If you’re here because you saw a coupon box at checkout and went searching for a SpellBrite promotion code, we wanted to save you some time – and explain why our best price is already in your cart, no discount required. 

As consumers, big retail companies and Amazon train us to look for the largest discounts. However, the problem with these 20% signup or 45% off Black Friday “deals” is that consumers end up spending more than the product is actually worth the vast majority of the time.

At SpellBrite, we believe in transparency: we don’t offer fake markups in order to offer massive promotions or discounts. We offer the same price, $24 per character, to all our retail customers, every day of the year. We stand by the quality of our products – our signs are guaranteed to increase your sales immediately.

1. We Don’t Price Gouge

Many companies follow an old psychological trick. They take a product that could be profitable at a given price, double that, and then offer a “massive” 40% coupon code. Customers feel like they scored a great deal, but in reality, they still paid more than they should have.

At SpellBrite, we don’t gamify our promotions and discounts. We have calculated the cost of our materials, shipping, and production, and set the price accordingly. We don’t raise our prices just so we can slash them later for a marketing campaign.

Plus, we offer free shipping on all purchases of $100 and up, no coupon code or special promotion required.

2. Get SpellBrite’s “Best Price” Every Day – No Promotions Needed

If you’ve ever purchased a product only to see it go on sale the following week, you know how frustrating gamifying sales can be. At SpellBrite, we won’t penalize you for when you choose to buy. You can buy our signs when your business needs them, and know that you received our best price.

Whether you decide to buy a SpellBrite sign on Black Friday, two weeks after Memorial Day, or a random Tuesday in March, you will get our best price. Order our signs when you need them, not just during traditional “sale” holidays.

Volume Purchases

If you are in the market for a number of signs, contact us. While we don’t offer massive sales or “secret” codes, shipping a number of signs together is more efficient for us, and we may have some savings to pass directly to you.

3. Is SpellBrite Worth the Price?

You can certainly find other products with a lower price up front, but SpellBrite has the lowest total lifetime cost. “Cheap” products often comes with hidden costs:

• Fading brightness after six months.
• Burnt out LED lights within the first year.
• Flimsy materials that crack or warp.
• Lack of safety certifications that endanger your customers and employees

We sell a premium product. We use high-quality materials and long-lasting LED lights to ensure that your sign not only lasts, but brings lasting sales. SpellBrite is designed specifically for use in businesses. SpellBrite has ultra-bright LEDs, a font designed for legibility, and a shatterproof yet portable build. With our modular characters, you can easily make any sign message, then change it any time. Update your pricing, rotate through advertised products, and more, all for a fraction of the cost of a new sign. Plus, with our 30-day risk-free trial, 1-year warranty, and A+ rating from the BBB, you can feel confident in your investment.

When you look at the lifespan of our signs versus a “budget” alternative, our price per year of use is significantly lower, making SpellBrite a smart choice for the future of your business.

Create Your SpellBrite Sign

We value your trust more than a quick sale. By not offering massive 30-40% discounts to our customers, we can ensure that every single customer, regardless of when they order, is able to access similar pricing. 

Your business deserves quality that lasts, and you don’t deserve to be taken advantage of by strike-through “sales.” Create your custom sign today, and see the difference our ultra-bright signs could make on your bottom line.

Did you know that one of the easiest ways for your business to stand out is hiding in plain sight? Eye-catching and unique Open signs are an incredibly effective way to set your business apart from the competition. However, with the most effective Open signs proven to increase sales, how can you make sure that yours fits the bill?

We’re here to help, with over 20 years of experience in the lighting and signage industry. Below, we share our top tips for choosing a unique Open sign that will ensure your business attracts more customers.

Choosing a Message for Unique Open Signs

The most effective strategy for ensuring your new sign drives sales is making sure it’s different from those at nearby businesses. The vast majority of open signs only say “Open,” and customers generally take little notice of them beyond subconsciously noting whether or not the business is open.

However, because so many of these signs look exactly the same, having an open sign that is even slightly different can bring massive sales opportunity for your business. Experimenting with a creative or unique open sign message is the most effective way to ensure that customers remember and are interested in your business.

Showcasing Your Brand Identity

Using your brand identity to stand out can be one valuable way to approach Open signs. This route can be taken in many different directions depending on what you’re looking for. If your brand marketing strategy depends on a lot of puns, exploring that can be particularly profitable, as with SpellBrite’s seasonal HO HO HOPEN sign. If you have a more sarcastic and edgy brand voice (like many tattoo parlors, bars, or smoke shops), perhaps an eye-catching sign like F%@! YEAH WE’RE OPEN would prompt customers to be intrigued, and thus remember your business. For softer-spoken brands, like a cute bakery, a COME ON IN! or WELCOME sign will get your message across while being different enough from a stereotypical Open sign for potential customers to take notice.

Advertising Your Key Differentiators

Why use a simple open sign when you can take advantage of a valuable marketing opportunity? Think through what sets your business apart, and incorporate that into your signage. Do you want potential customers’ mouths to water at the thought of your tacos? Want to attract the late-night crowd to your bar that’s open later than your neighbors’? Trying to draw remote workers into your café with the promise of free wi-fi? No matter what it is that makes your business special, incorporating that into your open signage is a great way to ensure that customers remember you. Creating a custom open sign is a great way to accomplish this. With a custom sign message, you can hyper-target your sign message to your business needs to attract new customers.

Choosing a Sign Type

While print signs are typically the most affordable, investing in an illuminated sign yields significantly higher return on investment because it is much more visible. Among illuminated signs, there are 3 main sign types to choose from, each with its own pros and cons.

Dot LED

The first type of sign is a dot LED sign, which uses individual dot LEDs to spell out a message. These signs tend to be extremely affordable, but they’re difficult for customers to read (especially at a distance) and often burn out quickly. Additionally, while they can shine bright, the brightest versions of dot LED signs use supercharged LED lights. These supercharged LEDs burn out quickly, meaning your sign will likely only last a few months.

Neon

The second main type of sign is a neon sign. These signs use electricity to illuminate a gas trapped in a glass tube. These are typically bright and aesthetically pleasing, and no two will be exactly the same given the fact that neon is traditionally handmade. Many people appreciate neon for the art form that it is.

However, when it comes to using these signs in your business, there are quite a few drawbacks. These signs can be noisy and dangerous to have around customers, with easily breakable glass and a high voltage. They are also typically in cursive or feature connected letters, making them incredibly difficult to read. While neon signs can last for years with regular maintenance, they are also easy to break, difficult to repair, and the most expensive type of sign to purchase. A quality neon sign can easily cost upwards of $1,000 per sign, depending on the size desired.

Neon LED

The third main type of illuminated sign is known as a “neon-LED” sign or a “neon flex” sign. These signs look like neon signs, but use an LED light source. This blends the best parts of the other sign types, mimicking the look of neon at a more affordable price. However, there is a wide range in quality across this sign type. You can find neon LED signs for under $50, but these Open signs are typically not very bright or visible. While they make for very cheap LED signs, they likely won’t last very long or be effective at attracting customers. 

With higher-quality sign solutions, which typically range from around $200-$400 on average, these “neon-LED” signs can be a great asset to your business. They have the brightness of neon with fewer drawbacks (though you’ll want to make sure that the sign solution you choose is UL listed and from a reputable sign company).

Choosing a Sign Color

The color you choose for your sign can have a massive impact on its visibility. For Open signs, the best sign color to choose is red. You can learn more about the impact of sign color, but the reason why red signs make the best open signs boils down to the fact that red light appears the brightest to the human eye. Since it’s incredibly important that customers know you’re open, it’s important to make sure your Open sign is highly visible.

While it is tempting to think a “fun” color scheme will attract more attention, this is not the case. Multi-color rainbow signs or signs that can change colors will not be as bright as a red sign. Thus, choosing one of these sign types will hinder your sign’s visibility, causing it to blend in.

Need More Help Choosing a Unique Open Sign for Your Business?

No matter what your sign needs are, SpellBrite can help. You can browse our collection of eye-catching Open signs, or create your own custom sign message.

Want advice from our signage experts on how to get the most out of your signs? Take advantage of our free, no-obligation sign consultations! Just give us a call at (312)575-9620 or email us at [email protected].

Choosing a color for your business sign might feel like a minor decision. Many business owners treat the color as a quick and easy decision while focusing most of their time and effort on what the actual sign message will be. However, the color of an illuminated sign has a direct and significant impact on a variety of key factors for a business sign. It impacts how visible the sign is, how far away customers can see or read it from, how it photographs, and in the case of neon, even how safe it is.

This guide covers everything a business owner needs to know about choosing the right color for an illuminated sign. From the science of visibility, what to do about brand colors, photography considerations, color-by-color safety differences, and a quick-reference summary to make the decision straightforward, we are here to answer your questions about optimal sign colors.

Which Sign Color Is Most Visible?

For illuminated signs, visibility comes down to science. Not all colors of light travel equally, and for a storefront sign, that difference is what determines how far away a passing driver or pedestrian might be able to read your sign.

Red is the most visible color for a business sign, followed by green, then white. Blue is the least visible of the common sign colors, particularly in direct sunlight.

You can test this yourself. Find a business with both a red and a blue illuminated sign; red and blue Open signs provide a good subject. Step back gradually, and you’ll notice the blue sign becomes invisible well before the red one does, especially during the daytime. This is exactly why so many open signs are red.

However, the quality of the sign matters as well. While a high-quality red sign will be brighter than a low-quality red sign, there is a chance that a high-quality LED sign in blue will outperform a cheap, low-quality sign in red. While color may be the main factor in sign visibility, build quality is another.  

The Science: Why Red Is More Visible Than Blue

The visibility difference between red and blue isn’t subjective — it’s a function of wavelength.

Every color of light has a different wavelength. Red light has the longest wavelength of any visible color (roughly 620–750 nanometers), which means it can travel further through the atmosphere before being scattered by particles in the air. This is why red lights — traffic signals, warning indicators, brake lights — are used when maximum long-distance visibility is required.

Blue light sits at the opposite end of the visible spectrum, with a much shorter wavelength (roughly 450–495 nanometers). It scatters more easily, which is actually what makes the sky look blue — but it also means blue light is visible from a shorter distance than any other color. Compounding the problem, blue light is inherently harder for the human visual system to process quickly, particularly in daylight conditions.

As you start to consider what color you’d like your sign to be, the following chart should provide a helpful guide:

Color	Relative Visibility	Best Use Case
Red	Highest	Storefronts, outdoor signs, open signs
Green	High	Storefronts, outdoor signs
White	High	Storefronts, indoor signs
Yellow/Amber	Moderate	Caution/attention contexts
Pink	Moderate	Indoor signs, social media photo ops
Purple	Lower	Decorative, interior use
Blue	Lowest	Interior signage, restrooms, dim ambiance

Sign Color and Safety (Neon Signs Only)

If you’re buying an LED sign, including flex LED, strip LED, or neon-style LED, you can ignore this section. LED sign safety is determined by build quality and certification, not by color.

For traditional glass neon signs, color choice does carry safety implications. Different colors require different gases inside the tubing, and not all of those gases are equally harmless if the glass breaks.

• Red and orange neon uses actual neon gas, which is non-toxic and inert.
• Blue and green neon typically uses argon gas mixed with mercury vapor. Mercury can be hazardous if a tube breaks and the vapor is released.
• White and yellow neon may use a combination of gases depending on the manufacturer.

This is one of several reasons many businesses are moving from traditional glass neon to LED alternatives. LED neon-style signs produce similar visual effects without the mercury content, high-voltage requirements, or glass fragility.

What About My Brand Colors?

This is one of the most common pitfalls that business owners can fall into when choosing a sign. While keeping a consistent brand identity is important, it can ultimately be detrimental to do so at the cost of your sign’s visibility. It’s more important to make sure potential customers see your sign, even if it doesn’t fully align with your branding color palette.

If your brand colors include red, green, or white, you’re in an ideal position. These happen to be the most visible illuminated colors, so matching your sign to your brand identity costs you nothing in terms of effectiveness.

