What would you charge to fix someones PC?

[Tech_Dreamer]

if it came down to you working independently, how would you charge someone for fixing their PC ? Comment down below & also tell us about same scenario but for relatives & friends , would you charge them outside of  hardware price?.

 

 

 

 

example : split into categories or how ever you prefer like hourly or work load etc.

 

• system build
• assemble hardware
• troubleshooting (soft/hard)
• software installation
• Software tutorial/assistance
• others

 

PS: inb4 3.fiddy comments

[zMeul]

I doubt you could have a fixed rate for troubleshooting and fixing - there could be a shit-ton of issues and they take various amounts of time

what you could do is charge by the hour

[Arika]

I would recommend not doing it for relatives. Because then you will be their go to for every little problem they have and will expect you to do it for free

[zMeul]

1 minute ago, Sierra Fox said:

I would recommend not doing it for relatives. Because then you will be their go to for every little problem they have and will expect you to do it for free

or charge them by the kidney

[Oxydoreduction]

Well, I usually charge 35€ / hour when troubleshooting/working on the hardware,...

 

Otherwise

• system build: 100€ all inclusive
• assemble hardware: 50€
• troubleshooting (soft/hard): 35€/h
• software installation: 35€/h
• Software tutorial/assistance 35€/h

For family and friends, well, the cost of hardware + 5%

 

I'm not a considered as a pro in the segment so I do it only for people living nearby who I do this stuff.

[Sauron]

Trust me, there's no money to be made there. Independent PC hardware shops make most of their income by supplying and providing support for the enterprise market. Swapping a hard drive should be an additional service, not your main offering.

 

If you still want to go ahead with it, don't do work for free for anyone. Charge the same for family and friends, otherwise you may find yourself constantly nagged for free work. I'd charge from a minimum of. say, 50$ just for taking the computer in, plus 25-30$ every hour you spent working on it.

[Lurick]

$50/hr for troubleshooting.

$30/hr for building

 

Double or triple it for relatives mwahahaha!

[Zando_]

4 minutes ago, zMeul said:

or charge them by the kidney

"That'll be one and a half kidneys please..."

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, Tech_Dreamer said:

example : split into categories or how ever you prefer like hourly or work load etc.

 

• system build
• assemble hardware
• troubleshooting (soft/hard)
• software installation
• Software tutorial/assistance
• others

I'll start with general "oopsies" like forgetting to plug in the hard drive: Nothing.

 

In USD (United States Dollars)

 

System build: 10-20

Presuming I profit off of the parts.

People question why labor costs money, not why parts are expensive. (Generally)

 

Assemble hardware: Um... do you mean install a new GPU, or HDD, or what i just answered?

Because I am not profiting off of parts:

20-30 as someone that doesn't know how to install and HDD would pay this price, and ... I have to make more than minimum wage.

 

General troubleshooting would be broken down.

Turning on the computer would be an oopsie thing to see if the computer works. (maybe the PSU was off)

 

If I have to use the computer at all, I would charge 10-20 dollars for a general diagnosis.

I will presume they want to know if they have a virus:

It shouldn't take TOO long to download malware bytes and do a scan as that's mostly automated.

For a "next level" virus check, I'd do an extra 5-10 dollars, and just scroll through their applications (uninstall apps on windows) to see what looks like it could be a virus, open task manager and see what startup tasks are bogging the system down. Maybe install chrome for a faster web browsing experience if they don't have it.

 

For a "tune up" I would require the customer to pay the general troubleshooting AND "next level" virus check and that already covers a tune up. If the customer specifically asks for a tune up, I would see if a slight overclock would be possible.

 

Software install

Keeping it standard (and presuming they want me to install like google chrome, and steam) I would dp 20 dollars for 5 applications, and then 5 dollars for every 5 additional apps, not accellerating. If someone wanted 15 apps installed it's be 30 dollars.

 

Software tutorial/assistance would likely have to be case by case.

Basic things may fall under oopsies, and then more complex things would likely need a quote with a standard of 20 dollars base price.

 

 

This is a business afterall. Labor for small household devices, and recreational equipment is around 10-20 dollars plus parts. Depending on store policy, labor may be cheaper if you bought the item from them.

 

EDIT:
After reviewing my prices, I would make them a bit more expensive but you'd really have to test the market and see how pre-existing companies already do it to make a fair comparison.

[RollinLower]

i help people with their devices daily. i have quite a stack of phones laying around here that i fix for people, aswell as a few laptops

my 'fee' i usually ask is a cup of coffee. nothingmore. i don't think it's worth asking more of people who are my friends/family.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, RollinLower said:

i help people with their devices daily. i have quite a stack of phones laying around here that i fix for people, aswell as a few laptops

my 'fee' i usually ask is a cup of coffee. nothingmore. i don't think it's worth asking more of people who are my friends/family.

you're ...

