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Asking All IT Experience Computer Builders

G

GeForceX

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Mar 19, 2003
Messages
4,172
This is rather a curious post. What is the average *labor* costs (like service per hour) you charge for building a new computer for a client? EXCLUDING THE MAIN PRICING OF THE COMPONENTS. Is it done by hourly rates or is it done by a flat one-time rate? I am going to build one for a "CLIENT" (a.k.a. friend ahem). While I do not want to charge him the IT-LEVEL PRICES, I'd like to know the actual prices so I don't actually rip him off (LOL WTF?). He's willing to pay me around $200 dollars in *labor* costs on top of a spanking $600-ish computer all custom built. Wouldn't that be an amazing price (I am YOUNG, I consider $200 a lot). So, please do leave your inputs on how much you charge honestly. Thank you very much! :)

-J.
 
I do this kind of things for friends every now and then ... but i dont charge them a thing?! I figure what goes around comes around - and one day you will be on the receiving end of some generosity...

Then again, i'm not an IT pro... i just do it for kicks.

CadniuM
 
$200 sounds like plenty but you have to ask yourself... "If this is for a friend, how much (if any) should I charge?" Sometimes doing something for nothing has a much larger return than doing something for profit - especially when friends are involved.
 
Of course, I never charge friends or family but in this case I've done it *30* times now and I want a little something. However, I will never charge money for my family because my parents pay me allowance (more than I could even dare charge 'em for ;)) and well, they're my parents. But for friends, I only ask for a bare minimum of 20 bucks or something (something to make me happy). My friend happily said "SURE!" because he admitted that I should get paid for all the "awesome" *service* I give. In fact, I give lifetime warranty to all of my "clients" (friends). So, come on. At least I'm doing something that's so horribly nice and don't expect me to *not* ask for a lil' something. So, please remain on topic. :p

-J.
 
elation said:
$200 sounds like plenty but you have to ask yourself... "If this is for a friend, how much (if any) should I charge?" Sometimes doing something for nothing has a much larger return than doing something for profit - especially when friends are involved.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've thought about it. I told him to keep the labor charges until after I am done building the PC and after he uses it for a period of time so he can decide how much he should pay me. It's fair enough. Honestly, all I ask of him is about $50 dollars (to cover the Doom 3 expense, 'kthx). But he said, "No, I'll pay you $200 dollars" <-- ripoff sign. I insisted saying 200 is still too much for my standards but he says, "I owe you that money anyway man, keep that." But he agreed to hold it off 'til I get the PC all built. So, please tell me what you IT techs charge, that's all I wanna know. :) Thanks.

-J.
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
I never charge friends or family.....
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But that becomes a problem when they constantly ask for more and more help and start to abuse it. You cant really do anything about family but you can charge friends.
 
*EXACTLY*... Like I said I've done it *30* times and those weren't just from 30 people, they were more like 10 or so (3 times fixing their PC's which required hours of free work?)...

Honestly-- f*ck that. :p

-J.
 
If he's persistent about it, you don't want to alienate him. When I have friends that insist on paying me something, I sometimes weasel a good meal out of them instead. Maybe some good home cooking or dinner and a movie. That way yall are doing something together - as friends.
 
I used to do freebies for everyone.. but I'm at the point now where I need to get something for it. For friends, I'll charge about 20 bucks (CAD, so like 13 cents US ). Family is free of course. For others its usually about 10-20/hour. I've just gotten sick of being "the guy who knows everything about computers" and harrassed on a daily basis for support. People just seem to expect those of us who know what we're doing to be able to fix it all and that its easy and no work for us to do, and I for one can't stand it.
 
This isn't a popular view, but I throw it out there every now and then.....

I'll assume that providing support isn't your primary business; that is - you don't own a PC store or business of some type.

If your "client" isn't a computer literate person, even moreso if they are a complete nO0b, you should really consider a Dell or HP or something like that for their needs. Why? Because, they can call 1-800-I_Screwed_Up_Again forever....free. I have more than once in the past fallen into the "free technical support forever" mess and it really sucks. I had one guy that would call me to install programs and update his virus sigs until I finally had a buttload and said "no more".