If your brand colors lean toward blue, purple, pink, or yellow, you face a real tradeoff. A sign that matches your branding but is significantly harder to read from a distance is working against its own purpose. In most cases, we recommend pivoting to a different color to prioritize visibility. This is especially true for an outdoor or storefront sign where first impressions from a distance matter most.

One middle-ground approach: use a high-visibility color for your primary signage (the sign that needs to attract attention from the street) and reserve brand-matched colors for interior signs, décor signs, or photo booth installations where visibility doesn’t matter as much.

Sign Color and Photography

If you’re planning to photograph your sign for social media, use it as a photo booth backdrop for customers, or feature it in marketing materials, color matters beyond visibility.

Warm-colored signs (red, orange, pink) photograph better than cool-colored signs (blue, green) in most conditions. Warm tones tend to render more accurately in standard photography, while blue and green LED lights can shift in hue depending on the camera and lighting environment.

A few additional factors that affect sign photography regardless of color:

• Use a dimmer. Signs that are too bright will blow out the image — a common issue with high-output LEDs. A sign with adjustable brightness settings gives you much more flexibility for photography, especially indoors.
• Timing matters outdoors. The golden hours — shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset — produce the most flattering light for photographing illuminated signs. Midday sun competes with the sign’s light output and flattens the image.
• Background contrast. A red sign against a white wall will photograph differently than the same sign against a dark wall. For photo booth setups, darker backgrounds generally make the sign’s color pop more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most visible color for a business sign? Red is the most visible color for illuminated business signs, due to its long wavelength and ability to travel further than other colors before scattering. Green and white are the next most visible. Blue is the least visible, especially in daylight.

Should my sign match my brand colors? If your brand colors are red, green, or white, yes, you can match your sign to your brand colors. If your brand colors are blue, purple, pink, or yellow, consider using a higher-visibility color for your storefront or exterior signage. We recommend reserving brand-matched colors for interior or decorative use in those cases.

Why are most open signs red? Red is the most visible color from a distance, particularly during daytime. A red open sign is readable from further away than any other color, which directly translates to more customers noticing the sign from the street.

Does blue light really look dimmer? Yes, and it’s a well-established optical phenomenon. Blue light has the shortest wavelength of visible colors, meaning it scatters more easily and is harder for the human eye to process quickly. Blue signs are less visible than red, green, or white signs of the same brightness.

What sign colors photograph best? Warm colors — red, orange, and pink — generally photograph more accurately and attractively than cool colors like blue or green, which can shift in hue depending on camera settings. White also photographs cleanly across most conditions.

Ready to Choose Your Sign Color?

SpellBrite’s LED signs are available in red, white, green, and blue, and will deliver maximum brightness and visibility for business storefronts. Browse by industry — including open signs, restaurant signs, bar and pub signs, and more — or create a custom sign with your own message.

Not sure which color is right for your situation? Call us at (312) 575-9620 or email [email protected] and we’ll help you think it through.

Neon signs are an incredibly popular choice both for business advertising and for home décor. They can add personality and style to any space. However, they can be expensive and difficult to create, with the traditional process of shaping glass tubes making it difficult for beginners to DIY neon signs. With recent developments in LED technology, however, it’s now possible for anyone to create their own sign without requiring complicated soldering or glass-blowing techniques. In this blog post, we’ll list a few different ways to DIY neon signs using LED lighting and pre-made sign kits, starting with the more intense methods and ending with the simplest.  

How To Make Neon Signs

Since their invention in the early 1900s, neon signs have traditionally been crafted by artisans through a highly manual, multi-step process. First, these artisans must create the glass tubing, which often uses a soft lead glass tubing for easy bendability. The diameter of the tubing is typically between .3 and 1 inch, with the length of the tube varying from between 4 and 5 feet.

Then, the glass tubing is heated to soften the glass. The skilled craftsman  carefully shapes and bends the glass into the desired shape. The inside of the glass is coated with a phosphorescent material (which helps enhance the brightness and color of the neon light), and then the tube is filled with gas. The type of gas is dependent upon the desired color of the sign. Only red signs use actual neon gas, while other colored neon signs use other gases like argon, mercury, and helium. 

In order for the sign to illuminate, two electrodes are placed at each end of the glass tubing. These electrodes are typically made of iron and surrounded by a glass jacket. Then, the gas will be electrified and emit light, creating the characteristic neon glow.

This process is not only complex but also dangerous. It requires significant expertise to safely create a neon sign. Luckily, there are other ways to DIY neon signs, enabling you to create your very own “neon” sign using kits and pre-made LED light strips instead of glassblowing and hazardous gases. All three of the following methods use an LED light source designed to look like neon. This makes the process of sign creation much safer while still replicating the aesthetic of the end product.

Method #1 For Creating DIY Neon Signs (Advanced – Using Soldering)

If you have prior experience with soldering and electrical wiring, this could be the right choice for you. If not, we’d recommend choosing another option, since handling wiring and soldering tools as a beginner can be dangerous. Unlike traditional neon signs, this DIY neon sign uses LED neon flex lights for a safer experience. 

What You’ll Need:

• LED neon flex lights in your desired color
• Tube cutters
• Soldering tools
• Wires
• Power source
• Hot glue gun
• Backing material (acrylic, wood, etc.)

To build your own neon sign, you’ll first want to create a design. In this step, you’ll want to determine the shape, style, and size of neon sign you’re looking for. Then, once you have an idea of what you’re trying to create, use the tube cutters to cut the LED neon flex lights to the desired length. You’ll want to err on the side of caution, and be careful not to cut off too much.

At this point, solder the wiring to the lights to create a secure connection. While this can be a complex process, it will help make your DIY neon sign more durable and less likely to fall apart or break quickly.

After soldering, use the hot glue gun to attach the LED neon flex lights to the backing material or surface. You’ll want to properly align and secure the lights so that they don’t move.  This step ensures that your sign remains together and allows for easy hanging.

Then, connect the wires from the LED neon flex lights to a power source. Make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for proper wiring and electrical connections, and exercise significant caution when handling wires. Once everything is connected, you will be able to test the sign to ensure that all the lights are working properly, making any adjustments or repairs as needed.

Method #2 for Creating Your Sign (Medium Difficulty – Uses DIY LED Kit, No Soldering)

The second way to create your own neon sign involves no soldering. This route is a more accessible entry point for individuals without prior experience in electrical wiring. However, this accessibility does come at a cost. These signs look less professional and may be better suited to a sign for your home or restaurant décor than as a neon sign for your business.

What You’ll Need:

• LED neon flex lights in your desired color
• Zip ties
• Shaping wire
• Plastic wire clips
• Hot glue gun
• Power source
• Backing material (clear acrylic, wood, etc.)

Much like the first method for DIY LED neon signs, start by creating your design and determining the dimensions. Use the shaping wire to create the intended design.

Then, instead of soldering, use the zip ties to attach the LED neon flex lights to the shaping wire. You’ll want to fasten them at the peaks and bottoms of each letter to ensure the sign doesn’t lose its form. Once this is complete, you’ll be able to use the hot glue gun to attach the lights to the backing material of your choice to allow for easy hanging.

After constructing the neon LED sign, attach the plastic wire clips to the end of the power source and the end of the LED lighting, then connect the two wire clips together. Again, you’ll want to exercise significant caution when dealing with electrical components. You’ll also want to ensure that you have the right kind of plastic wire clip; if you purchase DIY neon sign kit, it should have the correct type. If not, and you are trying to build a sign using loose components, you’ll want to be sure to do your research to ensure that you have the correct materials.

Once the wire clips are in place and connecting the power source to your shaped neon LED sign, you’ll be able to test the sign to ensure the flex lighting is working correctly.

Method #3 for Creating Custom Neon Signs (Beginner – DIY Using LED Sign Kit, No Soldering or Wiring)

The third method for creating your own neon-like sign is extremely safe and easy, requiring no previous experience. This involves using SpellBrite’s LED letters, numbers, and special characters to quickly and easily build neon-like LED signs that you can change any time. Unlike the other methods for creating a sign as listed above, SpellBrite’s DIY signs require only a screwdriver (which comes with your sign purchase) to create. Our signs easily click together, much like building bricks for children. With this, you won’t be stuck with a single sign. To advertise different products and services or change your prices, you can simply and easily change your sign. 

There are a few different ways you can DIY neon signs for your business using SpellBrite signs or sign kits:

• Create a custom sign. This will give you all the necessary components for the custom LED sign of your choice. The sign will arrive as a set of individually packaged characters for convenient storage. You’ll then be able to click the pieces together, tighten the screws, and display your sign, all in around 15 minutes (on average).
• Shop our collection of best-selling sign messages. We designed these category pages to help business owners find industry-specific business business sign ideas that effectively increase sales and attract customers. To customize these standard signs and add your own flair, you can either choose to customize the sign in question using the “Customize this Sign” button or you can purchase additional numbers, letters, and special characters to change your sign easily when it arrives.
• Check out our DIY LED neon sign kits. These kits contain all the necessary pieces to create hundreds of different sign messages in ultra-bright LED lighting, bringing maximum flexibility to your business’s advertising strategy.

Safe and Easy

Unlike the DIY solutions above, SpellBrite signs come with a 30-day risk-free trial and 1-year warranty. Our signs are also completely safe for use in your home or business, with both UL and CE certifications. There are no exposed wires or complicated electrical components to consider when you’re creating your own neon sign using SpellBrite. This makes SpellBrite sign kits a much safer (and easier) way to create neon-like signage than either of the above options.

Contact Us

Have any questions or want more information about SpellBrite’s range of DIY neon LED signs? Contact us at [email protected] or give us a call at (312)575-9620; we are happy to help. You can also learn more here about what previous customers have thought about our product.

Commercial Signs Increase Sales

One of the most important aspects of running a business is marketing. You can have a high-quality product or service and a positive customer experience, but if you lack good marketing, it will be difficult to grow your business. While digital marketing is hot right now (and can be quite effective in certain circumstances), illuminated signs remain one of the strongest ways to drive local traffic to your storefront. High quality illuminated neon or LED signs can be a pricey investment. However, a high-quality commercial sign can pay for itself in increased sales within weeks. With a lifespan of up to 10 years on many of these signs, this means that you’ll be able to benefit from your sign long after you break even without having to invest additional capital to create more ad campaigns or target new audiences. 

However, once you decide it’s time to invest in a sign, you must figure out to answer to that all-important question: where should I buy my sign? Is it better to purchase signs from a signage company near me, or find an e-commerce solution?

The answer to this question isn’t as simple as it may seem. All businesses are unique and therefore require unique signage targeted to their individual needs. However, with 20+ years of experience in the signage industry, we’ll help you determine what sign is best for you. In this blog article, we’ll help you work through the pros and cons of shopping local versus buying online. While all sign companies are different, these generalizations will help you decide what type of sign company could be best for your needs.

How Fast Can I Get the Sign?

If you are looking for a highly customized sign, e-commerce sign companies often have a much quicker turnaround time from purchase to shipping due to their streamlined processes and automated production systems. In a few quick steps, you can browse their catalog, order your signs, and have them shipped to you. (For example, all SpellBrite signs ship out next business day). For custom signs, however, local sign companies will often include in-person consultations, design revisions, and more. This usually leads to a longer time before delivery of your finished sign product.  

However, for a more basic and less customized sign, like one that reads “OPEN” or “PIZZA,” you may be able to have the sign in hand much quicker by purchasing your sign from a local signage company. If the company near you keeps basic signs like these in stock, you’ll be able to take the sign home that same day as opposed to waiting for an e-commerce company to process and ship your order.

Does the Level of Service Differ if the Signage Company is Near Me?

While the level of service varies from one company to another, local sign companies can be easier to work with. These companies have a physical location that you can go to in order to speak with a representative. With these companies, if you experience difficulties with your sign, you can be sure you can have your concerns addressed. 

Many online sign companies also have excellent customer service via email or phone that you can reach from the comfort of your home. However, the level of direct interaction and personalized service you’ll receive may vary. Some e-commerce companies may outsource their customer service or have very limited reachability. This is especially true in the case of companies selling low-quality, cheap custom signs, who depend on their low cost rather than their customer service to increase revenue. It is also true for foreign e-commerce companies, as you’ll be dealing with differences in language and time zones.

