Guidance needed on repair pricing

Poke_N_Hope

Poke_N_Hope

Lost in Paradise
Silver Member
So...everyone here has been candid and honest...so I figured I would request some thoughts on pricing.

I was brought an old Palmer cue, probably mid 70's, mop inlays, window with guys name behind it...and it was in pieces. I was told to fix it.

With that, I put on new ebony forearm, with slotted diamond and dot mop inlays (no points), new joint pin, and black leather wrap, and of course, new clear coat. I was able to salvage joint collar, a couple of beauty rings, and had to put entire cue together....butt sleeve pieces weren't together anymore. In addition I have built a shaft to go with this, and used shaft collars from old shaft.

All that being said, I want to charge $350 for repairs...does that seem too high. The cue is turning out great. I have about $125 invested in materials. Of course...no cost was discussed...I was just asked to fix it...it has sentimental value.

Overall, I don't know what to charge for a complete redo, reassembly, forearm, and finish job. Any thoughts will help.
 
Yeah, look at the hours then work out your costs and charge per hour.
Some do repair work for free, while others have to charge $100 or more per hour to keep the business running.
This is why a lot of cues are not worth repairing. It becomes cheaper to buy new.
If it has sentimental value, the customer has to decide on how much that sentiment is worth to them.
Forum rules prevent anyone for quoting prices for repairs etc.
But there are just so many variables in repair work anyway. What may take one person several hours to do, another may have a setup that can achieve the same result in a 1/4 of that time or even less.
 
I have repaired broken forearms on cues several times. You have to rebuild the cue from the ground up. About the only thing you keep is the butt sleeve. How much do you charge to build a cue especially one with inlays and a leather wrap? You also built a shaft, how much do you charge for a new shaft for one of your cues? How much do you charge to refinish a cue?

My calculator when way past your figure.

Also, what is the old Palmer worth? The last one I saw with mop dots and diamonds was in the hands of Joe Salazar and I believe he was asking around, oh lets just say a pretty penny as they are collectable.
 
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Poke_N_Hope said:
So...everyone here has been candid and honest...so I figured I would request some thoughts on pricing.

I was brought an old Palmer cue, probably mid 70's, mop inlays, window with guys name behind it...and it was in pieces. I was told to fix it.

With that, I put on new ebony forearm, with slotted diamond and dot mop inlays (no points), new joint pin, and black leather wrap, and of course, new clear coat. I was able to salvage joint collar, a couple of beauty rings, and had to put entire cue together....butt sleeve pieces weren't together anymore. In addition I have built a shaft to go with this, and used shaft collars from old shaft.

All that being said, I want to charge $350 for repairs...does that seem too high. The cue is turning out great. I have about $125 invested in materials. Of course...no cost was discussed...I was just asked to fix it...it has sentimental value.

Overall, I don't know what to charge for a complete redo, reassembly, forearm, and finish job. Any thoughts will help.
Click to expand...

Never make the mistake of not telling a customer how much(at LEAST say you charge x per hour for how long it takes) it's going to cost before you start a repair....
 
Repairs

Break it down this way.
New shaft $125...$150
Leather wrap $100....$125
Refinishing $125...$150
Putting cue together depends on the disarray :)_______?

And stop working for nothing you're going to put all of us out business :)

Mario
 
Hi,

Pricing should be based on you level of skill and execution. What do you think your time is worth?

Erine G, who I surly place at the top of the heap would not charge the kinda prices shown in this thread.

When you can do something as good or better than the top teir CMs, then 1000.00 and higher would not be out of line for the job you have described.

So charge commensurately to the level of competency you feel your work rates in the market.

JMO,

Rick
 
I started to break it down by component...and the cost was racking up fast. I agree...working for free helps no one...and to be honest, if you abuse your stick, repairs should be costly.

I work for free no more...been there, done that.
 
Poke_N_Hope said:
I started to break it down by component...and the cost was racking up fast. I agree...working for free helps no one...and to be honest, if you abuse your stick, repairs should be costly.
I work for free no more...been there, done that.
Click to expand...

i like this answer.
 
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