Inside Look: Stamp and copy shop survives competition
| Saturday, Aug 29 2009 01:50 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Aug 29 2009 01:50 PM
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Jenn Ireland / The Californian Kelly, Sean and Larraine Hutchison laugh as they toss papers into the air in their copy shop located in downtown Bakersfield. The Hutchison's own San Joaquin Rubber Stamp & Copy and have managed to stay in business despite competition from big name stores such as Kinko's and UPS.
Jenn Ireland/The Californian Larraine, Sean and Kelly Hutchison stand in their gift and copy shop located in downtown Bakersfield. The Hutchison's own San Joaquin Rubber Stamp & Copy and have managed to stay in business despite competition from big name stores such as Kinko's and UPS.
In the age of behemoths such as the The UPS Store and FedEx Office, and all-in-one office products that allow users to print and photocopy at home, San Joaquin Rubber Stamp & Copy should have been dead long ago.
But it’s been 11 years since the little mom-and-pop shop opened downtown, and it’s still alive and kicking.
We sat down with owners Kelly and Larraine Hutchison to find out how they do it. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: How do you compete with big names like UPS and Kinko’s?
Kelly: People think that because we’re a small business, we can’t compete on price. But that’s not true. We price competitively, and we stress customer service. That’s really what sets you apart when you’re up against big companies. People come here, and they’re talking to the owner, not some kid who it’s just a job to them and they don’t have a vested interest in it. I know most of my customers’ names, and we’ve got regular people who’ve been coming to us for years.
Larraine: Diversification has helped, too. When one side of our business goes down, another one always seems to come up. Half our revenue is photocopies. About 20 percent is greeting cards and gifts. Those are impulse buys, mostly. Someone will come in here for copies and remember it’s aunt so-and-so’s birthday. We also do all kinds of custom printing of forms, business cards, artwork, posters, mouse pads, cups, license plate frames, plaques, whatever.
Q: Are you losing customers as the technology of home office products improves?
Larraine: You’d think so, but no. Printing one or two things at home is no big deal, but when you get into the bigger jobs, there’s only room for so much paper, and the cost of ink cartridges makes it cheaper to do it here. Plus, it takes forever at home. Our machines can print 85 black and white copies a minute. You have to factor in the value of your time.
And technology has improved our costs per copy. Supplies and service have gone down, and we pass those savings along to customers.
Q. Who uses rubber stamps anymore?
Larraine: Oh, all kinds of people. Banks, notaries. We do return address stamps. It’s not a dying art yet.
Q. Do you get a lot of job seekers printing resumes, because of the economy?
Larraine: Oh yes, yes. It’s kind of heart breaking. People are struggling, really struggling, to make ends meet.
Business basics
Owners: Kelly and Larraine Hutchison
Line of business: Custom rubber stamps, printing, photocopies, greeting cards and gifts.
Size: 3 employees, 1,575 square feet
Address: 1810 Eye St.
Phone: 322-9154
