How much would you charge for basic computer repair?

[ski]

?

I originally charged a case of beer for a typical reformat and installation of windows and office, etc...

Now I have too much beer, and these people (friends of friends) want to know how much I want per hour to fix their computers. Taxes aside, since I'll be keeping track, what's a good price to charge? I told the first girl $15/hr, since I would have to back up all files, reformat, install, then put back all files, it'd take 3 hours or so, so I thought $45 was a fair price to charge to fix her computer.

How high would you ask?

EDIT: The reason this is in OT is that I'm not discussing hardware parts, it's a service -- it could easily be about mowing lawns :halo: (in case anyone had a problem)

[kei2]

Price sounds about right to me, but be sure to give an estimate on how long you think it will take.

[oblongmelon]

where I live-it's not uncommon to pay 35-45 dollars PER HOUR to service pc's. although private dealings can be any price you like.

[Yossarian]

yes, estimates are good.

[bachviet]

I usually do this for my friends free of charge. They usually end up taking me to either lunch/dinner or coffee.

[DarkFury]

I generally charge $25 an hour unless it is something I know I can do in a set period of time...

Most common things like memory upgrades and hard drive installs (without having to install a fresh O/S on it) generally are $10 to $20 jobs...

On average, on a full re-install/backup/file move I usually charge around $60... unless it is REALLY messed up. :D

On a total system build from scratch and O/S install, I charge around $125

[Bires]

When I worked for a computer company, they charged $60/hr and I saw $15 of that.

$15-20/hr sounds good for software issues (install, sit back and watch it do it's thing) and $20-30/hr for hardware issues where bleeding is a real possibility. ;)

[Burzhui]

i charge $65 per hour not including parts

[hapoo]

i used to charge $45-60 per hour

[eSDee]

$40 per hour for house calls including travel one way (i.e. half hour commute is $20). I have a "special" that I charge folks when they there OS is all jacked up, full of spyware, and generally not working right. Cleaning it all up and backing up their data costs $100.

[PrObLy]

I generally only fix up and or build friends and families computers so my charge is free, although they will usually give me a little bit of something here or there....example: if I build a computer the people usually just tell me to keep the mail in rebates that come in (which is usually 100 or so dollars)

or you could be like best buy:
I went in there the other day to exchange my slowly dying 12 disc jvc cd changer and had to wait in line at the service desk for ten minutes while one of the employees told some helpless lady that it would cost $60 (!) for a diagnostic check and then an additional $60 (!!!!!) to remove any spyware and adware she has on her computer, and then additional money for anything else to be done with the computer.

[hoey222]

hor home/residential work i charge $25 an hour

for business work i charge $60 an hour


for home type stuff it also depends on who it is. if it's a friend i always cut them a break.

[Nanotech9]

my shop here in OKC:

$49 / hr in house labor
$89 / hr on-site (networking or not)

System re-install if not our brand: $89
System re-install if our brand: $49
(both include ghosting off the old contents to another drive, and then copying them to an "old_drive" folder after hte new install)

Re-installing new programs or re-arranging data to proper locations other than "old_drive" folder: $49 / hr

Killing viruses or spyware: $25

[ialsohaveadream]

or you could be like best buy:
I went in there the other day to exchange my slowly dying 12 disc jvc cd changer and had to wait in line at the service desk for ten minutes while one of the employees told some helpless lady that it would cost $60 (!) for a diagnostic check and then an additional $60 (!!!!!) to remove any spyware and adware she has on her computer, and then additional money for anything else to be done with the computer.

If you were right behind her, you should've jumped in and said, "I'll fix it for $50!" Hell, it takes you about 30 seconds to download Spybot or Adaware.

[faither]

For good friends and family, I'm free.

$25/hr. seems like a reasonable rate for "friends of friends." It's a nice discount from what they'd pay to bring it into a shop. That said, it's your call but you may be undervaluing your own time.

[ski]

awesome... thanks for all your input, guys.

In the future, my "clients" will be friends of friends OF FRIENDS, so I won't know them too much, so I wouldn't feel bad asking for $20/hr ;)

The first girl's computer I fixed (2 weeks ago) took 14 hours :eek: she bought 2 six packs and a case of beer as payment, but we decided to just start drinking it as the computer was reformatting and ended up staying up till 6:30am, so lucky for her it wasn't hourly! :heh:

[zenbooty]

I would charge $40-$50 an hour, but that would be as a professional. If you're just a gearhead doing favors for friends and stuff, $15-$20 is probably more like it. $40-$50 an hour should get a customer pro service from somebody who is pursuing this as a career, and is accountable for the results.

[guiseppewv]

I usually do this for my friends free of charge. They usually end up taking me to either lunch/dinner or coffee.


I am usually the same if they are a good friend I do it free of charge and I figure it will "all come out in the wash". If it is just somebody I know then usually they will get me something to eat and drink while I am working on their computer. If it is a business I used to charge $30/hr cash if I could do it in the evenings (after work/school) if not it was $40/hr.