How Much Does it Cost?

While there will always be outliers, e-commerce businesses can usually offer similar-quality signs at a lower cost. Because they do not need to rent, own, or staff a storefront, their overhead costs are generally lower, making it easier to price their signs competitively. Remember to include the cost of shipping in your budget if there is not a free shipping option. Local sign companies’ higher overhead costs, and the more personalized level of service they are able to provide, will usually come with a higher price tag.

 Is Buying From a Signage Company Near Me or Online More Convenient?

Online e-commerce sign companies are available to purchase from 24/7. You can browse their selections, easily compare options and prices between one company and another, and research reviews and ratings from the comfort of your home. While their customer service team may have scheduled hours, their online presence makes it easier to determine if they are a good fit. With local sign companies, you may need to coordinate visits to their physical location during their business hours. This can be time-consuming and require additional planning, making it a less convenient option.

What if My Sign Isn’t What I Expected? Can I Return It?

Getting a custom sign entails some risk that what you receive is different than what you expected. In most cases, whether purchasing in person or online, you will not be able to return a custom sign. In fact, in many cases, you will need to put down a non-refundable deposit at the time you approve drawings.  SpellBrite is unique in this regard. As more fully explained below, if you’re not satisfied with your SpellBrite, you can return it for a full refund.

What Can a Signage Company Near Me Do if My Sign Breaks?

When purchasing a sign, it’s important to consider your options in case your sign breaks. This is especially important for neon signs, which can be more prone to sign and transformer performance issues. Purchasing from a local sign company can be safer in that regard. They often offer comprehensive maintenance services, including repairs, installation, upkeep, and more. (However, keep in mind that this higher level of service comes at a cost and will be factored into the price of your sign.) On the other hand, most online sign companies do not offer maintenance. You may be required to either find a local service provider or handle it independently. Is your sign already broken? Not sure if you’ll be able to repair it? Learn more about your options for neon sign repair, as well as the dangers of trying to handle it independently.

Are Salespeople a Benefit or a Drawback?

One of the main differences between shopping at a commercial signage shop near you and online at an e-commerce business is the presence of salespeople. While working directly with salespeople can be helpful in terms of taking advantage of their expertise, it can also be a drawback. These salespeople are well-versed on their offerings, but they may work much harder to influence your decision-making process. They’ll likely attempt to convince you their sign is a good fit, even when it may not be.

Additionally, since these companies offer more customization options, their quotes can often be artificially inflated, relying on upsells and using other tactics to increase the cost of your sign. Meanwhile, online e-commerce sign companies must rely on their website’s information and product descriptions. They also must offer more standardized and transparent pricing, giving you the opportunity to quickly and easily compare prices. This both ensures you are receiving the best price without haggling and allows for a more independent decision-making process. With online sign companies, you can focus more on the product’s specifications and suitability rather than the purchasing process. 

How Can I Learn More About the Companies?

A neon or LED sign can be extremely impactful on your company’s sales, making it imperative that you choose a high-quality business sign. Both local and e-commerce sign companies will usually have customer reviews and ratings available for reference. However, online e-commerce companies typically have a larger pool of reviews due to their wider customer base. Their customers come from all over the United States rather than a single localized market, leading to a wider demographic. Using trusted websites like Sitejabber or Trustpilot can help you here. Checking third party marketplaces like Amazon or Walmart for the company’s ratings and reviews is also a good idea. Reading these user reviews will give you insight into the quality, reliability, and overall service for a particular company.

What to Choose

When it comes to purchasing commercial signs, the decision to buy from a signage company near you or an online retailer can be difficult. If you require a highly customized sign or desire significant in-person service beyond the point of purchase, the answer to “Should I buy commercial signs from a signage company near me?” is probably yes. If you’re looking for a lower-cost sign solution with a faster turnaround time, however, e-commerce may the right answer. In either case, it is extremely important to check customer reviews and ratings. These will help you to gain insight into the company you’re buying from.

An illuminated sign is an investment in the future of your business, and we take them seriously. Learn more about SpellBrite’s click-together custom sign solutions you can change any time, or create a custom sign of your own today! All our signs ship on the next business day to help you see results fast. Best of all, SpellBrite signs come with a 30-day risk-free trial and a 1-year warranty so that you can feel secure in your purchase. Reach out to our customer service team today at [email protected] or give us a call at (312)575-9620 for more information. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

Events occur every day, at every kind of business. From small-scale networking events to massive corporate conferences to festivals, comic conventions, or bar trivia, hosting events is a great way to increase revenue, foster community engagement, inspire workers, and more. Companies across many industries understand the importance of these events and use them strategically. However, in order to ensure these events are successful, it’s necessary to market them to make sure people attend. Marketing helps create awareness, generate excitement, and communicate the values and benefits of attending. While there are many ways to market events, one of the most effective ways to spread the news is using changeable event signage to display compelling information about your event in a sign or signs. 

Without proper advertising, even the most well-planned and exciting event may go unnoticed. This makes it even more crucial for businesses to invest time and resources into promoting these events to ensure their success. Below, you can learn more about what to consider when purchasing event signage.

Event Signage Has an Impact

Event signs, and particularly illuminated event signage, is a great way to make your event stand out and run smoothly. Before the event, use signage to spread information about what’s happening in order to grow your attendee base and get people excited about what’s to come. During the event, signs are a great way to guide attendees around and prevent confusion. And after it’s over, your event can be promoted again with social media posts featuring your signs in the background, bringing additional organic visibility to your business or organization.  

Signs For One-Time and Recurring Events

When choosing what kind of event signage to put up before your event, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind:

• Visibility: Using large, clear fonts and contrasting colors can help grab attention and ensure your sign is easily readable.
• Concise: You’ll want to make sure your event sign is informative, but not too lengthy. Try to communicate essential details at a glance, like the name, time, and location of the event.
• Eye-Catching: Using illuminated signage can make sure that your sign is eye-catching. However, utilizing interesting puns, bright colors, or engaging phrases can also help your events signs stand out.
• Message: Make sure that signs purchased or printed before your event are marketing-oriented. You don’t want to lose focus on attracting new attendees to your event! 
• Placement: You’ll want to determine the best locations to display your signs for maximum impact. Place a sign at highly-traffic areas, entrance points, and more to strategically attract attention.

These signs can often be a much more effective strategy for spreading the word about your event than digital marketing strategies because they stand out and can be seen by the exact local traffic you’re trying to reach. Plus, attracting these local individuals to your event will give you a better chance of turning them into regular customers. Whether the event you’re hosting is big or small, one-time or weekly, by keeping these considerations in mind, you’ll be able to leverage your event signs to make sure that they are both memorable and effective.

Using Directional Signs at Your Event

Signage can also be useful during your event, especially at larger-scale events. Combat confusion before it begins by adding directional signs or labeling different areas. Setting up signs that point to where check in can be found or where the restrooms are located are useful in guiding guests through your space. You can even label tables, alert attendees to any allergens (or lack of) in your food, and more.

You’ll also want to take the cost of your signs into consideration. Since the signs that will be most effective before your event will be different than the signs required at the event, having event signage you can change will keep costs down. However, most changeable signage is not illuminated. This means that you’ll have to compromise on visibility in exchange for an event sign you can reuse. However, that’s not the case with SpellBrite’s changeable LED signs, which we designed to have the brilliant aesthetic of a neon event sign along with the many benefits of an LED light source.

SpellBrite Event Signs Do More

SpellBrite event signs are a great signage solution, no matter whether your events are one-time or recurring. Our signs use click-together technology so that you can easily change your sign any time you like. Our sign systems are extremely affordable, costing a fraction of what other custom signage solutions cost. They also use ultra-bright, long-lasting LED lights that will bring additional visibility to your event sign.

With SpellBrite, you can easily disconnect and reconnect individual sign components to create thousands of different messages. Change your listed time or price, showcase your business name or social media, or completely transform your sign to direct attendees around your event or trade show.

Whether you own a business that regularly puts on events or work in an events space or as an event or wedding planner, our changeable event signage could be the perfect tool for you. Create a custom sign today, or check out our sign kits for maximum flexibility in your event signage.

Plus, SpellBrite signs come with both a 1-year warranty and a 30-day risk-free trial. If you aren’t completely satisfied with your sign, just send it back for a full refund.

Learn More

Want to learn more about how SpellBrite’s LED signs could benefit your event? Our customer service agents are available anytime Monday through Friday, 8am through 5pm. You can reach us via email at [email protected] or by phone at (312)575-9620, or you can learn more about our signs by checking out previous customers’ reviews. 

Smoke shops are an extremely competitive industry to operate in. Plus, with the many restrictions placed on digital advertising in the industry, it can be especially difficult to stand out from the crowd. One effective marketing strategy for your smoke shop or CBD dispensary is to use smoke shop signs to capture attention. Whether you want to advertise your cannabis-based products with a CBD sign or a Weed sign, draw attention to trending products with a Kratom sign or a Delta 8 sign, or advertise a classic smoke shop product with a Cigar sign or Tobacco sign, using LED signage is a great way to showcase your products and expand your customer base. Below, we’ll explore the best strategies for improving your smoke shop marketing to increase your sales easily and effectively.

How to Avoid Smoke Shop Advertising Restrictions 

Unlike many other businesses, smoke shops often face extremely strict digital advertising restrictions. This is primarily due to the nature of products sold, which often include age-restricted substances like tobacco and cannabis. Major digital advertising platforms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have stringent policies preventing advertising for these products. These restrictions can pose a serious challenge for smoke shop owners trying to market their business. 

As a result, these smoke shop owners have to explore more creative advertising tactics. Organic social media engagement, partnerships with relevant websites, and local marketing tactics like smoke shop signs are some examples of these. In particular, utilizing smoke shop signs can be a great way to showcase your business’s products and reach new potential customers in your local community.

Changing Trends in the Industry

As you consider what type of sign would be best for your smoke shop – whether that is a neon sign, an LED sign, a sandwich board sign, or a feather banner sign – there are a few important things to consider.

1. Visibility

Visibility is arguably the most important piece of the puzzle when it comes to advertising your smoke shop. Even if your sign has the most compelling message possible, if nobody can see it, nobody will be drawn to shop at your business. This can sometimes dictate the type of sign that is best for your business. In particular, illuminated signs are often a better choice because they stand out both day and night, are readable from further away, and are more likely to catch the eyes of nearby traffic than their print counterparts.

When considering the visibility of a sign, you’ll want to think about the angle at which it is visible. (SpellBrite signs are easily legible at 180 degrees, but many signs are not.) It’s also important to factor in both size and font. While some signs feature crisp and clean edges, many use stylized fonts or dot LEDs that can blur the message. This can make it so that while customers can see your sign, they can’t read your sign, rendering the sign significantly less effective.

2. Safety

Safety is an extremely important aspect of a sign to consider, though it can often fall by the wayside in favor of a lower price. You’ll want to ensure a safe shopping experience for your customers both to encourage previous customers to return and to avoid any potential liability issues. This is particularly important in the case of illuminated signs.

While neon signs are known to be potentially hazardous (with dangerously high amounts of voltage and easily breakable glass), cheap LED signs can also be dangerous. Many LED sign companies will cut corners to keep costs down, which can not only lead to a lower-quality product but also to electrical issues with your sign. When selecting a sign, you’ll want to make sure that the sign has some sort of safety certification. In particular, you’ll want to check to see if the sign is UL or CE certified. Both ratings show that the sign you’ve chosen has been tested and is safe for use in your business.

3. Longevity

There are two aspects to a sign’s longevity that you’ll want to consider. The first is obvious. If you’re investing your hard-earned dollars into a sign, you want to ensure that the sign will last. In most cases, longer-lasting signs will be slightly more expensive. However, they will last much longer, and are oftentimes considerably brighter and thus more visible than cheaper alternatives. This can help boost sales, meaning that the higher-quality sign can pay for itself within weeks (or possibly within days, as some previous SpellBrite customers have reported).

