Case Studies
Surf’s Up…Business Too!
Client: Tropic Signs, Inc.
Many shops in the signage and graphics industry started small and Gaver Powers’ Tropic Signs, Inc. in Tarpon Springs, Florida was no exception. What started with one hand-painted surfboard shaped sign sold on Ebay has grown to a thriving business, producing 3,000 signs a week from a 5,000 square-foot warehouse.
Gaver’s first surfboard sign ended up selling on eBay® after 44 bids for $63.00. Surprised by how well it did, he began working feverishly to make 20 more to try his luck again. After 10 days he placed all 20 on eBay®, including more surf-related signs like Surf's Up!; Gone Surfing, Gone to the Beach and his favorite Jimmy Buffett phrases; Margaritaville, Fins Up!; Boat Drinks and Parrot Head.
After all the signs sold for $40 or more he turned to his wife of 20 years, and said “I believe there's a business here making these surfboard shaped signs.” She replied "That may be, but not on my granite counter tops."
Taking heed, Gaver moved his operation out of the family home to a 400 square-foot trailer. He diligently began contacting local businesses to sell his creative signs. After sending samples to two of the largest surfboard distributors in Florida, he received an initial order for 24 signs. A week later, his fax machine rang with a re-order from another surf shop.
At this moment it became apparent that the surfboard shaped signs were just as popular at the retail stores as they were on eBay. Excitedly he called his wife to tell her the good news. It was during this call that his heart sank to the floor. An order that he thought was completely doable, 70 signs in 30 days, quickly became a potential nightmare, 576 signs in 30 days. To make matters worse or better, depending on how you look at it, an hour later he received a call from an additional buyer wanting to place a re-order as well. It was his best and worst moment all in one.
Realizing that he couldn’t complete the orders using his current methods he spent the next hour searching for books on screen printing. After reading a screen printing book cover to cover he played 20 questions with the very knowledgeable and helpful staff at Suncoast Screen and Ink in Clearwater, Florida. Using screen printing he was able to create 70 signs per week with the help of two friends and his wife.
Today, Gaver’s business has grown so large that he now works out of a 5,000 square-foot warehouse. With the advent of ink jet technology, Tropic Signs, Inc. now utilizes self-adhesive vinyls to create a wide variety of products from surfboard signs to vehicle wraps.
Gaver credits ORACAL with helping him to overcome application problems by guiding him in the right direction. His shop picked up a few tricks along the way, like learning how to produce artwork that minimizes edge curl and lifting, and how to transfer the vinyl from the backing to the signs in an expeditious and cost effective manner.
“From roll to roll, what we have come to enjoy and expect is the consistency of performance in the materials we use from Oracal. The rolls we purchase today perform identically to those we chose over two years ago. The thought of having over 300,000 signs in the public marketplace that all come back due to an unforeseen adhesion or curling problem is not a happy thought, and it's not one that's likely to occur using products and processes we have adopted from Oracal.”
Submitted By:
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Tropic Signs, Inc.
Gaver Powers
Tarpon Springs, FL
USA