Most of us love computers, and love to mess around with them, but there are people in the world that have no issue taking complete advantage of our good nature, and maybe most importantly, our time.

Food for thought......B.B.S.
 
While a computer is a computer, most are not much different to put together whether its expensive or cheap

I usually charge ~$100 flat price for a build.

But be careful, although it may seem all fun and games now, just wait till they need tech support
I wouldn't get too deep into the business of building computers, cept for friends of course :D


Services on the other hand is a totally different story, i usually charge ~$50/hr by the half hour depending on whether or not its friends/family or whatnot
 
Important: YOU HAVE TO SPECIFY WHAT THE COST COVERS!!! Does he get future support? Do you do simple RMAs for him, or does he? If you break something do you buy it?

They don't sound that important at first, but it's a job, and with a job comes a responsibility --> what if it's 3am, he has something important due and you don't feel like helping? Has he already paid you for that? Do you charge again?

Just make sure you've thought all that through. I designed a website for a neighbor's business for a flat fee of $400 about 5 years ago (dang.). I presented it, they said "add this and this", I had to say no; not unless they were paying again. Awkward situation, but I presented it in the first place and didn't get used.
 
I dont charge my friends persay. If I even have components im putting in there system, I will chard for those but not for the labor. Perfect example would be my brothers computer, I am building him one and supply the case, motherboard, CD Drives, and poweer supply. I charged him $100 for all the stuff plus the parts he had to buy. I didnt actually charge for labor though. I have build 3 other computers for friend plus my own....didnt chard my friends a dime, and i dont mine because in return they have let me use there PCs for testing hardware that doesnt work in mine or let me barrow a part from them if something on my computer craps out.

If your friend offered $200, I personally woudlnt take it unless he incists, and I woudl certainly never ask for money. I dont know if maybe thats just coz I enjoy building computers and dont feel its something I woudl need to be paid for, but I woudlnt take the money, and if you do, use it to buy him a few nicer componets or something, I wouldnt pocket it

I also agree with all of you going on about tech support. For all the friend and family ive built computers for, 2 of the 4 people ive build for knew how to help themselves. My other friend knew a bit, and could usualy solve his own problems, and being down the street, I would help him when he needed it. For my brothers computer, hes a comptuer idiot, so I basically told him he had to spend atleast 6 hours letting me teach him how to maintain his computer, and if he cant keep spyware and virsus off it or he starts screwing up parts, I told him I would be taking back the parts I provided for him. If you dont want to be a tech support guy, make sure your either building a computer for soemone who knows how to take care of it, or someone who is willign to learn how. If they cant, get them a dell.
 
I haven't had this problem, but if I did I know exactly what sort of labor swap deal I'd be looking to make...

Box is dead? Sure, I'll fix it. Just bring it over.
later...
Ok, here's a mop. Sponges, cleansers and the vacuum are in the closet, and the toilet brush is next to the throne... I'll go get started on your computer.
 
for me it's $20 an hour. if they can or will do it themselves it's free. i like putting together shopping carts :rolleyes:

if they break it it's their fault. i don't provide tech support for free, but i make sure that they know how to keep it up to date and not download spyware.
 
It's hard to charge labor because, when you're selling to people other than trusted friends/family - they'll always bring up the $400 eMachine :(. I'd recommend possibly subsidizing the labor costs with rebates. Spec out the system - find the deals of the week - purchase and wait for the rebates. You're giving the friend/family member a system with quality parts at retail prices, but - depending on who processes the rebate - you end up covering your time for labor and testing. Last system I built, I didn't artifically mark anything up and made close to $100 on a $500 system. Only hitch comes from the limitations on number of rebates per household.
 
