If ya don’t mind my askin’, what would you generally charge for the following repairs? I’ve been doing lots of personal and bro-deal repairs, as well as a few repairs-for-hire, for some time now and have built up a solid reputation regarding the quality of my work and I guarantee my work against failure under “normal” circumstances. I have done the research, talked to those in-the-know, and do what I would consider to be professional quality repairs. I am looking to expand my operations a bit by offering my services to shops and word-of-mouth customers, so I would like to know what is considered to be fair pricing and remain consistent from customer to customer.
FCS plug repairs/replacements (per plug? Do you discount for two?)
Futures box repairs/replacements?
RedX repairs repairs/replacements?
Others (feel free to add other fin and/or repair types).
Do you adjust your fee according to “collateral damages” that my happen when the plugs/boxes fail?
There are of course many arguments that can be made concerning material costs, labor, pain-in-the-azz factor (some plug types are obviously easier to stabilize and set angles than others, some plugs take lots of foam with them when they fail while others are a quick out and back in, neglected leaky plugs that rotted the area from the inside out and require reconstruction, etc.). I’m curious as to what people usually charge and the rationale for pricing.
As I have been trying to get out of the repair biz for the last few years and finally got there, my read on it all may be a little obsolete, but here goes -
Quote:
FCS plug repairs/replacements (per plug? Do you discount for two?)
Futures box repairs/replacements?
RedX repairs repairs/replacements?
Others (feel free to add other fin and/or repair types).
FCS, depends a lot on how b#ggered up they were and generally thrashed. Discount for two, yes. $20 each, $30 per pair. More, by the way, for changing 'em out instead of fixing busted out plugs, 'cos it's more work, different tools. Plus cost of plugs. Futures, redx, i didn't do if I could possibly avoid 'em. Don't have the jigs and the hand work involved wasn't worth it. Glass-ons, $20 each if I had the old fin, more, sometimes considerably more if I had to get a fin and reshape it to match whatever was on the other side. Fins Unlimited/Bahne boxes - typically $25-30, plus the box. More if I had to rout out the old dead box ( whatever it was, including old WaveSet boxes ) which could go over $50. Plus cost of box.
Quote:
Do you adjust your fee according to "collateral damages" that may happen when the plugs/boxes fail?
Hell yes. And jack it up further if some jackass stuffed wax or solargoop in it as a temporary repair. Other price adjustments include yuppie factor ( show up with mommy's volvo and gold card and you get nailed) , rush fees ( up to 200% of normal, added on) and so on.A few things - working through a shop has its ups and downs. Some shops add on a fee, which isn't unreasonable, but if somebody bitches about the price they want the discount to come out of you. Time involved - if you have a bunch of boards lined up to fix, good, but if it's just one repair sitting in the workshop it's a pain. Labor goes up , your pay rate goes down. A premium for epoxy boards, just 'cos you have to stock the resin and can't usually have several epoxy boards lined up to fix, as above. hope that's of usedoc...
Wow you guys are a bit on the cheap side. I base my prices just under the other main guys in town, and try to put the quality and turn around time just above theirs. Usually stokes people out! Don’t always pull it off though. Wish i coulda stayed underground because it was easy. The only people that found you were people that knew you. You gotta weed out the knuckleheads and weasels. “Dood, surfing’s free and i think ding repair should be too” run those guys out the shop fast as possible…trust me. If your running a legal business with a facility, your kind of limited. If your doing it in your backyard on a small level you have much more room to move around with your pricing. Once in a shop, that rent bill comes every month,along with all the others, and you need to factor that into your pricing.
Sign on the wall in back -
"My prices are based on CASH!
Leashes, partial traction pads, wax, used t-shirts/sneakers, CDs and/or bonghits are unacceptable forms of payment.
If you plan on paying by check…plan on an extra 25% (I hate the bank more than you)
Credit card means you ain’t got the money so come back when you do. In other words, we don’t accept them.
A lack of prior planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Rush (Real Un-organized Surfer Here) repairs are an additional 30% and must be payed in advance and picked up within 3 days of the finish date.
Thanks the management
Place this right in the front lol. For FCS depends on how mangled they are. $30 for one, $55 for both. If more than 2 plugs are blown, i’ll discount a bit more. Note: I glass over all my FCS repairs incl. You’ll learn to also. Too much resin the second time around. Gets even hotter than the first time install and that’s some brittle resin. They’ll be back. Just cap it and be done with it. I charge the same for all systems. Once you have the tools, they’re all about the same work more or less when done properly. Rail dings start at $20 and discount for multiple areas. Broken boards (clean snap) start at $75 and go up for severity of damage. Longboards start at $100. Buckles start at $40 unless they are in the middle of the board then it’s $50. Tail/nose crunch $25. Delams start at $40. All dings include gloss and wetsand blend. Polish finish is extra. For shops i charge full price but with faster turnaround + pickup/delivery because they keep you going thru the slow spells. I’ll discount 15 % if they pick up/deliver. Hope that helps!!
I find that my prices are about a 1/3 higher than yours. People say that I am the CHEAPEST in vb. People from Maryland say I am way more expensive than everyone in NJ. I think repair prices should be what you think your time is worth. I do 10-20 repairs a week while trying to balance it with making customs. Hope that helps.
A lack of prior planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Rush (Real Un-organized Surfer Here) repairs are an additional 30% and must be payed in advance and picked up within 3 days of the finish date.
gawd, I love it… Rush (Real Un-organized Surfer Here)
doc… gone back to fixing boats…my boats, for a change
I don’t know how relevent our price schedule is since it’s in France, but over the past couple of years I’ve found our prices to be roughly aligned with those in San Diego.
So, for FCS repairs the base price is 25 per plug and 40 for the pair, plus 5 Euros per plug. That price covers slight to moderate area damage since I like to reglass the zone anyway. Finish matches the board up to a 600 wetsand, with a slight surcharge for a polish. Missing fins go for 15.
Glass-ons are usually 25 for the repair plus 15 for the fin. If it’s a really clean break and the lam is undamaged, maybe a little less, if the area is worked, then add a bit.
Other fin systems are on a per-case basis, usually slightly higher than FCS since it implies a special order most of the time.
When pricing repairs, I try to take into account the real time and materials involved, the value of the board, the attitude of the customer, and sometimes even the cause of the ding (this one is usually reserved for grommets) among other spur of the moment factors. What I’ve learned not to do is to undercharge very often! When I actually sat down and figured out the shop operating costs, the taxes and various fees (that are out of sight over here), something for my presence in the shop (or that of one of the other glassers), transport to work just to finish up that one ding, etc… I realised that I could put myself out of business being too nice a guy. Quality work, delivered on time, and at a fair price, seems to be a good formula for us.
Joe Ropers: Snapped boards $150-$200 minimum. Bro deal is $125.00 if it’s clean. Lot’s of guys drop off the boards, put 25% down and never show up again. Selling used boards for $150.00- $200.00
I guess things in jersey are a lot cheaper. I would never pay 200 bucks to fix a board that i only payed 400 for ( if i still bought boards rather than shaping them). Ding repair is a lot cheaper here than what you guys have quotes , a lot cheaper. Also , do you guys ever get people bitching at you about snapped boards not riding the same after repair? A friend of mine does ding repair and that’s all he ever hears.
Funny you should mention that - had a guy tell me he liked his board better after I fixed the snapped off tail. And it was a 9’+ that had busted at the forward end of the finbox. Not a fun repair to do.
I’m not looking to turn this into a career, but the $ helps fund my surfing addictions without gouging into my “real” paycheck, which is better spent on my home, wife, and daughter (or so they tell me!)