The second element to a sign’s longevity is harder to predict, and it involves selecting a sign message. Trends in the smoke shop industry constantly change. For example, while tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars remain popular, they have experienced declining sales over time as health concerns and changing attitudes toward smoking have influenced consumer preferences. Conversely, there has also been a significant rise in sales of alternative smoking products like vaporizers and e-cigarettes. Similarly, CBD-based products, like topical creams, seltzers, and edibles derived from hemp or cannabis plants, have seen a dramatic rise in popularity as more states have legalized them.

Consequently, it can be difficult to select sign messages that will be equally as effective for years to come. For example, signs like a Weed sign, a Delta 8 sign, a Kratom sign, or a CBD sign would best represent current bestselling products, but this would have been difficult to predict ten years ago. This is even harder in this digital age; all it takes is a single TikTok trend, and a previously unknown product could suddenly be leaping off the shelf. This is also why we designed the SpellBrite signage system: to grant business owners maximum flexibility in their LED signs.

Improving Your Smoke Shop Marketing

Staying ahead of the curve is essential for smoke shop owners. As trends change and customer preference evolves, having highly visible illuminated signage that can be customized to account for changes in the smoke shop industry is a game-changer in growing sales. That’s where SpellBrite’s LED smoke shop signs come in. Our signs offer an array of benefits that are perfectly suited to the fast-paced nature of the industry.

Smoke Shops & Industry Trends 

The smoke shop industry is known for its rapidly changing trends and customer demands. SpellBrite lets you change your signage any time with our click-together LED letters, numbers, and special characters. Simply disconnect and reconnect individual sign components to build thousands of different messages to fit your exact business needs. With SpellBrite’s click-together smoke shop signs, you have the flexibility to update your messaging and promoted products any time you like.

Whether you want to showcase the latest CBD products, highlight the newest vape flavors, or promote limited-time offers, SpellBrite signs allow you to easily change your messages to hyper-target your advertising and maximize sales growth. This will make it easier for your advertising to stay relevant and adapt to emerging trends. Taking advantage of this will give you a competitive edge in attracting customers and driving sales. Our signs are also built to last your business for years. With high-quality materials and innovative LED technology, SpellBrite is a great investment into the future of your business.

Grab Attention

When it comes to smoke shop marketing, visibility is key. SpellBrite’s LED signs shine ultra-bright, capturing the attention of nearby passersby and drawing them inside your store. A SpellBrite smoke shop sign will stand out even on a crowded city street or when placed behind tinted glass. Plus, with 8 different animations and 6 brightness settings, you can maximize your sign’s visibility to attract even more customers. We also guarantee that our signs will increase your sales. Not satisfied with your purchase for any reason? Simply return your sign within 30 days for a full refund. We’ll even pay the cost of return shipping!

Not Sure Where to Start?

You can directly purchase some of our bestselling signs by clicking on the respective link. Some popular choices by other smoke shop owners include our CBD sign, Kratom sign, Delta 8 sign, THC sign, Weed sign, and Cigars sign. You can also browse our full collection of smoke shop signage. Alternatively, you can create your very own custom sign, or use one of SpellBrite’s multi-character kits for maximum flexibility. All of our signs click together, so you can easily transform any SpellBrite sign into a new sign message. As your business needs change, your sign can too!

We also offer free sign consultations. Simply reach out to us by email at [email protected] or by phone at (312)575-9620. Let us know a bit more about what you’re trying to accomplish with your smoke shop sign. We’ll put our 20+ years of experience in the lighting and signage industries to good use, giving you some of our best recommendations on what signs could be most effective at increasing your sales.

Create your custom smoke shop sign today!

 

As a business owner, you know just how important it is to effectively advertise your business. Especially in highly competitive industries and locations, you need to not only grab the attention of potential customers but also communicate persuasive information about your business in a way that’s memorable, engaging, and instantaneous. Custom signage solutions are a great way to accomplish this. Plus, with SpellBrite’s click-together LED sign system, it’s now easier than ever to create eye-catching effective signs you can change and customize anytime. Our changeable signs give you the ability to have any sign message you want, anytime you need it. 

What are Custom Signage Solutions? 

Custom signage solutions include a wide range of different sign types that are customized to fit the specific needs of an individual business or organization. These signs are typically unique to the business or organization designing and purchasing the sign.

Some common examples of these custom solutions include LED, metal, vinyl, aluminum, and digital signs, vehicle wraps, and trade show displays. The sign’s appearance, size, and message displayed will differ depending on the individual business needs. Custom sign solutions can also serve a variety of uses. These include promoting products or services, enhancing a business’s visibility, providing directional guidance to help customers navigate your business, reaching potential new hires, and more.

Why Choose LED Signage?

While all custom sign solutions can help your business reach a larger audience and increase its visibility, illuminated LED signage stands above the rest. These signs offer a range of benefits over other traditional business signage solutions. First and foremost, they’re highly visible and effective at attracting attention. Passersby can spot high-quality LED signs from far away (SpellBrite signs are visible at over 500 feet away). Because they are illuminated, these LED signs are also visible to nearby traffic during both the daytime and evening hours. 

LED signs are also much more flexible than other types of custom business signs, like outdoor aluminum signs. Unlike these fixed and usually permanent signs, LED signs are typically lightweight and easily portable. This makes them ideal to use across a wide range of businesses.

Neon signs are also a very traditional illuminated sign option, with businesses relying on them for over a century. However, recent technological developments have given custom LED signs a wide range of benefits not found in their neon counterparts. LED signs are much more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than neon. This enables businesses to save on their energy bill while not compromising on visibility. Neon signs can also be dangerous to hang in heavily populated areas of your business. They include hazardous materials such as mercury, operate on potentially fatal voltage, and use easily shatterproof glass. While you still need to be careful that you’re investing in a high quality LED sign to ensure a long life span, this more energy-efficient light source can provide more effective advertising at a lower cost.

How to Attract More Attention

Custom signage solutions are a great way to provide visibility to your business while utilizing other digital marketing strategies. However, this can prove difficult because a business’s specific needs are constantly changing. While the custom sign you create may be great for a month or even a year, there is always a chance it could become obsolete.

Whether these changes are coming in the form of seasonal hiring, rotating daily or weekly specials, sales, or one-time events, it is important to be able to effectively communicate them to potential customers. You never know what message or product might convert a passerby into a return customer. Having the flexibility to experiment gives you a leg up against the competition.

Because of these changing business needs, selecting sign systems you can change alongside those needs is extremely valuable. This gives you the power to take advantage of seasonal marketing, easily advertise trending products or services (even as those trends change), and test out different words and phrases to see what performs best. Changeable custom signs also come with the added benefit of being able to change the purpose of your sign. You can easily switch between advertising your products, announcing that you’re hiring, or introducing a new value add in a snap.

Best of all, the simple act of change can draw additional attention to your sign and your business. After a potential customer walks past your storefront a few times, they have likely processed and grown used to it. Whether this local traffic actively recognizes that your sign has changed or not, the fact of making the sign will help your business stay top of mind for these customers.

Custom Signage Solutions That Grow with Your Business

At SpellBrite, we know how quickly things can change in business. That’s why we designed a sign solution that can continue to change and grow to constantly meet your business needs. Our custom sign solutions are composed of click-together LED letters, numbers, and select special characters that can be connected, disconnected, and reconnected in any order.

You can customize these signage systems any time, even after purchase. SpellBrite gives businesses the visibility of illuminated LED lights along with the flexibility to change their sign message. Perhaps adding a “GOURMET” in front of your “COFFEE” sign will make it more effective and provide an exponential increase to your sales. However, you can’t be sure until you try. With our LED signs, you can feel secure in your investment. Not only can you change your sign any time, but we also offer a 30 day risk-free trial. If your sign doesn’t work for your business, just return it for a full refund.

With SpellBrite, the possibilities are endless. Test new adjectives, additional modifiers, clever sign puns, advertising prices, and more, all while saving money. Plus, SpellBrite signs often pay for themselves in increased sales within weeks. Many of our previous customers have reported seeing sales growth of 20% or more, and you could too. You can read their testimonials here, or see for yourself and build your own custom sign message. For maximum changeability, you can also check out our sign kits. Each kit includes a set of SpellBrite characters so that you can create a wide variety of sign messages.

Start Increasing Your Sales Today

Custom signage solutions are becoming increasingly popular among businesses of all shapes and sizes. These solutions provide opportunities to create unique, eye-catching signs tailored to a particular business model in order to bring heightened visibility to the products and services offered. These signs can serve a wide variety of purposes, hyper-targeted to an individual business’s specific needs. With the right custom signage solution, businesses can ensure their message is seen by potential customers and build awareness.

Whether you’re looking to advertise products or increase your visibility, our custom LED signs can help you achieve your goals. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (312)575-9620 to learn more about how SpellBrite’s custom signage solutions will help you take your advertising to the next level.

What is Seasonal Marketing?

Seasonal marketing occurs when marketing strategies change based on the time of year or holiday season. It can provide fantastic opportunities to increase sales for many businesses. However, it can be difficult to come up with seasonal marketing ideas, and just as difficult to create new promotional products to follow the seasonal marketing trends you are able to identify. When considering how best to approach seasonal marketing in your sales, it’s important to determine which kind of seasonal marketing is the most applicable. There are three main types of seasonal marketing:

The first type of seasonal marketing occurs when a business is built entirely on a specific season or time period.  These businesses only sell their products during this time period, so this window has to have enough sales to support the business annually. Spirit Halloween and Christmas tree farms are two examples of this type of seasonally supported business. While marketing efforts may run year-round, they are particularly active during the time frame aligning with sales.

The second type of seasonal marketing occurs when a business sells their products throughout the year, but sees the majority of sales during a particular season or window of time. For many businesses, particularly toy retailers, this selling season occurs between Black Friday and Christmas. For other businesses, like flower shops, the primary selling season is different. These businesses will generally market year-round, but ramp it up or run additional marketing campaigns during this primary selling season. 

The third and final type of seasonal marketing is rotational. This occurs when businesses rotate products seasonally to reflect changing trends and seasonal needs. Clothing retailers provide a great example of this, with sweaters and winter coats shifting to swimsuits. The majority of businesses that utilize seasonal marketing follow this strategy, as it helps them stay relevant and appealing to customers year-round. One valuable but often overlooked benefit of this final type of marketing is that change draws attention and additional sales. Rotating products seasonally and then marketing them accordingly gives your business excellent opportunities to keep your business top of mind among your target audience.

Seasonal Marketing Ideas That Work 

Seasonal marketing and themed products are extremely effective strategies for staying relevant and bringing in new customers. From pumpkin carving tools to cookie cutters, rotating through different seasonal promotions and holiday specials is a great way to attract customers. When done right, seasonal marketing can be a massive boon to your business. However, because these seasonal specials are exactly that – seasonal – it can be difficult to figure out the best ways to take advantage of seasonal marketing opportunities.

This is especially true during Q1. At the beginning of the year, holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, and St. Patrick’s Day occur in quick succession. While these holidays have much faster turnaround times than those at the end of the year, like Halloween and Christmas, they continue to have a widespread consumer appeal and can provide great selling opportunities for your business. Whether you’re selling bouquets of roses or chocolate bunnies, keeping your business and branding up-to-date will help attract new customers and turn previous customers into regulars. 

Want to increase your sales and keep your customers engaged year-round? Try the following strategies:

Strategy #1: Launch Seasonal Product or Services (if possible)

Coffee shops provide a great example of this rotating seasonal marketing strategy. Just think of pumpkin spice lattes turning to peppermint hot chocolates and flavored iced coffee. However, even bigger purchases like mattresses or appliances can utilize seasonally targeted advertising and sales. Simply rebranding a service to fit the time of year can also be an effective strategy. Changing your messaging from “Couples’ Massages” to “Mother’s Day Massages” is one example, yielding results but requiring little effort. 

Strategy #2: Use Illuminated Signs to Capture Attention and Sales

Although print signage can be less expensive, illuminated signage is much more effective at advertising your business. This is because lighted signs are much more visible to potential customers than print for more hours of the day. If you have a physical storefront, consider investing in an illuminated sign system you can change, as the simple fact of making changes draws even more attention. Whether this is a video display board (which can run $20,000+) or a SpellBrite click-together sign (which typically runs about $200 for a 7 character sign to $525 for a 20 character sign), illuminated signage is an excellent tool to ensure that existing customers and local traffic can see your promotions and messages. Especially when you’re targeting seasonal or viral trends, utilizing changeable lighted signage can provide an added boost to your bottom line by drawing new curious customers inside.

