Repair Price List?

[akvguitars]

Hey all,

I'm moving to a smaller town from denver, and am looking into doing the repair gig more professionally down there. All of the fixup jobs I've done up here have been CHEAP, as I've another job and don't need a lot per hour. Moving, though, will change this. I've been asked for a price list for jobs, and a per hour rate by the music stores in the town I'm moving, and have no idea where to even start. Is there an industry standard that I can subtract from or add to?

Thanks for the help.

kyle

[rhoads56]

No.

Your prices will be based on other repairers pricing (and/or their location from you), work availability, types of jobs, reputation, location of work (your place or theirs), types of jobs you can do, etc etc etc, then your overheads, efficiency, ability, reliability, and if you deliver or not.

Its not something anyone here can help you with, you MUST do it on your own. Afterall, most of the 'factors' can only be answered by you.

Work out your pricing, based on what YOU want for the work. Allow for costs. Allow for the jobs from hell where everything goes wrong. Allow for the stores to add 20-30% markup on your pricing. Dont be shy, you'll need to work by those prices for 6-12 months.

[akvguitars]

I was afraid of that...

I think that I can get away with undercharging at first being that I am going to be new to the area and testing the waters. After I build up some local creds I'll be able to up the rates a little. From the small amount I talked with the shops down there, it seems like there's going to be a lot of work for me, so I'm not too worried about undercharging and building up a loyal customer base to start. That, and I'll have a "real job" until this starts bringing in more money.

Second question to all who do this for a living: Would taking business classes at the university help give me a better idea of what I should/shouldn't be doing as I'm starting? I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to school and taking these classes, but I was interested to hear if anyone has found them to be of great help.

Thanks,

kyle.

[rhoads56]

We have a "small business development corporation" which is run by the government as a free resource for people starting out, or requiring help. I didnt really learn anything, but it confirmed some ideas. However, my parents have always run their own businesses, so that rubbed off on me a bit i guess. It doesnt hurt to attend though.

Music stores wont change over to using you because you are cheaper. Thats false economy. You may be cheaper, but lack the years of experience the 'other' guys are charging for. Lack of experience also equals slower turn around times, less product knowledge, etc etc. If the stores are changing over to you, its because they are unhappy with their existing arrangement, most likely the quality and turn around times. Its not cheaper for them, if you cant turn the jobs around quickly, without need for the client to bring the guitar back due to unresolved problems. Further more, the stores generally just put a markup on your bill, so the client pays the cost... the actual cost is irrelevant.

[Daniel Sorbera]

We have a "small business development corporation" which is run by the government as a free resource for people starting out, or requiring help. I didnt really learn anything, but it confirmed some ideas. However, my parents have always run their own businesses, so that rubbed off on me a bit i guess. It doesnt hurt to attend though.

Music stores wont change over to using you because you are cheaper. Thats false economy. You may be cheaper, but lack the years of experience the 'other' guys are charging for. Lack of experience also equals slower turn around times, less product knowledge, etc etc. If the stores are changing over to you, its because they are unhappy with their existing arrangement, most likely the quality and turn around times. Its not cheaper for them, if you cant turn the jobs around quickly, without need for the client to bring the guitar back due to unresolved problems. Further more, the stores generally just put a markup on your bill, so the client pays the cost... the actual cost is irrelevant.

+1

It's more important to be the fastest/highest quality guy around than the cheapest.

[stevenhoneywell]

very true. I only do repair work to friends/recommendations. I have a "normal" job which keeps me very busy. I don't charge a lot. I enjoy it and do it for fun. If people want a fast turn around, go to a local shop and pay for that kind of service....sometimes I can do things the same weekend, other times it could be a couple of weeks....I explain this to me friends/clients...if they don't like it, I won't be offended if they go elsewhere. At the end of the day, I keep my word on what I do and I don't rip anyone off. I could do a lot more if wanted but I'd rather work on my builds (plus i have a wife nagging me to do work around the house) and cherry pick what I do.

[rhoads56]

For a real world example of quality over pricing, i have recently started handling all the repairs for a local store. I was doing all their work a couple years ago, but due to a couple reasons we parted ways. They have been through five different guys since then, all who are a lot cheaper than i was. There turn over of actual jobs fell to just 25% (compared to when i was there). It wasnt a sudden drop, but more of a gradual thing, over 12 months or so. It wasnt until they did a client survey, that they realised their repair division was giving them a bad name. Way too many jobs were coming back two and three times, clients were waiting weeks for simple electronic repairs because the repairers couldnt work out why things didnt work, they couldnt do certain things like finish repairs, fret levels, etc etc etc.

I was asked to rejoin the team, and the first thing i did was restructure their pricing. I dont want to feel pressured to complete a repair because im watching the clock, or cut corners because there isnt enough money in a job. Some of the pricing was four times higher than the previous guys, but still less than my normal pricing (of course, the stores get a discount).

Since ive been back handling their repairs/mods/setups, the turnover of jobs has increased a steady 25% per month since February. The higher costs of repairs hasnt stopped anyone, but people have regained confidence in the 'store' work, and are bring more guitars in for repairs/mods. The biggest turnover for an entire month last year, is the same now a slow week. This is 110% purely because of the workmanship, and nothing to do with pricing.

One thing you must remember: Is a guitar is broken, it must be fixed or replaced. Most people, in my experience, do not care about price, only how well it can be fixed. Their baby is broken, and they just want the best. I could count on ONE HAND the number of people who have thought i was too expensive, since the beginning of this year. Ive lost count of the number of times ive given someone a way high quote because i really didnt want to do the work, yet they have gone ahead anyway. There has been at least three times this year i have told someone i honestly didnt want to take on their work, priced it way high (up to five times my normal pricing), and they have gone ahead still. This is their choice, and i have given them the names of other repairers who i respect, but they have still gone with me. Reputation is everything. Price is almost irrelevant (to a point). With continuous reputation comes warranty work. Warranty work gives you a 'prestige', and access to clients you would never have come across normally (and who become loyal clients for the future).

Reputation takes years to develop. Most of my work now comes from repeat customers, and referrals.