Well, doing it for friends and family, I usually charge beer. Then it's whatever amount their
willing to spend, (night out at bar, 6/12/24 pack and hang out at the house, etc) 1 beer though nice is a little insulting if it was a major labor job.
Friends that are interested, I make them "help" and learn, that's payment enough, because
the next time 'round they'll just ask questions and call me if they screw up or want someone to ride shotgun and keep them from frying their system before it's completely built.

For a "client" as you put it, you've got two options.

A) whatever the market will bear. In this case you have to consider if it's a home computer or a business machine. What is the persons budget and what are his/her expectations. If it's a friend who wants to keep
it on the level and feels the only way to say thank you is with money, see option B.

B) Whatever the customer is willing to pay. when I used to do freelance consulting I dealt with home, work, and whatever the customer had. I told them up front my price which was $100/hr with a minimum half hour bill. Needless to say for people who wanted service for a home machine they would not be pleased when they realized I was serious
and would want me to lower the price. I simply stated that that is what I charge. If they feel that the work involved was worth less than that, simply pay me what you feel it's worth to you. Often they would pay the full price (most of it was 15 minute jobs so they weren't too hard to part with $50). Sometimes they would pay half, and even one time I got totally stiffed. Fact is, going that route, you have a customer who is satisfied and only pays for what they are satisfied with. If I don't take care of someones problem I can't justify charging him up the wazoo, and still expect to be respected.

C) a simple "Thank you"

D) $50/hr + milage @ $0.35/mi + parts + s/h + expenses (lunch break, let the customer buy your food, yeah it seems cheap, but you're working for him)


As for item B, that wan't building computers, that was fixing somebody elses screwups. That requires more money just to buy the advil for afterwards.

Since you said friend, go with option C.

-Jeff
 
For friends, I charge for lunch, though gestures of appreciation will be accepted.

For total strangers or people I really don't know, cost varies on what kind of problems they have. Generally, I just get simple stuff like "Why is this <blah blah> happening?" and I just give them help. If I have to start cracking open cases and messing with software and hardware, then I start charging my $10+ depending on severity.

Since few people in my family use computers, don't really have a problem there. Two of my cousins are computer whizzes themselves, so they can help themselves.
 
I'll usually charge 120 or so, depending on how close they are, and how likely they are to mess it up. Remeber, you're the MFR in their mind, so you're the tech support. And dont expect to get paid for tech support. If this is a friend, that means tech support for the life of the computer, not some reasonable time.

I'd take the 200 he's offering, but with that be sure to do a standup job, especially with securing it (there have been ALOT of MS patches, make sure you install all of them) and tech support. That doesn't just mean when he asks you to - when you are over and he's palying Half-Life in software mode, you should be there configure it and show him how to do it for future games (im sorry, but when i see people with fairly new computers playing half-life in software mode, it just bothers me).
 
^^^

I agree with Mojo - if you're gonna be his tech support, I think $200 is reasonable. It'd still be cheaper than him having to go through retail computer help like CompUSA and Best Buy, who charge some incredibly outrageous prices.
 
zandor said:
I haven't had this problem, but if I did I know exactly what sort of labor swap deal I'd be looking to make...

Box is dead? Sure, I'll fix it. Just bring it over.
later...
Ok, here's a mop. Sponges, cleansers and the vacuum are in the closet, and the toilet brush is next to the throne... I'll go get started on your computer.
Click to expand...

I like how you think....you're hired! :D
 
BillLeeLee said:
^^^

I agree with Mojo - if you're gonna be his tech support, I think $200 is reasonable. It'd still be cheaper than him having to go through retail computer help like CompUSA and Best Buy, who charge some incredibly outrageous prices.
Click to expand...