Strategy #3: Highlight Holiday Specials on Social Media

It’s important to identify which platforms your intended audience use most and to target your messages to them. When posting, you’ll also want to show off your brand identity and post often enough to keep your name top of mind. However, don’t be afraid to experiment with different ideas or ways of framing your products within these limitations. You never know what message will stand out to a potential customer, and social media provides a way to spread news about your business and any seasonal specials. Jump onto holiday hashtags and trends, or tailor your posts to a specific time frame or holiday to increase your visibility even more, whether organically or through advertising. 

Strategy #4: Stay Up-To-Date Online

Make sure all of your information is up to date online. This includes your website, Google My Business, and other third party sites like Yelp (if applicable). While this is especially important if your hours are changing for particular holidays, even rotating through updated menu photos and responding to customer inquiries and reviews will both help boost your SEO scores and build trust in your local customer base.

Strategy #5: Build Loyalty Programs or Participate in Local Events

For businesses that operate locally out of a physical brick and mortar storefront, it can be easy to grow organically and engage with the locals by building loyalty programs and by participating in community events. Does your city host an annual Restaurant Week (our home town of Chicago hosts theirs in late January) or an industry-specific convention? Take advantage of these local monthly or annual events to help spread the news about your business.

Strategy #6: Use Print Mailers

Digital marketing has become extremely important in this age of technology. However, while it is no longer as heavily discussed, running direct mail campaign remains an effective seasonal marketing strategy. Although this strategy works better for some businesses than others, it is particularly effective when catering toward an immediate need. For example, advertising flowers in a campaign that arrives the week before Valentine’s Day could work extremely well. Consider including a seasonal offer or limited use coupon code to achieve even better results.

Strategy #7: Be Aware of Social Media Trends in Your Industry

TikTok and Instagram Reels are powerful tools for turning formerly obscure products and services into trends people want to try. Being at the forefront of these trends (which are often short-lived) can positively impact your bottom line. While not all products will fit into your industry or business model, keeping an eye out for viral products like the negroni sbagliato with prosecco, butter boards, large hair claws, or popular “beautytok” products will help you be ahead of the curve and take advantage of sales trends and an online audience.

Strategy #8: Offer Seasonal Gift Wrapping

Do you sell a product that is difficult to change out seasonally? One easy way to take advantage of seasonal or holiday trends in your marketing is by offering a gift wrap option or add-on that you can easily change. Use pink hearts for Valentine’s Day, black and orange cats for Halloween, and snowflakes through the winter, or rotate through different themed gift bags, bows, or certificates. This is both a way to increase your revenue and to allow your brand identity to shine through.

Strategy #9: Host Themed Events

Themed events are a great way to engage with potential customers and attract new ones into your business. These events are a particularly good seasonal marketing strategy for bars, restaurants, cafes, diners, and more. They can bring new customers into your business and turn them into regulars. However, it is important to consider ways of advertising these special one-time or weekly events. A variety of methods, including word of mouth, social media, changeable signs, and placing flyers throughout your business can help bring visibility to these events. Using multiple strategies in conjunction with each other can be even more effective.

Still Not Sure How to Increase Your Sales? We’re Here to Help.

Our customers have been very pleased with the sales growth SpellBrite has helped them achieve. When looking for a new sign that will increase sales, however, it can be daunting to choose the right message. We can help you with that.

After years of working with businesses across various industries, we’re experts in choosing sign messages tailored to your needs. We are happy to assist you, and we guarantee results. If your SpellBrite sign doesn’t immediately increase your sales or if you don’t love it for any reason, simply return it within 30 days for a full and prompt refund. We’ll even pay the cost of return shipping.

For assistance with your sign message or any other questions, or call (312-575-9620) or email ([email protected]) us. We’d be happy to help.

A bright, safe, high quality custom neon or LED sign can be a great investment in your business’s future. The right custom sign can provide an impactful and professional way to advertise products, showcase your business’s personality and brand identity, and add a pop of color to your storefront or interior décor. 

However, not all LED and neon signs are built the same. There is a wide range in quality and cost across different sign companies.

What are the most important components of a business sign?

1. It must shine bright enough to be highly visible not only at night, but also during the day. The daylight hours represent the majority of most businesses’ operating hours, so it’s important to capitalize on them.
2. It must last longer than a year or two. For most business owners, having to repair or replace a short-lived sign is a costly, time-consuming distraction from running the business or simply having free time to spend with family and friends.

While the sticker price on a high-quality sign can be intimidating, it is also a valuable investment. For example, many of our customers tell us their SpellBrite sign paid for itself in a few days or weeks. Furthermore, a high-quality sign that can stand out to customers 24 hours a day every day for ten years will have a greater positive impact on your business than a cheaper sign that either doesn’t work, breaks and needs replacing too soon, or has a cheap appearance that reflects poorly on your business. Nobody wants to shell out hundreds of dollars for a business sign that’s not up to the job.

How to Determine High Quality Neon Signs

With tens of thousands of different sign companies and retailers claiming their signs are the best, it can be overwhelming to know how to tell which companies are actually selling high-quality products that last, which are scams, and which fall somewhere in between. Many signs available for purchase are not certified or tested for quality, leaving you at risk of wasting money on a low-quality sign. This is especially true when dealing with sellers on third party sites like Amazon and Etsy. Since signs run on electricity, this becomes more than just an issue of how long signs will last: it can be a safety issue for you and your customers as well.

Knowing what to keep an eye out for when you’re purchasing a new custom LED or neon sign can help. Below, you can find a comprehensive overview of how to research and investigate the quality of a sign to help you get the most for your money. From safety and quality ratings to waterproofing to the best practices in sleuthing out a scam, these tips and tricks will help guide you toward a long-lasting sign that will attract new customers and increase your sales.

If You Want a Bright Sign, Avoid This

If brightness is an important criteria for you, like it is for many business owners, you will want to avoid edge lit signs. Edge lit signs are just what the name suggests: a piece of glass or clear acrylic etched with a message or image. A light source, often LEDs, are on the edge of the glass or acrylic and light up the etching. This sort of sign can be aesthetically beautiful and relatively inexpensive, and they are useful for certain applications, particularly in low-light, interior applications. However, that aesthetic value comes at a cost: even a high-quality edge lit sign doesn’t project much light. Edge lit signs are not designed to be in a window shouting out a message to potential customers. If you are looking for a bright sign, you will likely be disappointed with an edge lit sign.

Product Certifications, Quality & Safety for Neon Signs

Technical design, the components used, and the manufacturing process determine the quality of a neon or LED sign. Taking shortcuts in any of these will lead to a poor quality neon sign that disappoints immediately or over time. As an example, a manufacturer can use lower quality LEDs to cut costs, but “overdrive” them electronically to make them extremely bright initially. However, overdriving LEDs significantly shortens their life. The sign may look great when you first turn it on, but soon the LEDs will dim, and your sign will not be bright enough to attract anyone’s attention.

Companies that manufacture long-lasting, high-quality signs will make the investment to have them certified (generally under the UL certification in the United States, and the CE certification in Europe). For a well-made product, obtaining UL and other certifications is not incredibly time consuming or expensive. While UL ratings are not a guarantee of high quality in a neon sign, the lack of a rating is a red flag.

Beyond showing a sign’s quality, these certifications also attest to its safety. Because neon and LED signs run on electricity, safety ratings help regulate what signs are in the market. Generally, if a sign company has successfully met or exceeded the requirements for these certifications, they will publish that information somewhere on their website. If you don’t explicitly see these ratings, you can always reach out directly to the seller to inquire – if they are legitimate, they should know and be able to respond.

What is a UL Rating?

Notice a tiny “UL” enclosed in a circle on your sign?

This means that UL, or the Underwriters Laboratories (non-profit testing laboratories dedicated to accurately and consistently testing product quality) have evaluated the product and found it to meet or exceed their requirements for fire and electrical safety. The UL rating is applicable in the United States. This mark is another sign of a legitimate product that has passed a series of safety and function testing performed by a reputable source.

It’s important to note that UL is an individual company and, outside of granting a UL certification, UL has no say on whether or not production of a product should be approved or rejected. Only governmental agencies like the FDA are able to legally prevent production based on their own research, though even these agencies may incorporate UL’s testing into their own assessments.

There are dozens of individual certifications under the “UL” umbrella. When checking for safety regulations on your sign, the most important factor is whether it is UL listed. Products that are UL listed will have a UL label (see above). To earn a UL label, the Underwriter’s Laboratory tests the standalone product to confirm that it is made of a high enough quality to meet or exceed nationally recognized safety and sustainability standards. Beyond these, a UL listing also confirms that UL has found the sign to be free from a “reasonably foreseeable” risk of fire.

Is Your Quality Neon or Neon LED Sign Safe?

If you don’t see a UL rating, that doesn’t necessarily mean the sign in question is unsafe. Some companies may use different certifications to achieve the same end goal, like the CE certification discussed below. Although UL certifications are the most common for lighting fixtures, including LED and neon signs and lighting fixtures, an ETL label (Electrical Testing Labs) is also a nationally recognized mark of safety and quality. CSA (Canadian Standards Association) is another, also recognized in the US and beyond.

A UL label doesn’t mean the sign is 100% safe. Sometimes, companies will manipulate what part of their sign is UL listed. Most signs will have multiple electrical components, and each one must go through the UL certification process independently in order for the entire signage system to be listed.

In some cases, companies will vaguely state “UL rated” when only the power supply, not the actual sign, is UL listed. You should always check to see if the sign itself has a UL listing and not just its power cord or adapter. For example, for our products, both the sign itself (left) and the power cord (right) are UL certified, so both bear the UL label.       

   

If you’re not sure if a sign is UL rated, you can quickly and easily search the company name in the UL database, found here. This database features every single manufactured product that is UL certified, giving you the power to fact-check sign companies’ claims and ensure that your sign is safe. Additionally, the UL database indicates which items produced by the company are UL certified. If only the power supply is listed and not the sign itself, that means that only the power supply is listed.

What is a CE Rating?

If you look carefully, you might see a “CE” label on your neon or LED sign. There are two different meanings for this, and it’s good to be aware of which one applies to the product before you buy.

How can you tell the two “CE” marks apart? Look at the distance between the C and the E, as shown above.

The “CE” rating on the left stands for “Conformitè Europëenne,” or “European Conformity.” It is roughly the European equivalent of a UL rating. If you spot this, congratulations! The product complies with all the health, safety, and environmental protection requirements of the European Union (EU). Certain products sold in the European Economic Area require this certification. The CE rating doesn’t automatically signify a high quality sign or other product, but it does show that the product you’re looking at has been tested and confirmed to be safe for use by a reputable source.

However, there is a second type of “CE” mark that looks extremely similar but is not a standard of quality. This “CE” stands for “China Export,” and manufacturers in China use it arbitrarily to show the item’s country of origin, much like “MADE IN THE U.S.A.” labels on clothing brands. The two “CE” logos look extremely similar, as shown above, and it is easy to confuse one for the other. 

While many signs and other products with the “China Export” CE label can be high quality and pass other regulatory certifications, the “China Export” label itself requires no quality check or health and safety testing, meaning that this label alone cannot be seen as a signifier of a quality product. 

Not sure if a company is CE certified? Ask them! If companies have the “Conformitè Europëenne” CE certification, they can provide evidence through a Certificate of Compliance.

Is that Quality Neon LED Sign Safe, or “Safe”?

Whether or not it’s true, the majority of sign companies will claim that their signs are safe.  This is obviously an important selling point – businesses are looking for a safe sign even more than a visible one – so it makes sense to include.

However, the UL and similar groups are the ones who ultimately determine sign safety and demonstrate it through certifications.  Just because a sign company tells you that their sign is safe doesn’t mean that it actually is, especially if they don’t list or can’t prove any specific certifications.

You should never trust that a sign is safe until you see the proof of its safety, as designated by safety ratings like those above.  

What is an IP Rating? Or, How Can You Tell If a Sign is Waterproof?

