Here's why I ask, I have had some guys tell me that i'm too expensive sometimes-
just a hobbiest here that hasnt painted in a few years, but i also ran into this. actually, what i really ran into was not enjoying the work for the wage i was making and i wasnt making the wage i deserved- even if just as a hobby out of my garage.
i had to grow a backbone and tell myself i deserve to earn a decent wage, even if im just a hobbiest.the major factor in that was my sons' stepdad- a painter for years and hes kicked out some awesome work( he also guided me through this one)- see the 96 stang i did for my son and he was very impressed. he asked what i would charge for that paint job. he laughed and said,"so ya dont like eating or wipin yer ass with toiletpaper,eh?"
and of course, the complaints from people and all that started coming. every single one never went to any of the shops around town first, which i was more than happy to say,"youre more than welcome to get estimates elsewhere."
but when i was getting work for my wages, i was liking what i was doing and strived to do a little more: replace a fender? ill even buff the whole vehicle. complete repaint? ill detail the engine compartment and interior.
one of the complainers had a 96 ss camaro with a deep scratch in the front bumper cover he wanted fixed.dam nice car. garage kept, never saw snow, and i dont think it saw rain,either. and pretty quick. with the 6 speed tranny, i would have loved to get that on a roadcourse( after doing the work,he let me drive it. crazy codger even encouraged me to make it work)
i gave him my estimate. said it was pretty high.i told him what i said above.
he took it to one of the shops in town.
about 2 months later he stopped by and was fuming. the collision shop repainted the whole bumper and it was obviously a mismatch( i thought it was a simple fix scratch,blend and clear the bumper) and they wouldnt foot the bill to do it right.some crap in the contract stating color match may be off, but this was WAY off.his atty said he was screwed unless he wanted to pay LOTS. he even apologized for realizing, AFTER paying the shop quite a bit more then i had estimated and having the color match way off, my price wasnt too shabby.
then brought his wifes 97 silverado for cab corners,rockers, and repaint a month later.
then brought me the right people i wanted to do work for.
id still get folks thinking i was too expensive, to the point i made a little writeup on where the money from the estimate went.
quite a few thought, beings how it was my own shop-in-a-garage heat, electricity, and water was magically free.
and sandpaper,tape,masking paper,etc is just a snap of the fingers away.
in short- set your price for what youre worth.
and people that dont like it?
"youre more then welcome to look elsewhere."
