all these years, we've been calling it the wrong thing.........

[alantani]

think about it.  what most of us do is not reel repair.  it's custom work and restoration.  it's crazy to spend 2, 3 or 4 hours on a reel and only charge $20.  right?  but that is what most of us do.  for me, a star drag reel is $20 to 40 for service, plus the cost of parts and return shipping.  restoration work should be "by the hour."  so should anything custom - gear sleeves, handle upgrades, frames. 

this is restoration, not repair. 

[Reel 224]

think about it.  what most of us do is not reel repair.  it's custom work and restoration.  it's crazy to spend 2, 3 or 4 hours on a reel and only charge $20.  right?  but that is what most of us do.  for me, a star drag reel is $20 to 40 for service, plus the cost of parts and return shipping.  restoration work should be "by the hour."  so should anything custom - gear sleeves, handle upgrades, frames. 

this is restoration, not repair. 

Alan: I made the same mistake at first when learning the reel restoration and custom parts, I am still learning pricing.

Joe

[Keta]

I have 5 Shimano Tekotas and 3 Penn reels that I'm currently working on in the same situation with now.  I had to beat two of the Tekotas apart and have 3-5 hours each into them, and one still isn't done.  $20 divided by 5 hours sucks.  I can make better $ collecting cans and bottles off the street and it is cutting into the time I could be wiring boats for real money.  The next batch is Diawa reels and they look tough on the outside but they are for a good friend so money is not involved.

[MarkT]

think about it.  what most of us do is not reel repair.  it's custom work and restoration.  it's crazy to spend 2, 3 or 4 hours on a reel and only charge $20.  right?  but that is what most of us do.  for me, a star drag reel is $20 to 40 for service, plus the cost of parts and return shipping.  restoration work should be "by the hour."  so should anything custom - gear sleeves, handle upgrades, frames. 

this is restoration, not repair. 

That's called servicing the reel!

[Reel 224]

think about it.  what most of us do is not reel repair.  it's custom work and restoration.  it's crazy to spend 2, 3 or 4 hours on a reel and only charge $20.  right?  but that is what most of us do.  for me, a star drag reel is $20 to 40 for service, plus the cost of parts and return shipping.  restoration work should be "by the hour."  so should anything custom - gear sleeves, handle upgrades, frames. 

this is restoration, not repair. 

That's called servicing the reel!

If you do your own work.

Joe

[steelfish]

$20 divided by 5 hours sucks.  I can make better $ collecting cans and bottles off the street

I keep saying that to myself a lot of times amigo.

the only thing that keeps me from losing the mind is that I still enjoy working on reels, so thats 3/4 of the payment.

same deal when restoring a old and beat-up rod with a good salvable blank

[Gfish]

Hmmm... So there's repair/restoration/customization. Repair = part replacement or part tweaking. Restoration = cleaning and possibly part tweaking. Customization = part replacement upgrades. Do you bill seperately for these diffrent things?
Tryin to envision it kinda like the insurance industry/medical-dental(profession?) industries set things up. It takes me alota time tryin to figure out the invoice/bills/reciepts they give me. I know they just want me to pay & not ask questions and most people probably do, but I've caught errors and unethical BS a couple of times. "A $190 charge for a consultation fee!?, all you did was ask me if I was "ok" after you finished the root canal!"

[Midway Tommy]

It's rightly called "Charity".  Form a 501C3!    , or, on a different note, maybe the client should form the 501C3 so the work could be considered a "Charitable Contribution". 

[Donnyboat]

$190 consulting fee, thats about AU $ 260, now tommy thats not charity, its a B'''''''''' rip offfff, cheers Don.

[David Hall]

I only repair for myself and my buddies for price of parts only and I don't take on outside projects.  Last thing I want to do is reel repair.

[alantani]

i've always tried to keep my prices low, which is probably why i have such a backlog.  there was actually a time when i only charged for parts!

[Reel 224]

Hmmmm, 

Joe

[foakes]

When I first started over 40 years ago — it was $8 + parts — and I would pick up and deliver, if necessary.

Some of these reels would take me 8 or 10 hours — I would work on any kind of reel to learn.

No one knew that I was getting my education by working on their reels!  They actually were under the impression that I knew what I was doing.

As the years rolled past, prices went up a little because of inflation, cleaners, equipment, and the fact that I was getting too much business because I was so cheap.

Now, a complete disassembly, cleaning, service, lube, tune, and adjust runs an average of $30 + parts.

Some are $20, some are closer to $35.

A big part of what we do, and how busy we are — boils down to experience, reputation, and fairness.

As for charging by the hour, that would not be fair to me — since I can complete a reel from scratch in less than an hour.  Some less experienced guys might take 6-8 hours on the same reel — and only give the client half the quality that I think I offer.

Think of it this way — let's say I need my transmission rebuilt...


An apprentice takes 25 hours — and an experienced journeyman can do the job in 7 because he has done 1000 in the past — and he knows the tricks and tips for a better job when completed.

Now the shop flat-rate book calls for 16 hours of labor.

I will pay for the 16 hours all day long — and go with the experienced guy — even though it only took him 7 hours.  Time is no measurement of quality — experience is.

Same thing with heart surgery — guy who has done 3000 successfully — or the guy with a few under his belt?

As to upgrades — just a flat fee, plus the service, plus the parts.

And...it is always nice to give a client more than they expect.  A few items free, some extra work, or?

I generally try to do that also.  I think we all do.

Sometimes I get a client who just wants a some specific parts replaced.  I generally respectfully refuse those jobs, unless I can also check over the entire reel, do a complete disassembly, cleaning, and lube.

Like most of us on here — it has to be done right & professionally.

If we wouldn't fish it ourselves — it is not completed — no exceptions.

And one last thing — we are respected and appreciated more, if we charge a fair price.  If we do it too cheap — neither the client nor we will appreciate that.  Folks don't want to be gouged — they just want a good job at a fair price. 

So if we do not value our work and skill — why would anyone else value it?

Best,

Fred

[thorhammer]

It's rightly called "Charity".  Form a 501C3!    , or, on a different note, maybe the client should form the 501C3 so the work could be considered a "Charitable Contribution". 

I thought your 501C3 was a left handed Abu I don't have. that's why I don't make any money

[Midway Tommy]

It's rightly called "Charity".  Form a 501C3!    , or, on a different note, maybe the client should form the 501C3 so the work could be considered a "Charitable Contribution". 

I thought your 501C3 was a left handed Abu I don't have. that's why I don't make any money