While placing signage outside can be useful in driving traffic to your business and attracting new customers, finding LED or neon signs that are waterproof and can work effectively in all kinds of weather can be problematic. If you’re looking for a sign to use outdoors, you should keep your eye out for Ingress Protection (IP) ratings. IP ratings certify the waterproof capabilities of electronic products, including lights.

IP numbers show how good a product is at preventing other things from getting inside of it. These quality ratings are distributed based on testing done by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and are made up of two single-digit numbers. The first digit indicates protection against solids, like dust or pollen, and goes up to a maximum of 6; the second digit indicates protection against liquids and goes up to a maximum of 8.

Most common waterproof IP ratings:

IP65: Signs with this rating have been tested using a water jet, like a hose. They have waterproofing protection for 3 minutes.

IP66: Signs with this rating have demonstrated an ability to repel water from a powerful jet stream for 3 minutes.

IP67: Signs with this rating can be submerged in water up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes.

IP68: Signs with this rating have the highest level of protection on the IP scale. These products are fully protected against solid particles, and they can be submerged in water beyond 1 meter deep for up to 30 minutes. For example, Apple claims that their IP-68 rated iPhone 13 can survive depths of up to 6 meters for up to 30 minutes.

Sometimes, you may also see multiple IP ratings on a product. This simply means that the sign protects against particles in multiple ways. For example, a product with both an IP 65 and an IP 68 rating will be able to withstand both submersion and a water jet.

When it comes to signage, even a waterproof sign may not necessarily be completely weatherproof. Hot and humid Florida weather or freezing Minnesota snowstorms can impact the performance of signs depending on their construction. If you are selecting a neon or LED sign to use outside, you should always confirm with the sign company that their products are safe for outdoor use first.

Is the Price Right?

Everyone loves to save a few bucks. When it comes to lighting and signage solutions though, low prices are a warning sign. Seeing an extremely low price doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t buy that particular sign. However, it is usually a reliable indicator that you should proceed with caution if you’re looking for a high quality neon sign.

Generally, the average cost of a high quality LED sign will start at around $150-200 and go up to $1000 or more depending on the size and type of the sign. For a quality neon sign, that up-front cost for a custom sign will start slightly higher (closer to $300-400 for a stock sign) and can again go up to $4000 or more for a custom sign. Sometimes sign companies will offer sales on certain high-quality items or can provide stock items for a slightly cheaper price. This is especially true when trying to blow out inventory.

Is the Price Misleading?

Some sign companies can also be misleading about their pricing, particularly on third-party services like Etsy. If you search for “custom neon sign,” you’ll see a wide variety of sellers touting their high quality custom neon or LED-neon signs at $20 apiece. However, if you look closer, you’ll see that these inexpensive signs are only 10cm long! Sometimes, these low costs also hide upcharges or additional costs, which is why it’s important to read the fine print. Some sellers use low costs as “down payments” for more expensive signs or add hidden fees at checkout.

While a low-cost 10cm sign may be exactly what you need, it likely won’t be effective for most business uses.

Keeping that in mind, if you stumble upon “high-quality” signs at a fraction of this cost ($50 or below), you’re right to be suspicious. Many of these solutions don’t have safety certifications, won’t be very bright, and/or won’t last a long time.

A Return Policy Can Be Telling

One indicator of a company that makes quality signs is their return policy. If you purchase a sign and find it doesn’t meet your needs, can you get a full refund? This is particularly important as the first time a customer sees their sign is often after they purchase it.

Some companies allow returns. Many will accept returns on stock signs, but not custom signs. Other companies refuse all returns and will only repair or replace signage damaged in shipping. There are some companies that do not even specify what their return policy is. If the company in question is legitimate, you should be able to find their return policy (or lack of) easily. For example, you can find our 30-day return policy clearly laid out on our website here.

What is the Warranty?

The company’s website should clearly articulate the warranty on their signs, if applicable. Many manufacturers make no mention of their warranty. Others might offer a one year warranty whose coverage depends on what particular issue the sign has. Some have longer warranties that sound great…until you read the fine print. Be sure to investigate how the long the warranty is and what exactly it covers before making a purchase. (Again, you can find SpellBrite’s policies – an automatic one-year warranty, with a free three-year extended warranty available with product registration – quickly and easily here).

Keeping an Eye Out For Possible Scams

When trying to determine whether that LED or neon sign company is going to give you a long-lasting, high quality product or a cheap but dim alternative, using the best practices for judging scams in general can be helpful. Here, we’ll outline what to watch for when buying custom signs from a seller whose reputation you’re unsure of.

Company Information

How long has the company been in business? If a company has been in business for decades, like us, there should be plenty of information about them online. Conversely, many brand new companies won’t clearly state how long they have been in business. This makes it harder to tell if their signs are high-quality or how long they will last. 

Is the company an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)? Not all legitimate companies register with the BBB, but the BBB will often keep a record of problematic dealings associated with the business. This may help you to confirm the business’s authenticity.

Does the company have a website? Generally, the website a company has can help you determine if it is legitimate or a scam. While not all legitimate companies have websites, a website can help put your mind at ease.

If the company does have a website:

• Does the company list their phone number? If so, try calling it; does somebody pick up the phone or call you back?
• Can you see the privacy policy somewhere on the site? Websites run by scammers will often overlook that important piece of a functional website.
• In what way does the company accept payment? While credit cards are generally safer (and make it easier to obtain a refund in the event of fraudulent activity), some companies will require payment in the form of envelopes of cash or checks mailed to a specific address.
• How is their website design and grammar? Are there sections that look extremely underdeveloped, or that have serious programming errors? Some legitimate businesses, especially small businesses, will have poor website design and may have some small grammatical issues. However, most legitimate e-commerce companies will invest in a website that accurately reflects their brand and products.

Social Media

Does the company have social media? A digital presence is becoming increasingly more important for businesses of all kinds, from physical storefronts and restaurants to sign companies. It can be hard to tell if a business is legitimate or high-quality based solely on their social media. However, social media does provide great insight into a business’s values.

If the sign company doesn’t have any social media, especially if they also have no website, that’s a red flag. The exception to this would be if the business is small, like a shop selling crocheted stuffed animals on Etsy. If the business in question is larger or seemingly well-established, you should expect to see a website and social media. 

Does the company have social media? If so, you can easily scroll through their posts and often learn something about them. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for any negative feedback. Has the company responded to it in a helpful way? Does the company seem responsive to the concerns of potential customers on their social media? If you are suspicious that the company is not legitimate, do not click on the link directly in their bio. Instead, open a new tab and Google the company name to see what pops up.

Search Appearance on Third-Party Sellers

 While e-commerce platforms do work to ensure that products are fairly rated, and that companies aren’t paying for positive reviews, many reviews and companies fall between the cracks. In particular, we are going to take a closer look at e-commerce giant Amazon. 

One thing to note is that the majority of sellers on Amazon are now selling directly from Chinese sellers. This makes safety ratings and certifications harder to obtain or confirm. One way in which these sellers are protecting their interests in the United States is by creating official “brands.” They create these brands by combining a string of numbers to create a unique “brand name” for the company. If you see a brand name like JHTKLWOII on Amazon, it’s likely that the company is based in China. This means that the product is not held to the same safety standards or government requirements as products created and sold from the United States. You can confirm where a company is based by looking for their website or social media. You could also try reaching out to their customer service line. 

Search Placement on Amazon

Additionally, looking at reviews on Amazon can be extremely telling. While Amazon has cracked down on purchasing reviews, there are still many companies who purchase both positive reviews for themselves. Some companies will even purchase negative reviews for other companies, compromising the legitimacy of many negative reviews as well. Do the reviews of these “high-quality” signs seem to be legitimate? Do they come with pictures? Are they all extremely positive or extremely negative?

Oftentimes, the 3 and 4 star reviews will be the most helpful. They are also the ones that are most likely to be true, accurate reviews given by paying customers. If a seller has 500+ reviews and a 4.98 rating, it is unlikely that all their reviews are legitimate. Customers with mid-range ratings often have more level-headed feedback, giving you a better sense of the company’s shortcomings. Do they have a great product but terrible customer service? False advertising on shipping times? These 3-4 star reviews will let you know.

Other Third-Party Reviews of Quality Neon Signs

Other third-party reviews can be extremely helpful to investigate when determining whether a company is legitimate or not. Although both the company in question and their competitors can manipulate these, common sense helps you read between the lines. 

First, you can look up “[company name] scam” or “is [company] legit.” If it actually is a suspected scam, top results will link to their rating on sites like ScamRisk.

If they don’t show up there, look at sites like Trustpilot, Sitejabber, Google Reviews, Yelp, or Facebook Reviews. While these reviews may be short and sweet, there are often at least a few that go into more detail. Hearing from previous customers can give you insight into the company and whether the product will work for you. In particular, spotting returning customers who have left multiple reviews is always a good sign.

Need a High Quality Neon or Neon-LED Sign?

Having a bright sign can increase your business’ sales. Having a quality bright sign can increase those sales for years to come and give you peace of mind. We hope you found our suggestions valuable. Unfortunately, none of the above strategies are 100% accurate in proving that a sign is bright, long-lasting or high-quality. However, using all of them together – looking for certifications of safety and quality on the product, checking for a return and warranty policy, evaluating content on a company’s social media and website, and investigating third-party review platforms – can help you determine if the sign you’re looking at is the right one for you.

Of course, we’d (www.SpellBrite.com) be delighted to provide you with a high-quality sign. We have decades of experience in the lighting and signage industries, and would be happy to schedule a free consultation. Contact us at [email protected] or (312)575-9620 and we’ll work with you to determine what solution is best for you. 

Neon signs are bright and beautiful. They can showcase products to generate awareness and sales for businesses, create an artistic focal point for a photo op, or add a cozy aesthetic to your home. But when your neon sign breaks, figuring out how to repair it can be a headache. Because classic neon signs are often handcrafted, with no two exactly alike, it can be particularly difficult to determine where to start.

We’re here to help. Read on to learn what to expect, how to handle your broken neon sign, and the next steps you can take to repair your sign.

Are Neon Signs Dangerous? 

A well-made and properly functioning neon sign isn’t dangerous to be around. However, if you’re going to actually be handling your sign, you should always approach it with extreme caution. This is especially true if it is an older sign or if there is any chance it might be broken. Between shattered glass, electrical wiring, and potentially dangerous gases, neon signs come with a large number of potential safety hazards. Given this, it is incredibly important to make sure you take the proper safety precautions around your neon sign. 

Always turn off and unplug your neon sign before touching it. This is non-negotiable.

Why shouldn’t you handle your sign while it’s on? While LED signs typically operate at 12–24 volts, neon signs require 9,000 to 20,000 volts to ionize the gas inside and illuminate. Touching a broken neon sign while it’s still plugged in can cause fatal electric shock.

Beyond electricity, there are two additional hazards in older signs:

• Lead exposure: Many vintage neon signs were made with lead-containing glass. The amount is generally too small to cause toxicity through normal handling, but broken glass can release fine particles.
• Mercury: Some neon signs — particularly older blue ones — use mercury vapor to produce their color. If you suspect a leak or break in one of these signs, wear gloves and a mask and ventilate the area before handling anything.

All neon signs require additional caution due to their use of glass, which is more fragile than it looks. The process of heating and bending glass tubing to create neon tube shapes weakens it, making it significantly more prone to shattering than standard glass.

Can My Neon Sign Be Repaired? 

For the most part, the state of disrepair your sign is in will determine how expensive the repair will be. Most neon signs can be fixed, though the cost of repairing them varies depending on the age and quality of the sign and the extent of the break. 

For older or vintage neon signs: Do not attempt a DIY repair yourself. Take your sign directly to a certified neon sign technician. Older signs may use hard-to-source components, and the high-voltage transformer work involved requires professional training. A skilled technician can also assess whether the sign is worth repairing at all; sometimes an aging sign that’s just getting dim has simply reached the end of its natural lifespan. Traditional neon signs typically last 10–12 years on average.

