How Much to Charge for PC Services?

[rassmatic]

OK, I've been building and repair PCs for a while now, but have never really been sure how much my services are worth. I was wonder if some GATTers who build and maintain computers for a living would mind sharing their opinions of what a fair price is. Services like......

- Cleaning Towers (removing dust and whatever else that might be lurking in ppl case)
- Hardware upgrades (replacing CPUs, GPU, etc)
- Re-installing OS
- Data Recovery (whether from old HDs or formatted ones)....etc.

I have a feeling that I've been undercharging for my work, so any help would be welcome.

[rassmatic]

so there's no-one that can help me?

[TriniXaeno]

lol, sorry, don't know how I missed this.

How much are you charging currently for said services?

[W1nTry]

This is a difficult question. It depends on the clientel, some you can charge more than others, some you NEED to charge more than others, some you just need to AVOID XD

[Spazosaurus]

I just usually call the figure that's off the top of my head. If i need $$ to clear some parts, I call how much I need lol.

[rassmatic]

lol, sorry, don't know how I missed this.

How much are you charging currently for said services?

well, recently I gave a friend's PC a quick cleaning and replaced his GPU for just $50 bucks. i've also built PCs and charged 10% of what the total cost of the rig is. right now i have someone else who wants me to recover data from an old IDE drive that they had laying about for a while and another person who's PC is so full of spyware and what-not that he'll need to reinstall Windows altogether. what's a good price to charge these guys and are the price that i hit people wit already fair enough?

[TriniXaeno]

lol, $50 is too cheap for sure.

on TriniTechSquad jobs, the going rate is $175/hr for home users and $250/hr for business

Best to charge by the hour as doing PC repairs can easily get time intensive. You don't want to be stuck fixing some old PC for 10 hours, hunting drivers from a defunct ftp site and being stuck with a fixed $50.00 flat fee.

Feel free to offer discounts if you enjoyed the hunt but keep the hourly format, so more often than not, you get paid for your efforts!

On items for resale. 20% is a fair mark up and about the industry average. (Pharmaceuticals do about 33%, fyi)

Note, it is an average. So you may do more (say 50%) on a specialty item but 15% on a mundane one.

Anything more than that and you good price yourself out of the market and get some customers crying gouge.

Anything less, and you won't have the buffer for when things go wrong (RMA, exorbitant duty, shipping snafu, etc...)

[Arcmanov]

Well, most places that you could take your PC to, will charge at LEAST $150 just to bring it in the door.  Then there's the hourly charge.
Depending on the problem, and the length of time taken to fix it, you lookin at anywhere between $400 to $700.  MORE if there are parts
to replace (out of warranty of course).

Cleaning an entire tower is anywhere from $250 to $500, depending on the complexity of the build,
and the amount of dust.

Reinstalling Windows MINIMUM should be $300.  MORE if you using YOUR OWN LEGIT COPY.
Remember, if the owners could have done it themselves, they probably would.

Replacing hardware in an existing build means reinstalling drivers, and testing.  $200 MINIMUM.
If you getting problems that means its taking longer than necessary, well, use your discretion.

Data recovery is pressure, and time intensive.  Hourly charge for that.  Its your time and expertise.

Don't sell yourself short.

[Nephilim]

doh take not 1 fk from south them fkers cheap no ass. expect the best work for the least money paid.

keep this scenario in mind

a certain industrial company had a problem with a part and the OEM sent ah man to fix it, he came push 2 button and problem solve.

bill come and they want to complain. they say 'you charge so much just to push 2 button?'

to which he replied

'you not paying me to come push 2 button. you paying me to KNOW WHICH 2 BUTTON TO PUSH and WHEN'

i ALWAYS remember that, and the min somebody want to play cheap is outside with them

[W1nTry]

doh take not 1 fk from south them fkers cheap no ass. expect the best work for the least money paid.

Yuh have a problem with south oh wha *W1nTry sizes up Neph*

[Nephilim]

i FROM south winny

i just very weary with clients from there they usually give you some sad story bout how they chile sick and hadda buy medicine or sum then you eh hear from them for months and you find out them eh have no chirren and all of a sudden phone out of service

[Saxito Pau]

today I refused an offer of $250 to take  apart a laptop to install a motherboard part. I not accepting less than $300  to do that job, and on-site to boot?

PFFT!

$150/hr MINIMUM. punto finale. $175/hr preferred.

See "WTMC thread" history for my customer horror stories to motivate you.

I concur generally with other posts.

(a more "offiical" comment/rant will come tomorrow...)

[rassmatic]

thank alot for the advice fellahs. really wish i'd know what to charge a couple days ago........$50? WTF was I thinking!!!!

[Crixx_Creww]

also... if you stand firm and appear honest on a price. people will pay.
seriously.... a certain conglomerate with a japanese name in trinidad... f*icl... charges 750 USD an hour

you can therefore feel honest about charging 150 an up an hour

[Arcmanov]

750 US!!?  I feel thas a typo there Crixx.  Yuh mean 750 TT right?