ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area What would you charge?

I'm struggling with this one and its fairly simple.

We're running a new 20 amp circuit in an unfinished basement for a freezer. It will be a pipedown duplex receptacle. Easy right? I quoted the person $120.00 - although it seemed fine to them my conscious is telling me otherwise - why? I am pretty certain that anyone else in town would charge way more than that...

I guess I just need to get used to the pricing thang...

Here is a soulution that works for me. Covert operation! Call a few local contractors and explain "what you need done" and get a rough price from them. While you must figure out what you should charge to make a profitable business it is also essential to know what the compettion is charging. Many times pricing is the difference between you getting the job or not.

when i was first starting out, and trying to build up a customer base, i used to figure the cost of all materials and special equipment(such as renting a trencher), add 30% to that figure, and then double it (for the labor). that was my price....worked pretty well most of the time, but i did get burnt some.........a few times, it took a lot of labor to get 30 ft. of wire through a "plaster wall" for a new receptacle......

ron

ps....that was also back when i used to give estimates over the phone, without even looking at the actual job.....duh!...

I new a guy running a business that multiplied his materials by pie. (3.14) It worked for him.