Dell tech support is kick ass. Most of them may be idiots, but there free to talk to, and sometimes you can have really great converstaions with them :D
 
Haha. This will probably surprise you all. I've actually been competing with *Dell* in this. I am offering him a complete *secure* and *guaranteed* working build. His PC will never crash (unless I find it's user error) and the likes. If it did, it'd be on me. It doesn't matter however. I'm getting all the brand name components: AMD, Antec, Western Digital, Corsair, etc. And you know, I've done *research* on all of these on the "what should I get for a basic PC". That has costed me some good hours and I've also tried proving him of how my build is cheaper and even quality-better than Dell's own PC's for a comparable system. That took me a long while to even compile a list for him. Consider that a couple of hours gone that I can't take back (but I do have to admit, I do enjoy the aspects of researching, building, etc). Now, here's what I stated to him-- I'm offering you lifetime warranty. Yes, lifetime. I'm all his, basically. I'm not a Dell technician which should say a lot-- I'm definitely not as incompetent as them. ;) Seriously though, I'd be doing all the RMA'ing, repairing, setting up, etc. In fact, I'm going to install Windows XP Pro on his PC (alongside with the patches and the hardware drivers) *and* not only that, install all the core apps that he needed (he has all his legit programs and I have some of mine I'm lending to him), and not only that-- tweak his computer out (not overclock but software tweaking such as Windows XP tweaking). That will take a damn good couple of hours to do so. I do this because he is actually my close best friend who I know isn't exactly that dumb with the PC. He hasn't had a problem with his own older PC's in a few months straight (still good for a 'n00b' anyway). I'm also going to set up anti-virus progs (Norton) and the anti-spyware programs (Spybot, etc) and have it all task-scheduled within a batch file. Now, tell me that isn't worth a *thank you*. I definitely want something out of this. Dell doesn't even go anywhere NEAR this kind of service and heads up, he's still saving $200 dollars while outperforming a comparable Dell PC as well (well 5~%, margin of error, give or take-- who cares haha). :p So, what should I charge him? I was thinking that straight $100 dollars but then I realized I'm doing *too much* for him...

What should it be then? I actually want to give him an honest fair price (alongside with a 'friends discount' tagged on).

-J.

Edit: When I say he's saving 200 dollars-- well that's basically without the labor charge. So example: Dell PC = 800 (labor included not shipping). My build = 600 (labor excluded, shipping included). So, even if he ends up paying me 200 dollars for labor, it'd end up equal to that PC *PLUS* better components *PLUS* super f*cking ridiculously I-Love-Teh-Customer tech support/service...
 
GeForceX said:
His PC will never crash (unless I find it's user error) and the likes. If it did, it'd be on me.
Click to expand...
....let's file this one under "SILO" (self-induced-learning-opportunity) and call it good.

My friend, you have a lot to learn....and no kidding, I wish you the very best of luck as you'll need it..... :rolleyes:

Regards - B.B.S.
 
I go on a "tip" system. People can pay me what they feel is necessary.

However, I only build systems for friends who are COMPUTER LITERATE. Even better, I involve them in the process. I let them see what kind of work it is.

I make it clear that I only help with hardware problems. If their memory is crap, then I'll RMA it for them (they pay shipping). Fortunately, I usually buy good quality stuff (ASUS and Antec are good bets), and it rarely has problems.

If they can install an AGP card without reading instructions, build them a PC. They won't call you for trivial problems. If, however, they can't figure out how to open the case, then they should be getting a Dell or HP. Better yet, get them one of those $400 packages with printer and monitor.

The modern HP Pavilion (and identical Compaq Presario) systems are excellent inside. Pretty nice case layout (thumbscrews even), micro ATX board, standard (if underpowerd) power supply. The boards are produced by ASUS, the CPU is Intel or AMD, and the chipset is Intel or NVIDIA. You can't really go wrong. The fans are standard Delta 80mm fans, the heatsink is a standard Cooler Master heatsink. You can replace any part pretty easily if it breaks.

HP systems are really just whitebox PCs. I'm honestly impressed - they are the kind of machine I would build if I were going for a low-cost system.

Dells are a bit more proprietary. The power supplies (at least on some models) are nonstandard, the motherboards are an odd shape, the cases have a wierd butterfly design, and the heatsinks are nonstandard. They also use 92mm fans in many cases, with proprietary connectors.
 