ƃuoɹʍ ʎlqɐqoɹd

[Mooshi]

Probably not as much as Amazon charges for basic installs lmao

 

 

[Changis]

15 minutes ago, Tech_Dreamer said:

if it came down to you working independently, how would you charge someone for fixing their PC ? Comment down below & also tell us about same scenario but for relatives & friends , would you charge them outside of  hardware price?.

 

 

 

 

example : split into categories or how ever you prefer like hourly or work load etc.

 

• system build
• assemble hardware
• troubleshooting (soft/hard)
• software installation
• Software tutorial/assistance
• others

 

PS: inb4 3.fiddy comments

 

the rates we used at the computer shop were hourly, but there is alot of work the machine does itself (updates etc)
we usually took 1-1,5 hours for a complete reinstall, and ,5hours for backup (more for large/special backups) plus medium if they didnt bring themselves)
,5 hours for a quick lookover (determine what fault may be etc) which is included if they chose to fix it (would use same time if working on it anyway)

system builds were (for items brought in and not bought in our store) 1hour for standard builds and .5/1 hour for installation (.5 for cleaning bloatware etc or 1 hour for full install) 1,5 hours if they were fast easy builds (like NUC's ) and in no window cases, not spending extra time doing nice cable management etc.

 

so tl;dr:
 

• system build - ,5 to 1 hour for easy/standard builds
• assemble hardware - ,5 hour for "doing the shopping" finding the best parts for budget etc
• troubleshooting (soft/hard) - ,5 hour for a quick diagnostic or free in some fast//easy cases. 1 hour for a documented insurance claim (this is troubleshooting to find faults and make an estimate of the price of new parts/item for insurance companies that require it be documented by a professional.
• software installation - ,5 per program (office was ,75 with mail setup), small free programs like CCleaner etc were installed for free if other work was done, 1-1,5 hours for OS installation (the extra .5 is for running time consuming updates like windows 7 )
• Software tutorial/assistance - we gave quick tips and help for free or ,5 hours, depending on what it was (setting up mail ,5 hours, something you fix in 5 minutes or less, usually free) any more and i would consider yo hold a class for "learning to use a computer" for people who are a bit intimidated by technology, we had a course especially for elderly which sold out really fast.. this way you could earn extra money teaching people basic skills like using facebook and outlook/gmail etc
• others - this all depends on the type of work, it is better to specify a bit more time than you need and inform that it might be cheaper if it's easier to fix then anticipated
  
  chek some local computer stores what they charge by the hour and just price yourself under that, maybe have some combo offers of typical things like harddrive and ram upgrade with reinstallation and setup of windows etc.

[themctipers]

47 minutes ago, Tech_Dreamer said:

 

• system build
• assemble hardware
• troubleshooting (soft/hard)
• software installation
• Software tutorial/assistance
• others

 

1. $35-$50? Like something NCIX does, you buy the parts and they build it for you..?

2. $35-50? Same as the first one

3. Soft - $5, hard - $15

4. $5

5. $10/$20

6. $9309820984098324098

[Thunderpup]

If i started charging i probably wouldn't charge much in the way of labor, but i would mark up the prices on any new hard ware i install.

 

 

[KenjiUmino]

46 minutes ago, RollinLower said:

i help people with their devices daily. i have quite a stack of phones laying around here that i fix for people, aswell as a few laptops

my 'fee' i usually ask is a cup of coffee. nothingmore. i don't think it's worth asking more of people who are my friends/family.

yeah ... for friends/family this "fee" is ok-ish. but if you were trying to turn it into a busines or even make a living from it ... you'd have to step your game up. 

 

my friends and family were mostly broke AF so i didn't ask for money either - if i had to buy something then that would have to be paid of course but i didn't take money for the actual labor.

 

what i tended to do instead was ask if i can keep their old parts when i did an upgrade.

those parts mostly didn't have any resell value to speak of but it helped me helping other friends out who had even less money or no time to research and order stuff. 

 

one time i'd get a call like "kenji, my laptop just died and i need something done tomorrow, plz HALP MEEH!!!!!"

 

so i looked thru my crates like "ok what do i have ... amd sempron + mobo, some lowball geforce, a stick of ram, tiny old harddrive, dusty psu, beat up case ... a'ight ... good enuff ... lets put this stuff together and see if it worx" 

 

it did work and i saved someones day ... felt good. 
 

what i totally stopped doing is fix, upgrade or build for people who are NOT friends or family. not even for money. 

 

like that one guy who gave me a laptop that would not boot ...

 

... and i told him that i will see what i can do but that i CAN'T GUARANTEE FOR NOTHING 

 

turned out the laptop had a dead harddrive among other issues so i told the guy what was up and he got mad at me for not fixing it going as far as to say i made it worse ... wtf, dude? 

