Why Pre-Cut Window Tint Is Good For Tint Shops

Let me just start out by saying that I know I won't win any popularity contests by making such a seemingly incendiary statement but it's true: pre-cut window tint is good business for anyone who tints.

For years, on forums, Facebook and Yahoo groups I have heard professional installers lament about the fact that they are losing business to online companies who produce pre-cut window tint kits for automotive applications for a fraction of the cost. I mean, when you're charging $99 for the installation of complete window tint kit and someone comes along (let's say, in the interest of full disclosure, my company Rvinyl.com) and offers the same kit for $29.99 that's one heck of a discount. At this point you may be scratching your head and asking yourself how this is a good thing for anyone but me and companies like mine.

Harder Than It Looks

As anyone who has ever worked with window film knows it is not a particularly forgiving or easy product to work with. But the problem is that to get good at installing it requires a certain amount of natural skill and lots of practice. This is why shop owners and professionals are justified in asking the prices they do for installation plus materials. Unfortunately, the price tag is a little too high for the majority of people looking to have their windows tinted (think the 18 to 25 year old male demographic). Maybe you've anticipated my next move but it's right here that the sellers of pre-cut, DIY window tint kits come in as de facto ambassadors of window tint film, a great mid-market alternative to the uncut rolls you ca get at Autozone and the best advertisers for professional installers. You see, a customer who’s never tinted windows before but wants to give it a try (the typical DIYer) will be willing to spend $39.99 to install a window tint kit. Now, if they fail they automatically become the ideal prospect for a pro tinter. Why? One, because they obviously want to tint their car or truck’s windows and, two, because they’ve tried it themselves and understand why window tinting is a profession.

A Good Deal for Everyone

Convinced yet? Well, I’ll share this tid-bit with you as well: We sell lots of window tint kits and although most of our customers are either happy or suffer in silence there is a small but vocal minority of people who, having destroyed the kit we sent them let us know that they then had their tint installed by a pro in their area and they couldn’t be happier. Really, as a tint shop you get the automatic gratitude of a customer (most likely yours for life), a tint removal fee and the cost of a window tint install. You still may not want to give me a hug if you see me on the street but it’s my real hope that we can stop seeing one another as competition and start to appreciate the symbiotic relationship we have in our market space.