, often multiple times a day.

I sell a lot of 19MM and 16MM displays, but the cost keep comming down and the resolution keeps going higher. Three years ago I was selling 25MM displays, and now you can get 10MM and even 6MM displays.

So, dont get taken by some internet run by night operation selling LED signs from China or Korea. Find a dealer who knows the product and can stand behind it if it fails. Keep reading my blog and I will let you in on all the secrets of buying your first LED Sign and Display.