Pricing in your Web site?

I would not post canned prices on a website. To me that is Order taking. I am not an Order Taker and I have no fear when it comes to negotiating. Each venue is different, each event is different, each client is different. Once my prospect realizes that they are special and different and I will treat them as an individual, they are ready to open their checkbooks.

ahoustondj said:

I would not post canned prices on a website. To me that is Order taking. I am not an Order Taker and I have no fear when it comes to negotiating. Each venue is different, each event is different, each client is different. Once my prospect realizes that they are special and different and I will treat them as an individual, they are ready to open their checkbooks.

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Wow can I live in your fantacy world too.... I guess Best Buy, Marshals, Macy's and every other business does it all wrong... to hell with set priceing structures lets just charge willy-nilly for the same services offered simply based on what we think we can get... er umm sell.

jokerswild said:

Absolutely but that doesn't mean "Prices are subject to change, based on your income level or venue, or personal priceing whims without notice." either.

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Do your prices remain the same when you add more equipment or change to more expensive gear? How about when Gasoline Prices go up?

ahoustondj said:

Do your prices remain the same when you add more equipment or change to more expensive gear? How about when Gasoline Prices go up?

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Sure but, then you're talking about real expenses that add into ones price and if price is not adjusted will cut into your desired profit margin.... but, has absolutely nothing to do with charging different prices based on a clients ability to pay them.

jokerswild said:

Wow can I live in your fantacy world too.... I guess Best Buy, Marshals, Macy's and every other business does it all wrong... to hell with set priceing structures lets just charge willy-nilly for the same services offered simply based on what we think we can get... er umm sell.

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People who work at these places are NOT professional salespeople, they are order takers. Why do you think most of them don't have experience and don't know squat? All they do is point you in the direction of what you want. Real Sales people make much more money in the form of commissions.

sightsandsounds said:

I agree you should not offer unlimited time....but I see nothing wrong with a one price for all events model if you do not have extras to offer. We do not offer different audio packages or lighting packages.....our system is the same no matter what the event / where the event is. We also do not do photobooths, monagrams, uplighting and things like that so why complicate pricing with event packages and other things?

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I have been burned way too many times, my rates are determined by:

The location of the venue A long drive to venue? PIA to setup? (elevators, stairs, long walk, do I need extra gear, pay a parking garage?, etc)

Ceremony How much gear do I need to bring, Etc. Where will the ceremony be held? How far away is the ceremony from the reception? Is there electricity available? How many mics are needed? do I need to patch in a keyboardist? electric guitar, etc.)

Music for cocktails in another location Is there electricity nearby?

Do I need to hire an assistant?

What time are the guests expected to arrive?/what time do they need me there by? I'm not going to set up 3+ hrs beforehand & wait to play. (some may want your gear in early & not start for a few hours)

Do they need any editing of music done? I have had many brides that want songs to start at a certain point, or bridal party members each intoduced to their own music. This needs to be prepared ahead of time.

Backup plan for outside gig in case it rains? Will I be needing to provide my own tent/cover? or will I be setting up multiple times in various locations?

This month alone, I have 8 wedding gigs, all of them require 3 separate setup locations (ceremony, cocktails, reception) One of the ceremonies, I need to bring 250 ft of AC cord (to nearest outlet) at another wedding gig, the cocktails are clear on the other side of the resort. Another one involves a nightmare of a load-in/load out. No vehicles allowed, a long walk & it involves elevators & walking thru slippery kitchen areas.

I knew a DJ once that quoted someone a price, (it was low) and then found out later, he was responsible for providing the power (no AC available...he needed a generator) He wound up losing money on that gig because he had to rent a generator.

jokerswild said:

Wow can I live in your fantacy world too.... I guess Best Buy, Marshals, Macy's and every other business does it all wrong... to hell with set priceing structures lets just charge willy-nilly for the same services offered simply based on what we think we can get... er umm sell.

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They are selling PRODUCTS not SERVICES.
Call a plumber & get a quote for fixing your sink. I'll bet they will give you a "starting rate" They gotta know or see what needs to be done & know what he needs to bring. Same goes for an auto mechanic, etc.

Imagine hiring a plumber to fix your sink & he quotes you $200 per hour, he finishes in 25 minutes, and you tell him to fix the toilet too since he still has 35 min. left? LOL!!

Bill Kexel said:

They are selling PRODUCTS not SERVICES.
Call a plumber & get a quote for fixing your sink. I'll bet they will give you a "starting rate" They gotta know or see what needs to be done & know what he needs to bring. Same goes for an auto mechanic, etc.

Imagine hiring a plumber to fix your sink & he quotes you $200 per hour, he finishes in 25 minutes, and you tell him to fix the toilet too since he still has 35 min. left? LOL!!

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Actually services and products aren't that different. Let's take your mechanic example.

There's the set diagnostic fee.
Parts costs are already set.
Labor costs are already set.
Hours of labor per job are already set.

What this means is when you take your car to a shop, you pay the diagnostic fee and that fee doesn't change depending on how long it takes them to diagnose the problem. Once they figure out what parts you need and you approve it, the parts cost is added in because it's already been set. Say the job ends up taking 1 hour (actual time) to do, do you think you'll pay for only an hour of labor? The answer is no. You'll pay whatever the "book time" is, it could be 1/2 an hour (means you paid less for labor than the actual time it took) or it could be 2 hours, in which case you paid for an extra hour of labor that will never be performed.