GeForceX said:
This is rather a curious post. What is the average *labor* costs (like service per hour) you charge for building a new computer for a client? EXCLUDING THE MAIN PRICING OF THE COMPONENTS. Is it done by hourly rates or is it done by a flat one-time rate? I am going to build one for a "CLIENT" (a.k.a. friend ahem). While I do not want to charge him the IT-LEVEL PRICES, I'd like to know the actual prices so I don't actually rip him off (LOL WTF?). He's willing to pay me around $200 dollars in *labor* costs on top of a spanking $600-ish computer all custom built. Wouldn't that be an amazing price (I am YOUNG, I consider $200 a lot). So, please do leave your inputs on how much you charge honestly. Thank you very much! :)

-J.
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I charge $100.00 flat for system building. I really enjoy building computers. I don't think $200.00 is to much thought.
Don't try to make money building PC's "it wont happen" your money comes from repairing, training, upgrading, ETC. Let OEM's like "Dell and HP" screw things up and you fix them. That way you don't take blam for building a wreck. :D
 
BlindedByScience said:
....let's file this one under "SILO" (self-induced-learning-opportunity) and call it good.

My friend, you have a lot to learn....and no kidding, I wish you the very best of luck as you'll need it..... :rolleyes:

Regards - B.B.S.
Click to expand...

That was a pretty stuck up statement you just said. What, you didn't know it was possible? I actually was just trying to convince him that I am going to build a stable PC for him. And I can. I've built my own computers that haven't even crashed in even six months. Hell, I don't even remember when any of 'em crashed. So, don't put your "horrible crashing" experience onto me. ;)

-J.
 
It all depends on what services they want. Family is always for free. Friend who don't have lots of money and are respectful of my time, always free. The rest of my friends it goes something like this.

$100 base fee

$100 plus the cost of supplies if you want a window, glowy stuff or other case mods. Also, If I'm not confortable with my skill level of the mod I tell them so, if they still want me to do it I have them sign something saying if I screw up they do not get reimbursed. Watercooling is an additional fee, since it takes awhile, but I overclock for free. Most of the time, I do watercooling for free, since I'm not confortable with it yet. Case skins also extra since they take a LONG time to put on without any bubbles.

$75 overclocker's fee, depending on their hardware. For this I overclock their machine to the max I can, and run 72 hr stability tests.

$50 if they want me to spend time tweaking windows and ridding them of Messenger, running windows update and other patching. Add 25-50 if they want me to configure the antivirus and firewall and teach them how to do it themselves.

$Hourly labor if they want me to do it quickly. I don't do this professionally, and my little college apt only has enough from for A. my books on the floor or B. my dremel and other tools lying about. Not both. If they want me to drop most things (dates, screw around time, relaxation...I refuse to drop education), they have to pay for it.

For any system I build under these rules I provide free technical support on an "I'm happy to help you as long as I'm not doing anything school or woman related" basis. If they call me when I'm trying to have a nice quiet evening with my girlfriend, then I start charging for inconvieience.

This may seem harsh, but to show I'm not a total asshole I'll put it in perspective. I've built 5 systems in the last 6 months or so. 2 were totally free, 1 I cut my price in half because I learned something new in the process, and 2 incurred "annoyance" charges for rushing me. :)
 
That was a pretty stuck up statement you just said. What, you didn't know it was possible? I actually was just trying to convince him that I am going to build a stable PC for him. And I can. I've built my own computers that haven't even crashed in even six months. Hell, I don't even remember when any of 'em crashed. So, don't put your "horrible crashing" experience onto me.
Click to expand...

No it wasn't stuckup, and you do have a lot to learn because no one can make those kind of guarantees.


And I charge 50$ and hour if I get talked into doing some work. Family free ofcourse.
 
I know I can't make the guarantee but it was to convince him to trust me into doing it. However, I do intend to test it 24/7 (burn-in tests, etc) and if there's no crash or anything-- that's certainly guaranteed ('til I give it to him, that is). :)

Xaeos-- that's a pretty good idea actually. Nice "services" you got.

-J.
 
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