Repair woes...

[pryde]

Yes what a dick he was as already said.

I operate a small repair outfit as well (guitars, amps, pedals) and have seen it all as well. I always charge a bench fee of front and that money will go toward the total repair cost if they choose to proceed after troubleshooting.

I have built and repaired plenty of pedals and have has several people ask "well what does it cost you to build/repair it?" I typically respond: "oh double the cost of what I am selling it for. I take a 100% loss on everything I do". I get some strange looks but they get the point in that stupid questions get stupid answers

[GermanCdn]

Reading this thread, I think everyone is probably charging too little for repairs, whether you do it full time or part time.  Point in case, what's that average wage?  Here in Canada, I think it's somewhere in the range of $40k a year.  On a 2000 hr per year basis, that's $20 an hour.  So there's your absolute lowest base start.  Then add overhead (lots of money sunk into good quality tools, you have a work station setup in your place of residence that is costing you money, utilities, etc), and you're probably running another $10 an hour.  Put in a premium for expertise, and you should probably be at $50 an hour + parts (with a minimum 30% mark up, as you have stock that you have to maintain, and there's a time value cost with that) with a minimum one hour charge.  And that doesn't account for the time before/after the fix that you're going to spend dealing with the client.

I once ran a small company that did about $3M a year in sales.  In my second year, I instituted a minimum order of $125 regardless of what it was (i.e. if it was a $5 part, you could buy one or 25, same price), because the cost of placing any type of order ran my about $85 by the time the order was taken, processed, work done, parts pulled, accounting, etc, etc.  Pissed off the lower end of my client scale, a lot of them went away.  My net profit also rose by 32% year over year because of that policy.  Same thing with my suggestion above - people with good gear will pay for quality repairs, people with disposible gear won't.

[raulduke]

I find that this thought process carries over to pedal purchases as well.... the entitlement and "something for nothing" attitude.

You can build a Tubescreamer and A/B it with the real deal and they sound identical. Try to sell it for $75 and people look at you like you are a con artist. "C'mon... it didnt cost you that much to build it. Why are you charging that much?" 

Ok then.... go pick one up on eBay for $400 then moron!

I tend to chalk this phenomenon up to pure hype! Do you plan on USING it or are you going to keep it in your safe deposit box?!

Sorry... did I wonder off topic? 

I don't think you did, but I've only had good experiences from friends wanting something built. Fuzz, TS, boost are the usual requests and I'm ok with building those. I did get a request for a Timmy which earned a sideways look from me along with a quote of $150... But that's what they normally are! I know! Go buy one and support Paul dang it! There we go with those strange ethics again.

I think the following should be my payment policy going forward for repairs etc:
"Terms are payment in advance, in full, and all sales are final, with no letters of credit, lay-aways, or IOU's. We do have a buy-back policy: If you buy it, don't bring it back."

I had a text message from said idiot. He's sorry he flipped his sh!t, can I please fix his pedal and he'll pay me the $20. There's a part of me that wants to help him and another part of me that wants to tell him to fold that $20 till it's all sharp corners and stick it.

Personally I'd tell him to shove it, and that you don't want anything to do with him.

You were in effect doing him a favour at $20.00.

[pickdropper]

I find that this thought process carries over to pedal purchases as well.... the entitlement and "something for nothing" attitude.

You can build a Tubescreamer and A/B it with the real deal and they sound identical. Try to sell it for $75 and people look at you like you are a con artist. "C'mon... it didnt cost you that much to build it. Why are you charging that much?" 

Ok then.... go pick one up on eBay for $400 then moron!

I tend to chalk this phenomenon up to pure hype! Do you plan on USING it or are you going to keep it in your safe deposit box?!

Sorry... did I wonder off topic? 

I don't think you did, but I've only had good experiences from friends wanting something built. Fuzz, TS, boost are the usual requests and I'm ok with building those. I did get a request for a Timmy which earned a sideways look from me along with a quote of $150... But that's what they normally are! I know! Go buy one and support Paul dang it! There we go with those strange ethics again.

