[yellowcat]

A guy wanted me to come pick his riding mower up on my trailer and haul it to my house to weld up the plate to the frame that holds the engine on. Only took about 4 small welds to hold it. I had to remove the gas tank so I was sure nothing blew up when welding. I guess all this took around 1.5 hours. What would you charge for something like this? I did not travel so far to get the mower...maybe 1 mile picking it up and 1 mile hauling it back.

 

[Mike.ASC]

$100.00

 

[esnb74]

$100 to $135

 

[CADplans]

My best friend, 72 years old: 6 chocolate chip cookies, homemade of course!! :fing32:

Don't know the guy: $135

:dunno:

 

[stladrill]

If it was me, $40.00 per hours, that's what I charge for customer, in this case $60.00 + $10.00 for shop supply.

 

[TUDOR]

$75 - Transportation

$25 - Turning on the welder

$10 - Shop materials
____
$110 Total

It takes time to hook up the trailer and load /unload the tractor, as well as the distance travelled. I can drive my tractor almost 4 miles in the time it would take me to float it the same distance.

 

[hodge]

If you are a friend with a welder, then charge a fee to cover your trouble, or do it as a favor. If you actually have a business, then business is business- you need to establish a system for charging. You should have a minimum fee, and go from that. If it only takes 5 minutes, you have a vehicle, trailer, insurance, a welder, a shop with tools, other expenses to cover- those expenses are there, whether it took 5 minutes or an hour. So, you need a minimum charge, say $50.00. You should also have a pickup charge, and take into account distance. You also had to dismantle his mower, so you are taking a liability risk if something breaks or gets lost from your disassembly. I would say $75-$100 would be fair, and would be a minimum.
All of this depends on whether you have an actual welding business or not. And, you should quote your price up front, so that there is no misunderstanding.

 

[ggsteve]

I agree with everything that has been posted here, and I have a problem with it I can't reconcile. While the prices seem fair, charging $100 to fix a $25 lawn mower doesn't make sense, and contributes to our throw away society. Like I said, I don't have any answers, just lots of questions.

 

[yellowcat]

I agree with everything that has been posted here, and I have a problem with it I can't reconcile. While the prices seem fair, charging $100 to fix a $25 lawn mower doesn't make sense, and contributes to our throw away society. Like I said, I don't have any answers, just lots of questions.

Well first of all..this riding mower is worth at least $400 in my opinion and the guy can not mow his lawn with a push mower..its too big a yard. A new mower would cost him well over a $1000 for just a cheap model. I thought I would charge this guy $65 and when I delivered the mower to him on my trailer..unloaded it..put it back in his garage....he talked like this was way too much money for the job. I do not get people anymore. Do they think people will do all this work and wear and tear on there vehicle and equipment for nothing?????

 

[stladrill]

Well first of all..this riding mower is worth at least $400 in my opinion and the guy can not mow his lawn with a push mower..its too big a yard. A new mower would cost him well over a $1000 for just a cheap model. I thought I would charge this guy $65 and when I delivered the mower to him on my trailer..unloaded it..put it back in his garage....he talked like this was way too much money for the job. I do not get people anymore. Do they think people will do all this work and wear and tear on there vehicle and equipment for nothing?????

IMHO $65.00 was reasonable and unfortunately yes some people think like that.

 

[hodge]

I have spent my entire adult life serving the public with specific skills honed by years of experience- that experience always comes at a cost, regardless what skill it is. I think $65 was more than fair, and low on your part. You don't owe me a defense on that price, I'm just putting myself in your shoes, thinking through your costs and liabilities, and what your skills bring to the table. That is why you should get the price established before starting the work. It saves those price shocks.
What did this guy do for a living, by the way? Did he give his time, skills, and money away, or did he charge accordingly? Everybody wants something for nothing, but they aren't willing to work for nothing themselves.

 

[stladrill]

I have spent my entire adult life serving the public with specific skills honed by years of experience- that experience always comes at a cost, regardless what skill it is. I think $65 was more than fair, and low on your part. You don't owe me a defense on that price, I'm just putting myself in your shoes, thinking through your costs and liabilities, and what your skills bring to the table. That is why you should get the price established before starting the work. It saves those price shocks.
What did this guy do for a living, by the way? Did he give his time, skills, and money away, or did he charge accordingly? Everybody wants something for nothing, but they aren't willing to work for nothing themselves.

Always give a estimate of the cost before doing the job. :fing32:

 

[yellowcat]

I have spent my entire adult life serving the public with specific skills honed by years of experience- that experience always comes at a cost, regardless what skill it is. I think $65 was more than fair, and low on your part. You don't owe me a defense on that price, I'm just putting myself in your shoes, thinking through your costs and liabilities, and what your skills bring to the table. That is why you should get the price established before starting the work. It saves those price shocks.
What did this guy do for a living, by the way? Did he give his time, skills, and money away, or did he charge accordingly? Everybody wants something for nothing, but they aren't willing to work for nothing themselves.

The guy use to own a grocery store in a small town but now he is retired. I think he is like around 80 years old. Giving an estimate up front sounds like a good idea...but a lot of stingy people hear the prices and might run away.

 

[hodge]

The guy use to own a grocery store in a small town but now he is retired. I think he is like around 80 years old. Giving an estimate up front sounds like a good idea...but a lot of stingy people hear the prices and might run away.

If you don't give them the price, they choke once you've done the work. You give them the price, they choke before you have anything invested in the job. You can't defend or apologize for your prices; you need to build a reputation where people don't see the price, they see the value.

 

[hscltb]

Twenty years ago I used to do side jobs repairing cars.I had some good customers but I also had some people who thought I should work for next to nothing.It got to the point it wasn't worth it any more.

 

[s10lowrider1994]

People that aren't familiar with a trade never understand the skill or cost involved. I've had people look at me like I'm from space when I quote them to paint a car. Skilled labor isn't cheap, cheap labor isn't skilled, people need to wake up. Tools, transport, education, supplies, etc. all cost money. I won't put my welding helmet on for less than a few hundred bucks, but I don't mess around with band aid style jobs either. The people i do'work for know what the job is worth and know the quality of my work, all of the others can go pound sand for all i care. Not quoting a price up front is the worst thing you can do, at least you'll know how cheap someone is before wasting your time. Giving a quote an losing business over the price is better than doing the work for free because price wasn't discussed first.

 

[witco]

Quote up front. A well established plumber in my area once told me that you can set home, do nothing and not Lose money. You have exspenses when doing stuff, they need to be covered. And your time has value too.

 

[Mrwiggles2]

You were more than fair, but, now you've learned to give an estimate or range.

 

[QAFarm]

You were more than fair $100 IMO would still be fair

 

[PassinThru]

Depends on if they help or not. Helping $100/hr talking during helping 150 and no help 40