What does a LED Sign really cost?

Of course you have to invest money in a lighted business sign so that it can create you income.

But, a sign can’t cost you money, it has to make you money.  It is an investment to make your business grow.

So, when does a LED Sign start making you money?

Use our Payment Plan Calculator^™, below, to determine YOUR break-even point.  Or, ask our salesperson to run the numbers with you.

For an example let’s use a large ^$60,000 full-color LED free-standing video display pole sign, and allow the business to pay for it out of future profits.  Maybe larger than you would want, maybe not.

If you borrow 100% of the money to purchase this sign, and pay it back over 6 years with a 10% interest rate, your additional monthly payment will be about ^$1,110 per month.  Add to this the monthly additional operating costs for electricity, insurance, and property taxes because of the more-valuable sign – the sign’s ONLY other costs.  For our example we will use a ^$1,140 per month total cost (^$36.77 per day during the loan period.)

The sign is a capital expense, and the interest paid is an expense, both saving you income taxes on your investment.  If you are in the 25% tax bracket (0% tax bracket in red) this will return to you over ^$19,800 (^$0) in Federal Income Taxes you would otherwise have been obligated to pay during the loan period. This reduces the break-even point by about ^$9.00 per day to ^$27.77 (still ^$36.77.)

Because of “expensing,” you recover over ^$15,600 (^$0) of your investment the first year. (Corporate tax rates run to 21%; pass-through corporations, businesses, and individuals to 37%, so your savings could be significantly higher.)

How much business will the sign need to generate to pay for itself?

You probably operate with a 25% to 50% cost of goods, depending on the type of business.

Would a beautiful digital LED sign in front of your business attract ^$56.00 – ^$111.00 (^$75.00 - ^$150.00) in additional daily business (which also covers the cost of the goods you sell?)

Remember, history proves that the average business gets over 50% of their sales just from their signage.

Of course it would.  The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) states that an electronic message centers increases a stores sales by 15 – 150%.

Beautiful, attention-getting signs make you money; they don’t cost you a penny.

You want the best signage your cash flow will support, because you want your business to grow.

The United States’ Small Business Administration (SBA) has stated that an LED Sign in front of a business increases the store’s entire sales volume 15-150%, so your answer should be YES.

We haven’t noticed ANY businesses with large digital LED signs in front of their store that have gone out of business!  Have you?

 “In my previous 9 years of being in business I have never had 40 customers in a day.  Since you put up my Sunburst^™ LED Display sign I have so-far averaged 53 customers per day, but my business is still growing again.”

Muhammad Faridi, MD, McAllen Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

"...they (American Red Cross) are so impressed with your company and the ROI of the signage..."

Lisa McNamara, American Red Cross

Payment Plan Calculator^™

The Best Way To Buy a Message Center Sign

Buying a $10,000 sign may be difficult for a new business.  As an owner you have to take the money for this sign from your startup capital, and that can be tough to do.  Many new businesses end up going with an ineffective "startup" sign that is super-cheap, to save on the startup costs.  They have grand plans to replace it with something spectacular ... after they have the cash flow.

But you CAN have the best sign today ... and only pay for the "startup" sign!

With our program you can get that a $10,000 sign for only about $388 a month, with only the cost of the permit up front!

You can have all of the advertising bang of even a large LED sign for even less than it would have cost for the ineffective "startup" sign!  You can even let the sign pay for itself.

There's no commitment necessary to see if you qualify for this deal, so talk to your Representative today and ask to get started!

Cost Information

"How much money should I budget for a new sign?"

The following estimates are based on information on the Pricing page that proceeded this page and includes all features.  It is a ball-park "budget" estimate of the general cost of an installed sign.  Because of the huge impact a new sign has on a business you may want to budget considerably more, depending on your particular needs.

One-color interior 6"  x 80" wall or window signs are approximately $2,000.

One-color interior 12"  x 80" wall or window signs are about $4,000.

One-color exterior wall 4' x 8' signs are approximately $15,000.

One-color double-faced 13" x 8' 4" exterior signs (one line of text) for a pole, pylon, or Monument sign add approximately $10,000.

One-color exterior double-faced 3' 1"x 8' 4" signs (two or three lines of text) for a pole, pylon, or Monument sign add about $20, 000.

Full-color double-faced 5' 3" x 10' 6 " exterior signs (five or more lines of text) for pole, pylon, or Monument signs add approximately $63,000.

Full-color double-faced Electronic Message Center billboards (12' 6" x 48' 3") are about $630,000.

Full-color double-faced 4' x 8' signs on self-contained trailers are approximately $75,000.

If you are planning for the future, please bookmark our website as a "Favorite" so you can find us when you are ready. Thank you.  This is what we do to buy groceries!

The “Average” Cost of Advertising

The “Known” Costs of Advertising with Signs Manufacturing^™ Built Signs

* Also assumes 20,000 cars per day – still a very conservative figure, the known National average of 1.59 people in each car, and a known 30+ year (so far) useful life for our signs.  Includes our known costs of owning and operating the signs (historical electricity, insurance, property taxes where applicable, in North Texas.)

Our Installed Sunburst Displays^™ Message Center or Video Display Pricing Includes:

What Our Message Center Pricing Does NOT Include:

"Our brand new sign looks terrible when it lights.  All splotchy and uneven.  The company that installed it refuses to correct the problem.  It is killing our business.  Fix it, but keep us informed as to the cost."
Delores Vasquez, Nations Video  (They spent $2,000 repairing their brand-new sign.)

