Cost of Tip Replacement

I feel that one thing that if frequently overlooked is that anytime you chuck a customers shaft in your lathe and starting cutting you are taking on a certain amount of liability. I have come close to making stupid mistakes rushing around at tournaments trying to talk to customers while working. I know of other repairmen that have damaged shafts either by being careless or bad luck.We also have cost in equipment, consumables such as sandpaper - glue - blades - etc... , time to setup and be present for the day. $40 for labor only does seem steep. I charge about half that.
 
If the customer gave you the tip they wanted installed and you just had to remove the old tip put on the new tip, how much would you charge?
My installation charge is whatever I make it. John was trying to keep away from a price war between authorized installers. I get a decent break on Kamui tips, therefore I could undercut other installers if I wanted to. The price you pay for a Kamui clear tip should not affect my installer charge. As you know, someone could buy a Kamui tip from Seyberts and install it by hand.
 
Why more to install a Kamui than Le Pro?
My cost for a Le Pro tip is around $.50; much, much more for a Kamui. If I screw up a Le Pro on install, I’m only out about half a buck. Not so with a Kamui. Please don’t forget, my time and experience are worth something. A lot of people may not know this, but several things can lead to a bad install with a layered tip. Not the least of which is a bad tip delaminating as soon a the blade touches it. Yes, I know, some will say it’s cockpit error if that happens. No manufacturing process is perfect 100% of the time. I still have to pay for the tip.
 
I feel that one thing that if frequently overlooked is that anytime you chuck a customers shaft in your lathe and starting cutting you are taking on a certain amount of liability. I have come close to making stupid mistakes rushing around at tournaments trying to talk to customers while working. I know of other repairmen that have damaged shafts either by being careless or bad luck.We also have cost in equipment, consumables such as sandpaper - glue - blades - etc... , time to setup and be present for the day. $40 for labor only does seem steep. I charge about half that.
This!! Also add in the cost of experience, learning to do tips correctly and well. If it costs to much to have someone do work on your cues, learn to do them yourself. Buy a lathe, tools, consumable materials and then screw up a few shafts before you you get good. How much is that worth? Tips can also be done by hand very cheaply and very well. Just takes time and practice. So if you say you don't have time to learn to do it your self or don't want to, then you need to pay the guy who did take the time to figure it out.
 
Hello- Just wondering what is the going rate for cue tip replacement? There's a guy in town, who does good work, charging $40 for labor alone. We have a billiards supply store in town as well that does tip replacements for $15. Am surprised by the big price difference. I don't mind paying more for a better job though was expecting the high end cost for tip replacement to be $25.

Thanks...
40 for the install alone with the tip cost is robbery
 
Hello- Just wondering what is the going rate for cue tip replacement? There's a guy in town, who does good work, charging $40 for labor alone. We have a billiards supply store in town as well that does tip replacements for $15. Am surprised by the big price difference. I don't mind paying more for a better job though was expecting the high end cost for tip replacement to be $25.

Thanks...
Maybe He doesn't like you.
Does he charge others that price?
Did he do anything else besides install the tip?
 
I understand that the value of a dollar is different for everyone, but $40 doesn't seem like a lot of money to me. It costs more than that to get my shirts back from the dry cleaners.
so then youd happily pay 15 for a pack of gum? would you like to place an order?
 
Hello- Just wondering what is the going rate for cue tip replacement? There's a guy in town, who does good work, charging $40 for labor alone. We have a billiards supply store in town as well that does tip replacements for $15. Am surprised by the big price difference. I don't mind paying more for a better job though was expecting the high end cost for tip replacement to be $25.

Thanks...
If you are supplying the tip, you’ve got to figure $15 on the lower end to $30 on the higher end as an acceptable rate for a professional quality job from an experienced mechanic.

Cue mechanics that do a lot of re-tips often stock a good selection of popular tips at various price points, and they have to figure in some profit on the $ they have tied up in their inventory when they do a re-tip job.

If you are supplying your own tip, some may actually only deduct their wholesale $ cost of the tip from your charge, since they are not making any $ on the tip itself.

That’s the same situation as what an installer might charge you to recover your table if you are supplying the cloth, as you are eliminating any $ profit they would be making from supplying the cloth.
 
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If you are supplying the tip, you’ve got to figure $20 on the lower end to $30 on the higher end as an acceptable rate for a professional quality job.

Cue mechanics that do a lot of re-tips often stock a good selection of popular tips at various price points, and they have to figure in some profit on the $ they have tied up in their inventory when they do a re-tip job.

If you are supplying your own tip, some may actually only deduct their wholesale $ cost of the tip from your charge, since they are not making any $ on the tip itself.

That’s the same situation as what an installer might charge you to recover your table if you are supplying the cloth, as you are eliminating any $ profit they would be making from supplying the cloth.
The tipper can simply state he only installs what he has or labor plus owner supplied tip. Use the installer or don't.
 
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