 

these people are the main reason i shyed away from making a business out of it. i can't stand situations like this. 

[Sniperfox47]

If you're doing it for friends and family do it at normal cost, and treat them just like a normal customer. Louis Rossman has a video on this (his "homey business" video) that does a really good job of getting into all the issues with cutting corners and cutting costs for friends and family.

 

As far as price? Probably about as follows:

 

• system build: $100
• install internal hardware: $25
• system cleanup: $25
• system backup: $50 if external drive provided. $100 if internal drive provided. $250 includes 2TB External Drive.
• troubleshooting (soft/hard): $50 diagnostic fee up front that's refundable if I can't fix your issue.
  • Software: Tiered
    • Tier 1 (Solvable without clean install): $50
    • Tier 2 (Requires clean install. Includes data transfer. No Data Guarantee.): $100
  • Hardware: Tiered
    • Tier 1 (Common component replacement): $100 + Parts
    • Tier 2 (Advanced component replacement): $200 + Parts
    • Tier 3 (Board level repair): $550 
• software installation: $15
• Software tutorial/assistance: $0 for simple solution stuff like "hit delete to get into the bios" or $10 per half hour for extended tutorials

All prices in CAD so keep in mind they're about 30% higher than they'd be in USD. All prices would be "no-fix no-charge".

 

[Yoinkerman]

I wouldn't do it as a day job so ill do just about any fixing for a case of beer.

 

On my schedule because I'm a busy guy

[yathis]

See what the brick and mortar stores do, from the chain stores like Memoryexpress to Bestbuy to Visions and Futureshop, NCIX stores, Microcenter all the way down to independant stores which are rare to find these days.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

I only charge for parts (if I had to buy a part I didn''t have a spare of) since I do it in my spare time and usually it's for friends and family. Often times they would buy me cake or something just as a token of appreciation. 

[Takoren]

For family and friends I would suggest asking these questions of yourself.

 

• Do you enjoy the work (troubleshooting, hardware/software install, etc.)?
• What else would you be doing with the time you are spending doing this work?
• Are you prepared to deal with the chance that you can't fix and could possibly be blamed for making it worse?
• Does the person you are working for understand the terms with which you are doing the work? (if you install memory and the O/S gets corrupted for some reason, are they going to blame you?)
• Are you getting any enjoyment out the work?  (spending time with a friend/family member, just enjoy doing the work, receiving some form of compensation, etc)

It may seem selfish to ask yourself these questions because they are your friend or family member but it is important to remember that asking you to do something for free is also selfish so your friend shouldn't be surprised if you ask for compensation for doing something for them that is costing you either in time or frustration and they would normally  have to pay for anyway.

 

On the flip side of that, if you just enjoy the work or you and your friend/family member just enjoy hanging out or maybe they want to learn how to do it themselves and you enjoy teaching them then by all means do it for free.  The joy of doing the work can be as satisfying a compensation as money, just don't let them take advantage of it.

 

That's my $0.02 anyway.

[KenjiUmino]

3 hours ago, Takoren said:

On the flip side of that, if you just enjoy the work or you and your friend/family member just enjoy hanging out or maybe they want to learn how to do it themselves and you enjoy teaching them then by all means do it for free.

good point. i forgot to mention that.

 

if possible, i do upgrades and fixes WITH the person who owns or will own the PC so i can explain what i do and why i do it or why i think something does or doesn't work - that way they get some understanding of what's going on and will less likely blame me if something happens two weeks later.

 

most of my friends can now build their own systems and fix most problems by themself because we did it together a few times already

[dalekphalm]

22 hours ago, Mooshi said:

Probably not as much as Amazon charges for basic installs lmao

 

 

Weeeellll... considering that $90 installation fee is including the cost and time for the technician to travel directly to your home, that's actually a pretty good rate for an on-site service call.

[yathis]

12 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Weeeellll... considering that $90 installation fee is including the cost and time for the technician to travel directly to your home, that's actually a pretty good rate for an on-site service call.

Are they dressed in Newegg uniforms and can understand them?

[Big Head Tech]

• system build
  • Flat rate $75-225 depending on how high end
• assemble hardware
  • If it's for someone I know and takes a few minutes nothing.  Otherwise $25
• troubleshooting (soft/hard)
  • Free diagnosis $35/hr to fix max of 4 hours
• software installation
  • $35/hr max of 4 hours
• Software tutorial/assistance
  • Don't do tutorials really

I offer free troubleshooting and quote up front labor times.  Generally speaking I've never charged more than 4 hours.  If something takes more than 4 hours I eat it.  But just because I have *8 hours* into something means I have 2 hours spread out over 8 hours most likely.