For newer signs: If your sign is newer (and mostly intact), you can find some DIY walkthrough solutions for fixing your sign online. This is particularly true for straightforward issues like a broken transformer or shorted wires. However, professional evaluation is still the safest route. Mistakes on high-voltage equipment can cause further damage to the sign and potentially injury to you.  

For brand new signs: Before spending anything on repair, check the warranty and return policies on your sign. Most signage companies don’t offer refunds on custom pieces, but many will provide warranties covering manufacturing defects. Reading the documentation closely before looking into repair options could save you a substantial amount of money.

Common Neon Sign Problems and What They Mean

If you’re trying to diagnose what’s wrong before calling a technician, here are the most common issues:

• Sign won’t light at all: Usually a transformer failure, a broken tube, or a wiring problem. This is one of the most common ways in which neon signs break.
• Flickering or intermittent glow: Often indicates a loose connection, a failing transformer, or a gas leak within the tubing.
• Dimmer than usual: Could be normal aging (neon tubes gradually lose brightness over years of use) or a low-level gas leak. If the sign is 10+ years old, it may simply be near the end of its lifespan.
• One section is dark: Neon signs are wired in segments. A dark section often means a single tube has cracked, lost its gas, or has a failed electrode — the rest of the sign can still work while that section is out.
• Buzzing or humming: Some hum is normal for neon (it’s part of the charm). But a louder-than-usual buzz can signal a transformer that’s working too hard or beginning to fail.

How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Neon Sign?

All neon signs are different, meaning there’s no single price for neon sign repair. The cost depends on the type and extent of damage, the size and complexity of the sign, and the experience level of the technician you hire.

Here’s a rough breakdown of expected costs:

Repair Type	Estimated Cost
Loose or shorted wire	$50–$100
Transformer replacement	$125–$350+ (parts + labor)
Small glass tube break or crack	$100–$300 per tube
Extensive tube damage or full replacement	$400–$1,000+
Large, complex, or custom signs	$1,000+

A few additional factors can drive costs even higher:

• Vintage signs often require custom-fabricated replacement tubes and may involve matching specific glass colors that are no longer produced.
• Multi-transformer signs charge separately for each transformer replaced.
• Access and labor can add significantly to the final bill, especially if the sign is mounted high, outdoors, or in a difficult location.
• Technician experience: more seasoned professionals charge more, but they’re also more likely to diagnose the real problem and fix it correctly the first time.

One important reality check: for many neon sign breaks, especially glass damage, the repair cost can rival or exceed the original price of the sign. It’s worth getting a few quotes and comparing repair costs against the price of a new sign before committing.

How to Find a Neon Sign Repair Shop

Not every sign shop or electrician is equipped to work on neon. While search terms like “neon sign repair near me,” “fix neon sign,” or “neon sign shop [your city]” will surface local options, it is important to additional research to confirm the business you’re looking at can handle neon. Many cities also have sign associations (like the United Sign Association) with member directories.

In conducting additional research on these resources, you should look for the following:

• Specialty neon experience: Look for shops that specifically advertise neon sign repair, not just general electrical or sign work.
• Portfolio or reviews: A reputable shop will have examples of previous neon repairs. Check Google, Yelp, or the Better Business Bureau to confirm the legitimacy of the company you’re looking at.
• In-person assessment: Be wary of shops that quote repairs without seeing the sign. Because there is so much variance between neon signs, there is no such thing as a reliable phone estimate when it comes to neon repair.
• Multiple quotes: For any repair over $200, it’s worth getting 2–3 quotes to compare pricing and timelines.

How To Maintain a Neon Sign to Prevent Future Damage

Routine care can extend the life of your neon sign and reduce the frequency of professional repairs. While this cannot prevent breaks in the glass, it can minimize the need for professional repair services.

The first rule of thumb in preventing future problems is leaving your neon sign on 24/7 when not handling. While this may increase energy costs, neon signs perform better and last longer when left on continuously. Frequent on/off cycling stresses the transformer and causes your neon sign to fail sooner.  For signs that you need to turn on or off, like OPEN or CLOSED signs, it may be better to consider an LED sign alternative.

Regularly cleaning your neon sign can also prevent damage and help keep your sign shining bright. Once again, always turn off and unplug your neon sign before handling it. A soft cloth or clean paintbrush is effective for removing dust, dirt, cobwebs, and other buildup that can block light output and trap heat. Always avoid any liquid cleaners near electrical components.

Be extremely careful when handling the neon sign. Tempering the glass to create neon tubing weakens the glass, making it fragile and much more prone to breakage than other types of glass.

If your neon sign is outside, you may also want to consider investing in a bug trap near the sign. Your bright neon sign will be a beacon to bugs, which can partially block the light and require you to clean the sign more often.

Is Repairing Your Neon Sign Worth It, Or Is It Time for a New Sign?

For vintage or sentimental pieces, professional neon repair is almost always worth pursuing. A skilled technician can restore a sign that’s decades old to like-new condition, and some repairs (like a transformer swap) are genuinely affordable.

For business signage, the math often tells a different story. When repair quotes approach or exceed the cost of a replacement sign, and when your sign being out of commission costs you in lost sales, a new sign may be the smarter investment.

If you’re in the market for a new sign, SpellBrite’s LED signs are an effective solution for replacing old neon. SpellBrite has been innovating in the LED lighting space for over twenty years, and is specifically designed to address many of the pain points of traditional neon. Our signs are completely shatterproof and cool to the touch, with UL and CE certifications to ensure your safety. Plus, SpellBrite is backed by a 30 day risk-free trial and a 1 year warranty. While we don’t offer neon sign repair services, we’re happy to help you think through your options and find the right signage solution for your situation.

Browse our selection by industry — including open signs, restaurant signs, smoke shop signs, and many more — or get an instant online quote for a custom sign. 

Call us at (312) 575-9620 or email [email protected] with any questions.

Fixing Neon Signs: Frequently Asked Questions

How long do neon signs last? Traditional neon signs typically last 10–12 years with regular use, though well-maintained signs can last longer. Transformers tend to fail first, averaging around 12 years of steady operation.

Can I repair a neon sign myself? DIY repair is risky due to the high voltage involved (up to 20,000 volts). It’s generally only advisable for simple, low-risk fixes like replacing an accessible external wire on a newer sign — and only if you have electrical experience. When in doubt, hire a professional.

What gas is in neon signs? Red and pink signs typically use actual neon gas. Other colors use different gases: argon (often with mercury) for blue and green, helium for gold/orange/white, and krypton for white. The specific gas determines both the color and some of the safety considerations if a tube breaks.

Can broken neon glass be repaired? In many cases, yes — a technician can replace a broken tube section and refill it with gas. However, matching the exact color of older glass isn’t always possible, and replacement tube costs ($100–$200 per unit) can add up quickly on larger signs.

Is it worth repairing an old neon sign? For a vintage or sentimental piece, often yes. For standard business signage, it depends on the repair cost relative to replacement cost and the amount of downtime you can tolerate. Get a professional assessment and at least one quote before deciding.

 

When a bright sign saying “LABOR DAY HOURS 8AM-2PM” caught Scott Martin’s attention, he knew right away he was seeing something very unique. (more…)

Jay Clarida had been running a successful barbershop in Elmhurst, Illinois when a patron and friend suggested Jay try a SpellBrite sign to promote his business.  Initially reluctant to make the investment, Jay finally decided to give it a try. He was shocked by the results.

“Business was good so I didn’t think a SpellBrite sign would do much, but I gave it a try and got a sign that says JMCBARBERSHOP.COM.  Am I glad I did!  Customer traffic and sales increased almost immediately.” said Jay.  In fact, a few months after adding the ultra-bright LED SpellBrite sign, Jay added a third barber to take advantage of the increased traffic.  “The value of the sign really hit home when a new customer, who was drawn in by the sign, asked if we had just opened.  We’ve been here for 7 years and he never noticed us!  Now, my business is up over 40%.”

How Jay Continues to See Lasting Sales Growth

To continually attract new attention, Jay experimented with alternating through the different animation settings. While switching between flashing, pulsing, and static did continue to boost sales, he ultimately decided to step things up.  With SpellBrite’s click-together design, Jay was able to change his one row sign of JMCBARBERSHOP.COM to a three row sign that says JMC (new row) BARBER (new row) SHOP.  Now he pulses or flashes just the row BARBER. While this was only a small difference, it made a big impact. The change in configuration stood out to customers who walked or drove past the storefront frequently. Immediately customers began asking Jay if he got a new sign, and he saw new customers drawn in.  Jay plans to use this configuration of the SpellBrite sign for a month or two, and then change it again.

“I certainly didn’t expect it, but SpellBrite has been great for business.  And every time I change the sign, everybody notices.” says Jay.

JMC Barbershop: www.jmcbarbershop.com

 

Customers who use SpellBrite signs to announce price promotions and value deals tell us these messages are very effective at increasing traffic and sales. 

As you know, a SpellBrite sign with a compelling message pulls in customers and increases sales. SpellBrite grabs the customer’s attention, and then you find out how compelling the message is. Do customers come in and make a purchase? Since price is an important factor to most customers, price promotions often do bring in more customers and sales.

It’s no surprise that business owners may not think to use a bright, illuminated window sign to highlight their promotions. For decades, the only option for an illuminated window sign was neon. Unlike SpellBrite, neon signs are very expensive and not changeable. You are stuck with the neon sign as it was made until someone accidentally breaks it.

SpellBrite’s click-together design has created a tremendous opportunity. Now you can test messages and promotions to find out which pull in the most customers and sales.

Using a restaurant as an example, Shawn Kanchwala from Taylor Street Pizza in Carpentersville, IL used the SpellBrite sign “ANY 2 SLICES $5.50” to increase his combo meal sales by more than 20%. Read more here.

Large chains (McDonald’s, Subway, Walgreens, H&R Block, etc.) spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising their promotions. With a SpellBrite sign you can get broad awareness among your target customers with even just one location. Most importantly, unlike most other marketing tools (TV, local newspapers, Facebook, Google, coupon books, mailers, etc.), many customers will see your SpellBrite message at a time when they can immediately make a purchase.

So advertise your price promotions, include your phone number in your front window, and highlight your percent off sale. Continually test promotions to find those that bring in the most customers and sales!

All the best,
Sean Callahan

 

See what SpellBrite customers said about their SpellBrite signs at the International Pizza Expo 2017 in our recap video below.

Download PDF of this

What SpellBrite sign messages should you use? Go with the messages that generate the largest increase in sales. Based on customer feedback the most effective messages fall into one of the below categories. Fortunately, with SpellBrite’s click-together design, you can test messages to find the most profitable for your business.

1) Announce Your Products & Services.

List your products and services with a SpellBrite sign and leave it on 24/7. By constantly reminding prospective customers as they pass by, you’ll be at the top of their mind.

(e.g. ACCOUNTING SERVICES; ALTERATIONS; BAKERY & CAFE; CATERING 312-575-9620; DENTIST; CHINESE CUISINE; PHYSICAL THERAPY; PEDICURE; TATTOO; BRAKES; MUFFLERS; WE CUT KEYS; SCREEN REPAIR; TAX PREP; BIKE RENTALS; WE DELIVER; etc.)

2) Highlight Your Special Deals, Value Meals, Promotions, etc.

Every customer loves a good deal and a price promotion is one of the quickest ways to draw in folks. Big chains spend millions advertising their promotions. With SpellBrite you can get broad awareness among your target customers with even just one location. Most importantly, unlike promotions on TV, in the local newspaper or in coupon books and mailers, customers often will see your SpellBrite message when they can immediately make a purchase.

(e.g. $5 BURGER COMBO; HAIRCUT $15; FREE 25 POINT INSPECTION; NO FEE ATM; FIRST MONTH FREE; 25% OFF ALL JEANS; FALL SALE; $99 TEETH WHITENING; $9.99 ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET; etc.)

3) Differentiate Your Business.

Every business has something that makes them unique. Shout it to the world so prospective customers know and remember.

(e.g. GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS; SAME DAY SERVICE; HANDMADE JEWELRY; 50 BEERS ON TAP; 100% HAND CAR WASH; OUTDOOR PATIO; FREE WIFI; AWARD WINNING COFFEE; PLAY SLOTS HERE; TAILOR ON PREMISES; 24-7 LOCKSMITH 212-744-3915; etc.)