"Our LED electronic-message-center, which cost us over $28,000, failed when it was 2 weeks old.  The company that installed it refuses to repair it - saying it can't be fixed.  The manufacturer refuses to fix it also.  Please repair or replace it."
Mark McCarthy, Harvest Christian Fellowship  (We had to replace it, they had to sue the manufacturer and installer.)

"I cannot express how disappointed we are to learn that our two-year-old $70,000 message center cannot be repaired.  I obviously wish we had purchased a good one from you."
Apostle Lobias Murray, Full Gospel Holy Temple

"Our electronic-message-centers were nightmares.  Even though they were only 2 years old the manufacturer refused to service them."
Major Vincent, Salvation Army

Controlling Message Center Cost

Electronic Message Centers cost a lot of money, but they achieve tremendous results.

To keep from spending more money than necessary, consider the design of your sign and the results you want to achieve.

Rather than purchase a larger, blank, rectangular message center and display your name and all other information on it, consider incorporating signage that constantly displays the messages you want to constantly display.  It will cost less, and look better!

Because we manufacture and install all types of signage, not just electronic message centers, we can design, build, and install the most cost efficient and effective signage for you (see our "Design Center" page!)

Fraud Protection

All signs maintenance costs can be included in the lease package.

Leasing gives you the option to upgrade your signs package, to change your look, at no additional cost at the end of the lease period.

Potential Texas Sales/Use Tax Savings – Separated Contract

If we are manufacturing and/or installing a newly constructed sign on a newly constructed building, or a new free-standing sign, the State of Texas only requires Sales/Use Tax to be paid on our cost of the materials, NOT the full price of the sign, because of the “Separated Contract” we will offer you.

Our invoices are the controlling part of a “Separated Contract.”  In the instances above we will provide you with an invoice which is written to reflect Texas Sales/Use Taxes for the materials only.

If we are providing a Sunburst Displays^™ Message Center you will save much more than you can from most our competitors.  Because we are actually the manufacturer, we must charge sales tax only on the cost of our raw materials, not what we paid someone else to build and ship the sign to us for.

This fact will save you thousands of dollars!

Securing Your Investment

“After being ripped-off by one sign company, who took my several-thousand-dollar deposit but never delivered my sign, I was nervous.  I’m sure glad I met you guys!”
Paul Lewis, Jubilee Mortgage

All too often we hear about sign companies who took deposits from customers but never delivered their signs.  In every instance, because the sign company had few assets, there was no recourse.

We are also told of companies that don’t pay for the materials used in a sign, and/or never pay their laborers, in which case(s) THE CUSTOMER is legally liable for these bills EVEN THOUGH they paid the sign company!

Sunburst LED Signs^™ protects our customers, as the law allows, by providing them with both “Partial” and “Final” Lien Releases to legally protect them should ANYONE question whether we paid for materials and/or labor.

We also offer all our customers to be listed as "Additional Insured" for free on our $3,000,000 insurance policy, providing coverage if we default.

Also, size DOES matter.  Our size, our investment in the community, and our State licensing, insures our customers that we will be here to deliver and install our signs (and to back our LIFETIME* Warranty if our signs need service.)

Sunburst Displays^™ is insured, registered, licensed and bonded per City and State regulations, and carries product liability insurance.  We are regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, P. O. Box 12157,  Austin, Texas 78711, 1-800-803-9202, 512-463-6599; website: www.license.state.tx.us/complaints.

"Our ($70,000) electronic-message-centers were nightmares.  Even though they were only 2 years old the manufacturer refused to service them.  Your new signs, and your service, have been exceptional."
Major Vincent, Salvation Army

"We paid $34,000 for a full-color LED message center from Wal**** Signs & Lighting.  It took them 11 months to get it installed.  It is now 4 months old and has never worked in full-color mode.  They don't know how to make it work.  Can you fix it?"
Jack Miller, Grace Point Church

"...the sign will be dismantled.  ...not knowing when and how to get parts was a major factor..."

Cathy Clarke, Johnson Elementary School, Southlake.  They are throwing away their $40,000 six-month old sign because they can't get parts to repair it (company out of business.)

"...I had to hound Vital ***** (a sign broker) for weeks and weeks, then I had to call ******** (the manufacturer) to finally get a hold of Vital *****.  I thought Vital ***** was taking my deposit money and running.  When he asked for the second deposit I was kind of hesitant based on my experience with him.  I did some research on Vital ***** and there were judgments in Dallas County, civil judgments for Vital ***** taking money and not putting up a sign!  But the manufacturer said I had to deal with him, and he already had a great deal of my money.

The installation company he subcontracted with, City *****, finally did show up and after giving them another $30,000 the sign was installed but City ***** didn't pay Vital *****, I guess, his "fair cut" of it.

Vital ***** was initially mad at City ***** and then he was mad at me, so he came and took the controller out of the sign so now it doesn't even work!  I tried to go back to ******** (the manufacturer), and gave them all of the documentation and they said it's between me and Vital *****, they won't do anything about it.  I'm never dealing any way but directly with a manufacturer again!"
Mr. Sinkler, Freedom Wash

LED Message Center Rentals

Sunburst Displays^™ rents sunburstleddisplays^™ LED full-color digital animated electronic message centers.

Contact us for details.