I think the following should be my payment policy going forward for repairs etc:
"Terms are payment in advance, in full, and all sales are final, with no letters of credit, lay-aways, or IOU's. We do have a buy-back policy: If you buy it, don't bring it back."

I had a text message from said idiot. He's sorry he flipped his sh!t, can I please fix his pedal and he'll pay me the $20. There's a part of me that wants to help him and another part of me that wants to tell him to fold that $20 till it's all sharp corners and stick it.

Personally I'd tell him to shove it, and that you don't want anything to do with him.

You were in effect doing him a favour at $20.00.

I probably wouldn't tell him to shove it, but I would probably politely decline.

[Clayford]

Or, you could tell him that "Due to unforseen circumstances and fluctuations in the marketplace, the cost of the repair will now be $40!"
Should cover the cost of a six pack 

Prices do fluxuate! I got 10pc of LM308N's from a trusted seller on the bay for $7.50 shipped to convert some used RAT's for the local shop. I used 4 of them and my wife accidentally pitched the rest (my dumb butt left them in the padded mailer). Exact same item is now $17.20 for 10pc 30 days later.

edited for clarity

 

[Clayford]

Reading this thread, I think everyone is probably charging too little for repairs, whether you do it full time or part time.  Point in case, what's that average wage?  Here in Canada, I think it's somewhere in the range of $40k a year.  On a 2000 hr per year basis, that's $20 an hour.  So there's your absolute lowest base start.  Then add overhead (lots of money sunk into good quality tools, you have a work station setup in your place of residence that is costing you money, utilities, etc), and you're probably running another $10 an hour.  Put in a premium for expertise, and you should probably be at $50 an hour + parts (with a minimum 30% mark up, as you have stock that you have to maintain, and there's a time value cost with that) with a minimum one hour charge.  And that doesn't account for the time before/after the fix that you're going to spend dealing with the client.

I think we don't charge enough, however there is also the consideration of what the market will bear. I effectively was charging $40/hr for 20 min of work, parts, and shop supplies.

[Clayford]

I probably wouldn't tell him to shove it, but I would probably politely decline.

Sorry man, between work and school I won't have time today! Maybe next week?

[juansolo]

I think the sense of self entitlement and 'everything-must-be-free' attitude is becoming a lot more common.

This kind of sh*t really makes my blood boil. It's one thing being tight/frugal (I am a Yorkshireman afterall ), it's another being a d*ck who refuses to pay for anything!

I'm getting good at spotting them now. I get a lot of requests to build pedals, I reckon I never hear from 80% of them after I give them a quote for how much it will be. It's a good pikey filter. They expect to pay sub-Chinese mass produced prices for handmade pedals. Quite simply my time is not that cheap and I have no issues whatsoever sending them away.

I've had one recently that I know for a fact I'll never hear from again. I think there's been 10-15 posts backwards and forwards and then the realisation from the fella that £1 doesn't equal $1. I wrote him off long before that to be fair, but I'm English so have been being polite about it...

[jkokura]

I think the sense of self entitlement and 'everything-must-be-free' attitude is becoming a lot more common.

This kind of sh*t really makes my blood boil. It's one thing being tight/frugal (I am a Yorkshireman afterall ), it's another being a d*ck who refuses to pay for anything!

I'm getting good at spotting them now. I get a lot of requests to build pedals, I reckon I never hear from 80% of them after I give them a quote for how much it will be. It's a good pikey filter. They expect to pay sub-Chinese mass produced prices for handmade pedals. Quite simply my time is not that cheap and I have no issues whatsoever sending them away.

I've had one recently that I know for a fact I'll never hear from again. I think there's been 10-15 posts backwards and forwards and then the realisation from the fella that £1 doesn't equal $1. I wrote him off long before that to be fair, but I'm English so have been being polite about it...