4) Rotate Your Promotions.

In multiple studies we have done with SpellBrite users, highlighting a specific item increased the sales of that item. By rotating your promotions you can increase your sales, because (a) you sell to more customers – they often have different wants and (b) you sell more to the same customers – those that like several of your promotions. With their daily specials, restaurants are unusually well positioned to increase their sales with this strategy.

(e.g. DAILY SPECIAL PASTA ALFREDO; SPECIAL – CHICKEN TERIYAKI; SPECIAL – TUNA; $25 OIL CHANGE; FREE TIRE ROTATION; $25 MANICURES, $35 HAIR COLOR; $20 EYEBROW THREADING; etc.)

5) Direct Your Customers.

Minimize customer confusion, speed up the line, and bring in customers that didn’t realize you had more parking in back. (Every SpellBrite sign row can be dimmed so signs like RESTROOM in a restaurant don’t overpower the lighting.)

(e.g. MORE PARKING IN BACK; OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION; DROP OFF HERE; ORDER HERE; PICK-UP; RESTROOM; DRIVE THRU OPEN; EMPLOYEES ONLY; COAT CHECK; BAR OPEN; etc.)

6) Promote Seasonal Items.

Many products and services are season specific. Promote items that are right for that time of year.

(e.g. BACK TO SCHOOL SALE; HOT CHOCOLATE; ICE COFFEE; CHILI; SMOOTHIES; ROAD SALT; GARDEN CENTER; SNOWBLOWERS; DOZEN ROSES $24.95; DOWN JACKETS; BEACH SHORTS; etc.)

7) Announce Immediate Availability.

Few people like to wait for service. A sign announcing immediate availability can get customers to stop and come in. This is particularly helpful for (a) operations that often have waits and (b) shops that draw from customer traffic to nearby businesses.

(e.g. IMMEDIATE SEATING; NO WAIT; WALK-INS WELCOME; 24 HR SERVICE; etc.)

8) Sell Add-On Items.

Incremental sales are often very profitable. Highlight add-on items with SpellBrite.

(e.g. 2ND DINNER 50% OFF; TRY OUR GUAC; $5 CAR WASH WITH GAS PURCHASE; BUY 2 GET 1 FREE; ASK ABOUT HIGH MILEAGE OIL; ADD HIGHLIGHTS FOR $15; etc.)

9) Attract Employees.

Several business owners have used SpellBrite to announce available positions. Martin, an owner of a pizzeria, saw a 5x increase in delivery driver candidates, allowing him to be much more selective.

(e.g. NOW HIRING DRIVERS; COOK NEEDED; POSITIONS AVAILABLE; JOIN OUR TEAM; HELP WANTED, etc.)

10) Say OPEN With Pizzazz.

Most establishments use an illuminated OPEN sign to tell the world they are open. With the invention of SpellBrite, you can be much more creative. Choose a sign with personality and stand out from the crowd.

(e.g. COME ON IN!; OPEN CRAZY LATE; COME & GET IT; ALWAYS OPEN; WE NEVER CLOSE; THE GRILL IS HOT; 3AM BAR; WE GOT IT OPEN; OPEN ‘TIL 2AM; etc.)

If you’re not sure what a good message is, test different messages. SpellBrite’s click-together design gives you an inexpensive way to find out which messages drive the most sales.

If you are having trouble thinking of sign ideas, call 312-575-9620 and ask for help from our trained staff.

 

Located in Oceanside, NY, The Wine Cellar Oceanside is a liquor store with emphasis on wine. Owner Hasan Balkas had printed window signs to promote items on sale, but they didn’t seem very effective.

As an alternative to a neon sign, he found SpellBrite LED signs online at www.spellbrite.com, He says he is 100 percent happy with his purchase, since he could create a bright, custom sign to say exactly what he wanted. The click-together letters read: “FINE WINE & SPIRITS.”

“I think it is the greatest idea,” he says. “It’s very easy to put together and if, down the road, you want to change it, you can.”

The new SpellBrite sign stays on 24 hours a day, and Balkas says it has increased sales. “We are in a shopping center with 13 businesses all connected,” he says. “People are always driving by, so having a bright sign in the window helped our business get noticed from Day One. I definitely recommend it. I am really happy with my investment, and I believe it has helped big time. “

Paul Siegel is a film enthusiast, with an appreciation for all great cinema. He undertook a do-it-yourself project to create a home theater in his basement and found that a SpellBrite LED sign provided just the right touch Paul needed to complete his home theater.

Along with leather seating, a massive screen, and his collection of vintage movie projectors and posters, Siegel added a snack counter, behind which hangs his SpellBrite sign that says “CINE SNAX.”

He originally had searched for a neon sign. He even bought one, but found the light was too harsh. So he began searching for a neon alternative. An online search led him to www.spellbrite.com, where Siegel, an industrial designer, was immediately impressed by SpellBrite’s design and utility. After deciding exactly what he wanted his sign to say, he placed his order.

He was thrilled when it arrived, quickly assembled and mounted it in the nook where guests can get popcorn, candy and refreshments.  Siegel was delighted that, although the SpellBrite sign was brighter than his neon sign, the SpellBrite sign has a dimmer that allows him to set the light output at an appropriate level for his home theater.

“It’s great! I like the fact that you can adjust the intensity. It really makes the snack area pop.”

When he hosts gatherings of two movie groups each month, the sign always draws comments. “Everyone who has seen it loves it,” he says.

 

Steve Scaglione owns a restaurant and banquet facility called “Voce,”  which means “voice” in Italian.

Business had been slow, and Scaglione began looking at his signage, thinking about how he could stand
 out more.

 “Our corner, where we are located, was kind of dark,” he says. “My landlord would not let me get neon signs.”

So Scaglione began shopping around. He found SpellBrite custom LED signs at the National Restaurant Association trade show and bought his first sign at the show.  After getting the first two “MAURIZIO’S PIZZA & SPORTS BAR” signs last year, he could see the value the signs brought to his business and soon bought several more. Some say “OPEN,” and he customized one to display a phone number.

“Once we put the first SpellBrite sign up, the exposure just went off the charts. Within a week, it literally
paid for itself. I started getting two to three calls a day about the banquet facility. Now I get up to 40 calls a week,” he says.

He has nine SpellBrite signs up now. “I am thinking about buying a few more,” he says. “People can see them, and I get a lot of comments. They are very visible even a 100 feet away. They really just put us on the map as far as exposure.”

Scaglione also appreciates that the signs are energy-efficient, thanks to LED technology. “Our SpellBrite signs are so much brighter than neon, but you are not using much electricity at all. We just keep them on 24 hours a day.”

Another plus, he says, is that “if you break a letter you can just take the old one out and click a new one in. With neon, if you break a letter, the sign is done.”

Scaglione considers his SpellBrite signs a smart investment. “They paid for themselves in 30 days as far as additional traffic and exposure – just from the visibility of the sign. And, I will have them for a very long time.”

He would definitely recommend SpellBrite signage for any small business. “I can’t tell you how much
they’ve done to give us visibly in the street. I just got off the phone with somebody who called me from the sign,” he laughs. “It is an eye catcher.”

 

 

“With SpellBrite’s Neon-LED letters, I could create the message I wanted”

Gary Ainsworth owns and operates a Metal Supermarkets® franchise that he opened in the Boston metropolitan area in 2014. A metals distributor that caters to small quantity buyers, Metal Supermarkets serves a wide and diverse range of industries.

Ainsworth had a healthy first year in business, due in part to two SpellBrite LED signs he customized specifically to draw shoppers into his shop. The window signs both display “OPEN TO THE PUBLIC” — one for each direction of traffic in the light industrial area where his shop is located.

Choosing SpellBrite Neon-LED Signs

The challenge for Ainsworth was that his franchise was the first in the area.

“We’ve enjoyed bringing the metal micro distributor experience to the Boston market,” he says. “But since we were a new brand and a new experience, my general manager suggested we get some window signs to convey we’re open to the public. We needed a cost-effective solution to let potential customers know they could drop by our warehouse space and help themselves.”

Ainsworth researched a number of options, including custom neon signs, before deciding on SpellBrite.

“We love our SpellBrite LED signs,” he says. “The first sign probably paid for itself immediately.”

SpellBrite’s Many Advantages Over Neon Signs

The SpellBrite LED signage system is a more flexible, safer alternative to the traditional neon sign. Easy to create and customize, SpellBrite offers the brightness of neon signs at half the cost, with all the benefits that an LED sign can offer: longer life, low energy costs, and higher durability

“With SpellBrite’s Neon-LED letters, I could create the message I wanted using the sign builder feature on the web site — www.SpellBrite.com,” he says. Plus, ordering was easy. “You don’t have to be technical.”

Once his SpellBrite signs arrived, Ainsworth was surprised at how easy the sign letters were to assemble and install, as well as how much light they emit. “They’re very effective and bright. Compared to neon or DOT LEDs, these look much more refined and professional.”

Energy efficiency is another plus. Compared to a neon sign, a SpellBrite custom sign uses up to 70 percent less energy, while still being highly visible both night and day.

SpellBrite Custom LED Signs: The Result

It turns out that “OPEN TO THE PUBLIC” was the missing piece Ainsworth needed to get customers in the door — 1,200 came through that first year.

“The signs’ contrast and brightness catch people’s attention,” he says. “Many folks said they noticed us only after the signs were installed. We look forward to many more customer successes in the years to come.”

How many ways can you use SpellBrite Neon-LED sign to promote your business? Create your own custom sign today!

 

 Revolutionary signage system approved by Ace Corporate as a marketing instrument for chain’s 4,600 + locations worldwide

Chicago, IL – December 3, 2015:  Optiva Technologies today announced that Ace Hardware, one of America’s oldest and most respected retailers, has approved the use of SpellBrite’s revolutionary “click-together” signage system for its 4,600 + locations worldwide.  Corporate approval means that SpellBrite signage can now be used by individual franchise owners and dealers to market/advertise their stores to the general public.  To receive this approval, SpellBrite needed to pass a stiff evaluation based on a series of criteria, including the following: Quality, Effectiveness, Ease of Use, Safety, and Cost. 

“The SpellBrite LED Signage System is the perfect marketing tool for businesses like Ace Hardware,” said Sean Callahan, CEO of Optiva Technologies.  “The bright, striking light draws the attention of the prospective customers, and the click-together feature allows business owners to change their sign message any time – they can rotate specials, test promotions, have seasonal messages, and announce unique offerings.”

SpellBrite’s system allows entrepreneurs from all types of industries to create unlimited messages to market their products.  The innovative system contains an environmentally-friendly “click-together” set of LED characters that have the striking, bright look of neon without the cost or the dangers/risks inherent with glass neon construction.  SpellBrite’s 44 letters, numbers and characters are interchangeable, allowing anyone to create an ultra-bright message that can be changed at any time. 

Franchise owners across many different industries have witnessed increased sales after using SpellBrite’s signage.  Some such franchises are State Farm, Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts, and Liberty Tax.   Testimonials to SpellBrite’s effectiveness are received daily by Optiva Technologies.  For example:

Gary Ainsworth of Metals Supermarkets in Woburn, MA: “We’re in a light industrial area, with everything from construction to industrial repair companies.  There is a lot of traffic from folks in high tech and other industries, the trades, and contractors of all types. The sign’s contrast and brightness catch people’s attention and many folks said after driving by a number of times, they noticed us only after the signs were installed. The first sign probably paid for itself immediately. “

SpellBrite was born from the technology developed by iLight, a pioneer and leader in innovative LED illumination solutions. Founded in 1999, the company’s award-winning legacy of exceptional lighting products are known for high brightness and smooth even glow.  The company currently holds more than 100 patents in the U.S. and international markets.  SpellBrite was introduced in 2012. Retailers and restaurant owners quickly grasped the benefits of the signage system; SpellBrite was named a Retailer Top Pick at the 2012 NACS trade show and Best New Product at the 2012 ISA International Sign Expo.  In 2013 iLight received the Chicago Innovation Award for SpellBrite.

 

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PDF Download: Ace Hardware Endorses SpellBrite