Hourly rates for PC repair AT YOUR HOUSE

[groberts]

Wow! I'll make sure NOT to send anybody your way!  :no:

What a ripoff!! $40 is the max ANYBODY or ANYPLACE charges around here, and I think that's crazy also. I usually charge between $20-$30, depending on who it is and what I have to do. Do also try to give a quick schooling in spyware and AV stuff.

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Ok, first of all, I don't need you to send anyone my way. I do quite well with my yellow page ad and now, 70% of my business is word of mouth. I get tons of referrals. Hmmmm, seems like my customers think I'm worth it. Go figure. Next, I live in a big city and have to travel about 30mins on average to get to a job. Lastly, I am in the middle of the road on prices. So, I don't know who you would send your buds in my area to, but anyone they call will be between 60-100 an hour. I'm in the middle. I'm sorry your market will not support more than 30-40 an hour. Mine does.

[cyoung1616]

Just be sure to give good service, if I have a computer in that's eat up with viruses and I clean it I tell the person "I can't check every program so if you get it home and it has problems bring it back within a week and I'll format and reload for no charge." Stand behind your work in other words and be prepared to bite the bullet every now and then to make it right.

Things like prices being set, I chg. $10.00 to install Ram, quick money most of the time, a few HP's and Compaq's that you have to tear the whole back panel off make it come out even. I chg. half hour for installing cd rom, hard drive (formatted)power supply, so not everything is $50.00 an hour. In other words $10.00 is as cheap as it comes and that is for memory install only. If you price yourself to cheap it can be as bad as charging to much, if people don't think you feel you're worth anything then they think your work isn't worth much either.

Cody

[tlogank]

Wow! I'll make sure NOT to send anybody your way!  :no:

What a ripoff!! $40 is the max ANYBODY or ANYPLACE charges around here, and I think that's crazy also. I usually charge between $20-$30, depending on who it is and what I have to do. Do also try to give a quick schooling in spyware and AV stuff.

585595895[/snapback]

If you price yourself to cheap it can be as bad as charging to much, if people don't think you feel you're worth anything then they think your work isn't worth much either.

Cody

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Sorry cork, but I think you are a little off on this one. I agree more with cyoung, if you price yourself too cheap, people might get the idea that your service is not as good as others who are a little bit more.

[tlogank]

I am thinking I will probably end up charging about $40-45 an hour. My town is not the wealthiest, but it is nowhere near the poorest either. And as I said earlier, I matched or beat any other place in town to come out to the home, so I think that is what I will go with. Thanks to all that voted and gave some feedback...everyone except for 'Oggy666'

[THE BAT]

0$, i repair it by myself :D

[Marku$]

daaaang. you guys are cheap. geek squad and geeks on call are both at about 120-150 per call. that means per incident tho. so if it takes 8 hours to fix, it's still 120-150

[Raven]

I have started a computer business in my town and am off to a pretty good start.  My biggest problem is deciding what to charge people.  I am trying to stay around $45 an hour, but often discount people for the service.  My friend charges $75/hour in Atlanta, and people don't seem to mind, but tonight I charged a guy $60 for 2 hours and he made it seem like I just took his savings.  He was extremely satisfied with the work, just seemed to think it would have been cheaper.  It is hard for me to decide on what to charge because I feel bad sometimes, but I have to make a living off doing this, too.  What would you guys (especially Americans) charge/pay for good computer work AT YOUR HOME (key words there, I go to your house)?  Thanks for any info!

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I charge $65 an hour for onsite repair, $35 an hour if they bring it to me and pick it up. I've been doing this for 25 years and I'm not going to sell my knowledge cheap. I fix it right the first time and people will pay for quick, reliable service.

I've run across too many people who expect you to fix their computer for free or only charge them $20. They're called cheapskates. I stay away from them. Don't feel bad unless your ripping them off. Since your not, then don't feel bad.

Your rates are very reasonable. Let your service speak for itself. People will pay more if an 'expert' is fixing it. I just hope your certified in computer repair. That's gold down here in the south.

