help needed on pricing

[zckid]

Hi buddies

as the title suggests i need your advice on pricing:

1. paint correctiion
2. interior
3. interior with steam
4. engine
5. Full restoration (inclusive of the above)

To give you some info, i've bought products from US n Uk.
(now i've got KC who can get me the OPT products)

what I pay is the products + Shipping (>80% of price) + charges (30%)
oh i forgot, most people don't know anything abt detailing in my small island.

Please give me some pointers , a few friends have asked me. but I'm unable to formulate a pricing strategy.

Many thanks,

Zaid

(NB; sorry if in the wrong section, Mod. plz do needful)

 

[KrisMas]

Products is cheap if you compare to the amount of man-hour you need to spend on a detail.
Detailing is a labour intensive trade, so may I suggest that you look into how much labour hrs you would need to spend doing the job on your list there, then value it against how much your time is worth or, maybe, the labour cost over there.

For example, even if you have 2 identical cars, you'd need to spend more time (or effort) if one of them has more defects (or dirtier) than the other. You wouldn't want to charge the same price would you?

That's why the few proffessional detailers over here that I know of won't quote a price just based on car make, size, color or models alone. Until they properly inspect the car and estimate how much time (or effort) they need to spend, they would normally give a price range instead of a fixed price.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[zckid]

thanks for your insight.

it's changed my thoughts on pricing.

 

[KrisMas]

Glad I could be of help.

 

[seech]

Zaid. My quote on this matter is, "It's not how much you can charge someone, it's how much that someone is willing to pay you."

What I mean by this is that while we all go about thinking how much we would like to charge someone for our services, it is also important to realized that we must also demonstrate to the client why we are worth what we think we are worth so that they would also be willing to pay you what you want for your services.

I suppose this is where KC's famous statement of, "Show Me Your Work!", comes in. While you do not need to show 'me' your work, you most certainly need to show your customers your work!

Charge what you feel your work is worth to you but don't forget that you need to back it up with reasons and to show why you are worth what you think you are worth.

Good luck!

 

[kc2]

Sari Umer Hum

aka Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh

this is what u need bro..........

 

[Veloc]

Sari Umer Hum

aka Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh

this is what u need bro..........

What?!

 

[zckid]

thanks so much Seech.

by the way, what does this mean?

Sari Umer Hum

aka Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh

this is what u need bro..........

 

[kc2]

thanks so much Seech.

by the way, what does this mean?

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q3xmlwI4iyw

 

[fishbonezken]

Hi zckid, as per what Seech mentioned,

I think a premium should also be charged based on experience. For example, if you give 2 person the same set of equipment and chemicals, I'd pay more to the person with more experience at hand. Although the person without the experience can achieve the same effect, the lack of experience may show. For example, not polishing near enough to the edges, or avoiding the edges to prevent overly thinning the paint on those areas. It's more than producing a good 50/50 shot in my humble opinion. For me, when I just started, I was actually charging below the market rate but also producing results that only looked good in photos. I've had some cars where the reaction of the customers weren't very good as they feel my work did not justify the price, albeit being below market rate.

Then as I learned more and worked in the industry itself for 7 months, I start to know what differentiates a beginner detail vs a commercial/pro detail.

Another factor is time, time is the most expensive cost in detailing, the more time you put in it, so does your cost and so should your price. This is where a beginner vs pro also makes a difference, a pro might be able to produce the same results in a shorter time. I think you can try to analyze the market rate in your area and decide where to place yourself.

Just my 2 cents, thanks.

 

[seech]

Great advice fish...

Here's how to determine if your pricing is correct, if you are too busy with too many cars to do then you are probably charging too low. If you have no cars to do, you are probably charging too much...... or your advertising needs improvement. :-)

 

[Veloc]

Nice advice from Fish.
Like me, I was blurr on this case also last time. For a beginner like me (i started not too long ago too), I initially wanted to do it for fun and not for profit. So I didn't charge. When my products is nearing empty, I felt that I can't sustain this way. So KC adviced me to charge a bit. I do not charge much because I know I am a learner. I just charge but bearing in mind that my aim is to learn for the moment, not to earn money.

 

[seech]

Nice advice from Fish.
Like me, I was blurr on this case also last time. For a beginner like me (i started not too long ago too), I initially wanted to do it for fun and not for profit. So I didn't charge. When my products is nearing empty, I felt that I can't sustain this way. So KC adviced me to charge a bit. I do not charge much because I know I am a learner. I just charge but bearing in mind that my aim is to learn for the moment, not to earn money.

Hi veloc. I know how you feel. We have all been there before. Rather than charge less because you are learning, my advise would be to charge what you feel your work is worth..... You might be surprised....

 

[Veloc]

Thanks for advice Seech!

 

[dro]

manhours.......charge by the hour man.
of course the rates will differ from one detailer to another
product used...your expertise..."branding"....all will contribute to rates