Long story short, for many services the fees are already set regardless of labor.

jokerswild said:

Sure but, then you're talking about real expenses that add into ones price and if price is not adjusted will cut into your desired profit margin.... but, has absolutely nothing to do with charging different prices based on a clients ability to pay them.

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That is true and I never said that is what I do. I may charge extra for the following.
More Equipment needed.
Stairs, long/difficult Load in.
Outdoors
Far distance to gig.
Overnight Stay
Lighting
Valet Parking.
And stuff like that......

ok so the government wants us to pay taxes based on our income,, we are not talking a whole lot of difference here, a simply setup at a legion/Vfw hall, you pull up and setup, a exclusive country club, or Marriott has different load ins, going thru halls elevators,I never gouge anyone and have done and will do my share of low cost wedding if i see that they can afford only a certain amount,, its like BBq/burgers versus a 5 course meal,,

ahoustondj said:

That is true and I never said that is what I do. I may charge extra for the following.
More Equipment needed.
Stairs, long/difficult Load in.
Outdoors
Far distance to gig.
Overnight Stay
Lighting
Valet Parking.
And stuff like that......

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And those are all things with real set costs that do add to the cost of doing business.... there for they should be figured into the Cost to do the Gig and then add your desired profit margin.... see we are on the same page.

What I dissagree with is charging more or less than your base rate simply based on the percieved ability of the client to pay said fees. Or basing it on the extravagance of a particular venue... ie the Taj Mahal vs the VFW.

I don't distinguish between low cost weddings and high cost weddings. I do weddings - period. Ninety-nine percent of the time my rates are the same. I hardly ever know how much they may have spent until I get there to do the event. I've done very nice weddings at lower-end venues and I've done cheaper weddings at higher-end venues and vice-versa. My price is the same regardless.

DJ J Mac said:

Actually services and products aren't that different. Let's take your mechanic example.

There's the set diagnostic fee.
Parts costs are already set.
Labor costs are already set.
Hours of labor per job are already set.

What this means is when you take your car to a shop, you pay the diagnostic fee and that fee doesn't change depending on how long it takes them to diagnose the problem. Once they figure out what parts you need and you approve it, the parts cost is added in because it's already been set. Say the job ends up taking 1 hour (actual time) to do, do you think you'll pay for only an hour of labor? The answer is no. You'll pay whatever the "book time" is, it could be 1/2 an hour (means you paid less for labor than the actual time it took) or it could be 2 hours, in which case you paid for an extra hour of labor that will never be performed.

Long story short, for many services the fees are already set regardless of labor.

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Don't forget that there is a markup of 50%+ on the parts they use. plus shop fees & other misc fees. Bottom line, they are NOT going to give you an acurate price quote without seeing the problem for themselves/finding out more.
I'm pretty sure that if a mechanic gives you a quote over the phone, it will be quite different from the price you will pay when he's done working on it.

Customers price shop all the time which is not considered unethical. WHy then is it unethical to charge a price based on what the market will bear? If it's too high you'll go out of business. Supply demand...ya know Capitalism is a wonderful thing

'What the market will bear' vs 'what an individual client can be squeezed for' are two totally different things. The market sets the price for all, rich or poor. So if I need a lawn service to cut my 1 acre of grass, should the price be determined based on the size/value of the home that sits on that land?

DJ Wes said:

'What the market will bear' vs 'what an individual client can be squeezed for' are two totally different things. The market sets the price for all, rich or poor. So if I need a lawn service to cut my 1 acre of grass, should the price be determined based on the size/value of the home that sits on that land?

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Who is squeezing? Here is price for said services ______. to which client says yes or no. As far as the market setting the price for all rich or poor that is simply untrue. Go to the Hamptons and see how much it costs to cut grass vs. cutting grass in Memphis. Here in CT at the casinoes they charge $7 per beer in their premium night clubs. Think they are charging that at the local VFW? Ever pay $400 for a pair of pants? They do in Beverly Hills. etc, etc

Those who let a service-based company gouge them for twice what their neighbor pays, for the exact same level of service, is a fool. I understand that there are regional differences. That's a different matter. But to charge based on each individual clients ability to pay is simply unethical. I still stand by that claim.

DJ Wes said:

Those who let a service-based company gouge them for twice what their neighbor pays, for the exact same level of service, is a fool. I understand that there are regional differences. That's a different matter. But to charge based on each individual clients ability to pay is simply unethical. I still stand by that claim.

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I am not disagreeing with that. THe fact is folks who have money like to flaunt their wealth and WANT to pay more to show how successful they are hence paying $2000 for a handbag. It's all silly. For the record I list my pirces on my website for all to see so everyone pays the same price. My rates are based on what I think the market will bear.

DJ Wes said:

I understand that there are regional differences. That's a different matter. But to charge based on each individual clients ability to pay is simply unethical. I still stand by that claim.

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One more thing. You can't claim to understand that their are regional differences (i.e. what people are willing to pay) and also say that it's unethical to charge more for the same folks coming from these regions. I believe that's what's called an oxymoron. Could be wrong though as I don't have the patience to google the true definition of oxymoron

mikemerlin said:

One more thing. You can't claim to understand that their are regional differences (i.e. what people are willing to pay) and also say that it's unethical to charge more for the same folks coming from these regions. I believe that's what's called an oxymoron. Could be wrong though as I don't have the patience to google the true definition of oxymoron

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Geographic location plays a big part on the price of everything, not just DJs. Price a gallon of milk in New York and then price a gallon of milk in Memphis. If the DJ has to live in the same geographical area as his clients, his price will obviously have to be higher than another DJ's price coming from a more affordable area (all other things being equal).