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Fixing computers

B

BullyCanadian

Platinum Member
I have a couple of people coming next week for upgrades and to remove adware. What should i charge for things like hard drive installation, and cdrw installation? By the hour? (takes less than an hour to install) or say like $50 straight for the hard drive install.
 
rather than by the hour i put straight pricing for things, like 50 for harddrive install and charge more if they want u to format and install the OS cuz that obviously takes more time. or you can do all the work and bill them a lump sum after you're done, thats what i usually do and gets a lot of the picing hassle out of the way.
 
I charge $25 an hour and the folks are getting a deal. I could perhaps charge more but heck I 'm at home doing what I like and besides I have a good job. So, I make extra cash...They get a great deal and service and they spread the word.

Be Fair...They can go to the store and pay $45 or lots more

It's up to you.

Just tell them upfront
 
How well do you know these people?

If you know them, they will come back to you as soon as anything goes wrong with their computer.
 
I've always charged $35.00 an hour to people who own my pc's out of warranty....and $50 an hour to everyone else, and I'm the cheapest around. Most places charge $65-70 hourly
 
I'd set a fixed price per item but then say that this covers a certain amount of time. So if you tell them $50 to remove adware/spyware but if it goes over an hour, it's $XX/hr. That way if they have a ton and it's a pain to get rid of, you aren't screwing yourself by having them say "You said $50 and didn't specify a time limit".
 
Here is how my rate scale goes: $50 first hour, $40 per hour additional. $10 surcharge for locations 10 or more miles away. Give an estimate on how much time you would need to finish the job. Make sure you state on your invoices that you do not handle tech support unrelated to the labor you just performed. Also if anyone asks you to install an OS or additional software, make sure they provide you with original CD's or COAs if the software is not free/shareware.
 
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: Sam
Be Fair...They can go to the store and pay $45 or lots more
Click to expand...
Best reason I can think of for charging them $75.00 an hour.
Click to expand...

LOL, I was going to say "charge enough that they would never consider asking you to fix something. That way, you won't have to do it."
 
If I go to someones house it is $45 for the first hour and $35 an hour after that. Most of my clients are people I work with and they bring me in their pc. I then take it home and do what I need to. I then do a full windows update, scan for spyware and virus. That I charge $75 for. If I need to do a full system load, that is $150.
 
Originally posted by: Skiguy411
How well do you know these people?

If you know them, they will come back to you as soon as anything goes wrong with their computer.
Click to expand...

darn right, worst thing I could have ever done was built a computer for a friend. I tested it out and it ran perfectly, but of course, he knows nothing about computers, and now he blames me for aol screwing up his pc.
 
$60/hour with written contract specifying that you only guarantee 100% stability and operation now, not in the future. You are not to become lifetime tech support.
 
Originally posted by: Modeps
Originally posted by: Skiguy411
How well do you know these people?

If you know them, they will come back to you as soon as anything goes wrong with their computer.
Click to expand...

darn right, worst thing I could have ever done was built a computer for a friend. I tested it out and it ran perfectly, but of course, he knows nothing about computers, and now he blames me for aol screwing up his pc.
Click to expand...

Built a system for a guy. To test I actually used it for a week. Hours of Flight Sim, Internet surfing, powered on 24hrs/day. He gets it and within a week he's calling me about freezes and lockups. Went back and forth with the guy and ended up building him a complete new system (at my cost figuring I can sell the other components since I knew there was nothing wrong with them). Same trouble. He says his kids Barbie game keeps crashing.
Me: "Did you check the website for updates"
Him: " Yes this computer is garbage - you screwed me etc..etc..etc..I want my money back...
Me: "OK I'll come over and look at it"
I get there, download an update from website, works perfectly.
Him: "Oh."

Haven't heard from him since but I think I still have a headache from dealing with him.
 
Install, FDISK, FORMAT, but don't touch operating system stuff... 😛 Hopefully, it's a secondary hdd. I hate OS installs unless you have an image cd. They take too long on old hardware. CDRWs aren't too bad as long as they have Win98 or later.
 
Depends greatly on region and commuting distance. Not unusual for hourly rates in the NY/NJ area to range from $100 to $125 USD. In alternate parts of the country (or entirely alternate countries, such as Canada), perhaps half or double those rates is acceptable.

Best advice would be to inquire with a few local providers as to their rates (as a potential customer), and form an average.
 
If they are friends of yours don't charge them, will only lead to problems. Especially if they find out that doing all of that combined can be done in under 30 minutes of actual at-the-computer time.

If they are just some people you barely know or don't even know at all, either charge them out the wazoo or get something in writing to the effect that you are not resonsible for anything except the installation.
 
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