[tlogank]

I charge $65 an hour for onsite repair, $35 an hour if they bring it to me and pick it up.  I've been doing this for 25 years and I'm not going to sell my knowledge cheap.  I fix it right the first time and people will pay for quick, reliable service.

I've run across too many people who expect you to fix their computer for free or only charge them $20.  They're called cheapskates.  I stay away from them.  Don't feel bad unless your ripping them off.  Since your not, then don't feel bad.

Your rates are very reasonable.  Let your service speak for itself.  People will pay more if an 'expert' is fixing it.  I just hope your certified in computer repair.  That's gold down here in the south.

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what kind of certification do you mean? I do not have any, but have worked in IT for a few years, and have worked with computers for almost 10. I feel that a lot of the smartest people don't have a certification just because they don't want to pay to get one. Which one's do you have?

And I agree 100% with you on letting the service speak for itself. That is what it comes down to. If you are knowledgeable, help them out, and friendly, then people should be satisfied paying you whatever you ask as long as it is reasonable.

[uniacid]

Raven is probably referring to A+ certification which is very easy to do.

Anyways I usually charge $25+/hr depending on what needs to be done, if its a format I'll charge $50 for example but it also depends on who you work with, if its someone you know personally then you don't have to charge em very high but when your customers are usually business oriented then you should charge a decent price so you get what you are working for :)

[tlogank]

Raven is probably referring to A+ certification which is very easy to do.

Anyways I usually charge $25+/hr depending on what needs to be done, if its a format I'll charge $50 for example but it also depends on who you work with, if its someone you know personally then you don't have to charge em very high but when your customers are usually business oriented then you should charge a decent price so you get what you are working for :)

585600190[/snapback]

Right, but remember, when you are going to their house, you are providing a convenience and a service. It is one thing to drop it off somewhere, but if you are going to their house, then you are saving them trouble, so I think you should charge a little more

FYI: Self-employment taxes are ridiculously high, too!

[groberts]

I wish my auto mechanic felt bad about charging me 90 and hour. Some of you guys are forgetting that computers are now as important to many people as having a reliable car to drive. Demand drives the market price. If your in an area where computer techs are few and far between, then you probably will need to pay your customers to work on their computers. If you are in a booming area (I live in the 5th fastest growing county in the nation), then it is all I can do to keep up with my calls and still have a family life. I am cheaper than half of my competitors, and I know I offer better service, because many times I have to go behind them and fix their crappy work. I'm getting a lot of call backs for other things, like upgrades and such, and many referrals. For anyone thinking about doing this, you just have to take a strong look at your market. If it can support another guy, then go for it. Again, I charge $75 an hour with a one hour minimum. I give my customers more in the one hour than they are expecting. I train them while I'm working, answer questions. I've even cleaned a ladies toilet. Well, that's actually just the way I felt about her computer. But, the point is, its a great business to be in, but if your market can't handle another tech, then charge almost nothing, or move to my city. No, on second thought, move somewhere else. JK.

[tlogank]

I wish my auto mechanic felt bad about charging me 90 and hour. Some of you guys are forgetting that computers are now as important to many people as having a reliable car to drive. Demand drives the market price. If your in an area where computer techs are few and far between, then you probably will need to pay your customers to work on their computers. If you are in a booming area (I live in the 5th fastest growing county in the nation), then it is all I can do to keep up with my calls and still have a family life. I am cheaper than half of my competitors, and I know I offer better service, because many times I have to go behind them and fix their crappy work. I'm getting a lot of call backs for other things, like upgrades and such, and many referrals. For anyone thinking about doing this, you just have to take a strong look at your market. If it can support another guy, then go for it. Again, I charge $75 an hour with a one hour minimum. I give my customers more in the one hour than they are expecting. I train them while I'm working, answer questions. I've even cleaned a ladies toilet. Well, that's actually just the way I felt about her computer. But, the point is, its a great business to be in, but if your market can't handle another tech, then charge almost nothing, or move to my city. No, on second thought, move somewhere else. JK.

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Ha, well said Grobert, well said...and funny.