Rate for Fixing Pedals

[karter2000]

Hi all,

I get asked all the time to fix pedals, but I never have any idea on what to charge.  For those who fix as well, do you have a specific rate?

Thanks!

[Rockhorst]

My standard is €30 for all, excluding expensive parts. The trick is to balance complex repairs with quick and easy ones. No one is going to pay the actual hourly rate for a pedal fix. An hour spent on a repair should be at least €60 at which point most people will start thinking of a new one

[thesmokingman]

$20 bench fee, plus parts is what I used to charge and I figured parts + shipping in that parts cost. why? because you never knew what was going to walk through the door and it kept me from losing money on parts (those small order shipping costs DO kill a margin)

[Rockhorst]

$20 bench fee, plus parts is what I used to charge and I figured parts + shipping in that parts cost. why? because you never knew what was going to walk through the door and it kept me from losing money on parts (those small order shipping costs DO kill a margin)

Similar to my old scheme. With the €30 small parts like the occasional pot or jack are included. Be aware of wah pots, crazy expensive, those should be charged separately. I just recently turned 'legit' so I also have to take taxes into account, hence the €30 (which includes tax).

[gordo]

You can get PAID for this!!!???

[BrianS]

You can get PAID for this!!!???

Apparently if you're good at troubleshooting LOL.  That counts me out.  Darn the bad luck.

[aion]

Depends on how much you value the experience you're getting.

I first got started in DIY around 2009, and my entry point was modding Boss pedals - e.g. Monte Allums kits and the like. After you've been doing that for awhile and you understand the basics, repairs aren't too much of a jump... 90% of the repairs fall into one of the following categories: 1) dried-out electrolytic caps (if it's a vintage pedal), 2) broken hardware/wires, or 3) something that you can spot just by looking at it, like a broken solder joint.

Sometime in 2010-2011, I started advertising pedal repair and modding on Craigslist, a flat $20 plus the cost of parts. I didn't know a tenth of what I know now, but my small amount of experience was enough that I was able to successfully fix or modify nearly everything that came my way. Once in awhile I would get a harder repair, or a custom modification request, and those were both fun and stretching.

Was $20 worth my time? No way. It took 2-3 hours per repair/mod once you account for communication with the client. But, the experience was incredibly valuable. And I got to handle several vintage pedals that I otherwise wouldn't have seen, which was fun as well.

I stopped doing it after about 2 years, once I'd advanced to the point where it wasn't challenging anymore - repairing or modding maybe 30 pedals during that time. When I got to the point where the only thing I gained from it was the money, it was no longer worth my while and I moved onto other things.

So: If you need experience, or have time to spare, charge $20-30 plus parts. The market won't sustain a whole lot more than that. The economics just don't allow for an expert to do repairs and be paid what they are worth. If you feel like you've got enough experience, or your time is in short supply, turn down the repair jobs and focus on things that are stretching or challenging.

But, in my case, Aion has turned into a half-time job for me as of September - and the Craigslist repair ad was a huge stepping stone early on that got me to where I am.

[thesameage]

Aion,
This is a great summary!

I have been doing the fixing guitar/pedals side hustle for a while now and usually aim to earn $35 an hour. That is pretty much how I usually try to break down pricing and it kind of works out in the end. Half the jobs are the obvious, resolder the input jack (on guitar or pedal) and then some are the killer guitar where everything needs to be fed through the f-hole jobs. But I agree that you have to think about how much a pedal costs and then price accordingly. Last week, a guy came over and I fixed his Boss metal zone (new LED, fixed the jack) and then "fixed" two other pedals that didn't end up actually being broken. I didn't lead him on about it and pretend to fix them or anything, but I did charge him $30 for the time.