How Much Do I Have To Charge

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PRESSURE PACKED

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I Am An Experienced Detailer..but Am Fairly New To This Site. I Have Been Doing Alllott Of Research And I Have A Question,(please Note That This Question Is Not How Much You Charge) You Do Not Have To Tell Me Your Prices..butwith All The New Products I Am Being Exposed To How Much Do I Have To Charge To "make" Money......using What Needs To Be Used ..



For Instance If I Used To Buy All My Car Wash Supplies From Lets Say Pep Boys..a 25 Dollar Wash Would Be O.k. For A Mobil Setup But If I Am Using Poor Boys Pinnacle Zaino Etc My Prices Neeed To Go Up..any Info Would Help..if This Is A Repeat Thread Please Direct Me To A Link
 
PRESSURE PACKED said:
I Am An Experienced Detailer..but Am Fairly New To This Site. I Have Been Doing Alllott Of Research And I Have A Question,(please Note That This Question Is Not How Much You Charge) You Do Not Have To Tell Me Your Prices..butwith All The New Products I Am Being Exposed To How Much Do I Have To Charge To "make" Money......using What Needs To Be Used ..



For Instance If I Used To Buy All My Car Wash Supplies From Lets Say Pep Boys..a 25 Dollar Wash Would Be O.k. For A Mobil Setup But If I Am Using Poor Boys Pinnacle Zaino Etc My Prices Neeed To Go Up..any Info Would Help..if This Is A Repeat Thread Please Direct Me To A Link
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You just told us you're an experienced detailer, but then ask how much to charge to make money?? :think:



I'm confused, are you not making money now?



What are you currently charging and for what processes and how long do those processes take you?
 
JoshVette said:
You just told us you're an experienced detailer, but then ask how much to charge to make money?? :think:



I'm confused, are you not making money now?



What are you currently charging and for what processes and how long do those processes take you?
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i think what the OP is asking, is with the onslaught of new, higher end products, what should he be charging to make a profit. I can totally see his question having some valor. I ask myself that all the time, i know what to charge for my hourly worth, but what do you have to add to my prices to recover my cost for more expensive products? more and more customers are being educated via the internet on what is "main stream" products. before the internet, people had to rely on what the "pros" told them. I saw this quite a bit when i was a retail manager for a wireless company.



OP am i even close to your point?
 
advs1 said:
i think what the OP is asking, is with the onslaught of new, higher end products, what should he be charging to make a profit. I can totally see his question having some valor. I ask myself that all the time, i know what to charge for my hourly worth, but what do you have to add to my prices to recover my cost for more expensive products? more and more customers are being educated via the internet on what is "main stream" products. before the internet, people had to rely on what the "pros" told them. I saw this quite a bit when i was a retail manager for a wireless company.



OP am i even close to your point?
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YES BRO..



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
 
Ok 1st thing is you have to not type in caps. Type in regular sentences without capitalizing the first letter of each word. That will make us more apt to read your post.



Secondly you should probably figure out how much more youre spending in product per car and if you need to, charge that difference, I cant imagine its more than 10-15 depending on what youre using for just simple washes and the like.
 
getcha said:
Ok 1st thing is you have to not type in caps. Type in regular sentences without capitalizing the first letter of each word. That will make us more apt to read your post.



Secondly you should probably figure out how much more youre spending in product per car and if you need to, charge that difference, I cant imagine its more than 10-15 depending on what youre using for just simple washes and the like.
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yes 15 to 20 is where i am at...but that is not competitive on a mobil level..not for a first time customer..on referrals and people that understand the concept of "detailing" i am all good...i am cool with that,,,,,,,,, i am really asking an open ended question and what can i tell joe lawyer. or jane hair dresser why 20 bucks more
 
Ok 1st thing is you have to not type in caps. Type in regular sentences without capitalizing the first letter of each word. That will make us more apt to read your post.



Secondly, you need to stand out. The educated consumer will care what youre using and how youre using it. The price shopper, chances are probably not. Both however use these guys for a reason, and again you need to stand out. Why are you different, what do you offer than he doesnt. I'm not exactly sure of your situation but maybe you could give one of the people at this particular building an introductory price and then show them why youre better. That could lead to referrals and so on..



Bottom line is youre doing it to make money, so if youre using more expensive products you need to charge obviously to make money.



On the other hand, you may also need to set up a hierarchy(sp?) of products and services. Separate the "express" stuff from true vehicle prep. So that way the shoppers can have the better wash but at the better price and those who want more can have more.



What are you using thats so expensive for washes and waxes BTW?
 
getcha said:
Ok 1st thing is you have to not type in caps. Type in regular sentences without capitalizing the first letter of each word. That will make us more apt to read your post.



Secondly, you need to stand out. The educated consumer will care what youre using and how youre using it. The price shopper, chances are probably not. Both however use these guys for a reason, and again you need to stand out. Why are you different, what do you offer than he doesnt. I'm not exactly sure of your situation but maybe you could give one of the people at this particular building an introductory price and then show them why youre better. That could lead to referrals and so on..



Bottom line is youre doing it to make money, so if youre using more expensive products you need to charge obviously to make money.



On the other hand, you may also need to set up a hierarchy(sp?) of products and services. Separate the "express" stuff from true vehicle prep. So that way the shoppers can have the better wash but at the better price and those who want more can have more.

What are you using thats so expensive for washes and waxes BTW?
Click to expand...





as far as hierchy. that is a good idea...as for the expensive products,,,i an not much differnt than most.. a good soap two buckets stoners window cleaner 303 zymoil for interior wood zaino pinnacle nxt etc ..but my some of my "competitors" are not at any standard close to that....joy soap a bucket and degreaser..i use competior looosely,while i understand that these guy are no competition..i am competing with them in the average first time customers eyes
 
Heres something to think about then too. One thing I have learned is to ask. Ask if they know what the person is using on their car. Ask if they know what products are for what and if they know what to expect out of them. And the most important thing is, ask if they are satisfied with the job the guys is doing or they just choose him cuz he comes around anyway. Thats your in with them..



The very first customer I ever had, still a regular to this day was a woman who had a brand new car. She had had many lackluster experiences with garbage shops and while she wanted her car detailed essentially needed a rescue. I asked her if she was satisfied with the crap place. She said no. I mentioned some of my methods and materials and she bought a new car prep. Been keeping her rides perfect ever since..
 
Paul - You can get boutique-quality products in bulk pretty cheaply. The only lines where big bucks make a difference are polishes and LSPs. You can get gallons of top-shelf wash soap for like 20 bucks, and there are some great express waxes sold by the gallon out there. Poli-seal by the gallon is very reasonable and will increase your per-car cost by maybe .15 over pep boys products, while saving a bit of time and and being workable in the sun.



I got out of the wash business in South FL a little while ago (didn't have the right setup for it) because guys with E63's and M5's didn't want to pay more than 25 for a wash. The key down here is to build a system that lets you create our level of quality with the product cost and speed of the hacks, so that you can charge 30 for a wash and still make 120/hr while delivering a better product than the competition.



It can be done... I just never had the capital to do it. Drop me a private message if you want some ideas.
 
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