I get at least one request about a pedal a week. My favourite are the 'it's free if I do a demo video for you, right?'

Jacob

[juansolo]

I find that this thought process carries over to pedal purchases as well.... the entitlement and "something for nothing" attitude.

You can build a Tubescreamer and A/B it with the real deal and they sound identical. Try to sell it for $75 and people look at you like you are a con artist. "C'mon... it didnt cost you that much to build it. Why are you charging that much?" 

Ok then.... go pick one up on eBay for $400 then moron!

I tend to chalk this phenomenon up to pure hype! Do you plan on USING it or are you going to keep it in your safe deposit box?!

Sorry... did I wonder off topic? 

I don't think you did, but I've only had good experiences from friends wanting something built. Fuzz, TS, boost are the usual requests and I'm ok with building those. I did get a request for a Timmy which earned a sideways look from me along with a quote of $150... But that's what they normally are! I know! Go buy one and support Paul dang it! There we go with those strange ethics again.

I think the following should be my payment policy going forward for repairs etc:
"Terms are payment in advance, in full, and all sales are final, with no letters of credit, lay-aways, or IOU's. We do have a buy-back policy: If you buy it, don't bring it back."

I had a text message from said idiot. He's sorry he flipped his sh!t, can I please fix his pedal and he'll pay me the $20. There's a part of me that wants to help him and another part of me that wants to tell him to fold that $20 till it's all sharp corners and stick it.

Personally I'd tell him to shove it, and that you don't want anything to do with him.

You were in effect doing him a favour at $20.00.

I probably wouldn't tell him to shove it, but I would probably politely decline.

^ This.

I absolutely wouldn't repair it. There are too many arseholes in this world, I try my best to avoid them and I CERTAINLY don't do them any favours.

[Clayford]

I'm English so have been being polite about it...

And yet every Englishman I know can tell you to bugger yourself with a smile and make you feel good about it as well. It must be all the queuing. 

[juansolo]

I think the sense of self entitlement and 'everything-must-be-free' attitude is becoming a lot more common.

This kind of sh*t really makes my blood boil. It's one thing being tight/frugal (I am a Yorkshireman afterall ), it's another being a d*ck who refuses to pay for anything!

I'm getting good at spotting them now. I get a lot of requests to build pedals, I reckon I never hear from 80% of them after I give them a quote for how much it will be. It's a good pikey filter. They expect to pay sub-Chinese mass produced prices for handmade pedals. Quite simply my time is not that cheap and I have no issues whatsoever sending them away.

I've had one recently that I know for a fact I'll never hear from again. I think there's been 10-15 posts backwards and forwards and then the realisation from the fella that £1 doesn't equal $1. I wrote him off long before that to be fair, but I'm English so have been being polite about it...

I get at least one request about a pedal a week. My favourite are the 'it's free if I do a demo video for you, right?'

Jacob

LOL. I think the disclaimer on my site sends most of them away to be fair. I might just have to add to that...

[juansolo]

I'm English so have been being polite about it...

And yet every Englishman I know can tell you to bugger yourself with a smile and make you feel good about it as well. It must be all the queuing.

To understand the English (well British) sense of humour, you really need to live here and experience our weather for one (which isn't extreme. No, it'd better be described as miserable), the isolation from being a tiny little island, and roundabouts. Plus like the Aussies and Kiwis, we're *really* good at swearing.

[brejna]

Hey Clayford I can imagine your anger about that situation...
I've done one repair 2 days ago and the pedal is still with me, it is Ibanez/Maxon AD100 .
And I really don't know how much would I ask for repair..
What do you guys think?   

[Clayford]

Plus like the Aussies and Kiwis, we're *really* good at swearing.

Like none other! I had a UK "English" instructor for 4 years in high school (secondary). I also had her in college. That transition was night and day. Sharp tounge, sharp wit, and zero tolerance for idiocy. God help you if you pissed her off. And as previously noted, almost always did it all smiles.