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Buying a retail sign isn’t like buying a refrigerator or a new car. You can’t just pick up a custom neon sign from Walmart and throw it up on the wall; most California sign shops will likely build you a custom sign.
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Not all signs are created equal; most sign companies build quality signs, but some sign companies build signs that look good on the surface but are poorly constructed using cheaper materials. Cheap signs generally won't hold up as long and will usually require more service and in some cases may even pose a safety hazard.
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There are many types of signs and chances are you're going to have to buy a sign that meets with your landlords approval, adheres to California
sign codes and in many cases will need to meet the sign criteria set forth by a community review board.
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If your setting up shop in a local strip mall there's a good chance you're going to end up buying individual channel letters which can run as much as $500 a letter depending on the size and the type of installation. You might want to rethink the name of your business if the name you chose has 20 letters in it.
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Who is your sign advertising to? If it's mainly pedestrian traffic than the little details will have an impact on how your business is perceived. On the other hand if your audience is driving buy at 50 miles an hour then the most important detail will be how quickly people can read and understand your sign.
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Choose sign colors carefully! One mistake that people tend to make is they make this decision emotionally rather than logically. If your sign is illuminated and needs to read at a distance than some colors work better than others. Blue is probably the worst color you can use in your sign design because it's less legible at night than most other colors. Blue can still be used but it needs to used correctly to insure that it's legible. Red on the other hand is easy to read but it's also the most popular sign color so you sign may have less impact because it's competing with other red signs around you.
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What does your sign place emphasis on? If the name of your business is Al's Diner you need to check your ego and take the emphasis off of Al's and put it on Diner. Al's doesn't mean anything to anybody (except maybe your mom and dad) but everybody knows what Diner means and that's the word in your sign that is going to bring you customers.
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Before you buy a sign it's a good idea to visit the sign shop that you are considering and see what kind of operation they are running. Is their shop clean and well organized? How many people do they have building signs? Do they bend their own neon?
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Look around your community and find signs that you like and then find out who built them.
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Ask business owners about how well their signs have performed; have they required any repairs. If so, what kind of repairs and how often.
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Materials matter! Aluminum will hold up a lot longer than sheet metal but you'll spend a lot more for an aluminum sign.
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Know what your landlord expects. Most retail locations have a set sign criteria so before you sign that lease or buy that sign you better know what you will be required to buy.
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Get several bids and make sure the bids are very specific on how your sign will be constructed. Specifically what kind of materials will be used in its construction. Will it be sheet metal or aluminum? Will it be riveted or welded? Will it have an acrylic or polycarbonate face?
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Too good to be true pricing! If one sign company quotes a dramatically lower price than another sign company it should send up a red flag. Like all businesses, sign companies have a specific profit margin so if the price seems too good to be true than they are likely taking short cuts on the quality of material or in the construction.
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Sometimes cheaper is smarter! If you're a new business with a small budget it may make sense to go for the sheet metal sign rather than the aluminum sign. Sheet metal may not hold up as well as aluminum but it's cheaper and can look just as good. All new business are a risk and it may make sense to go for the less expensive sign and use the savings for other types of advertising.
