Well, I charge $80 per hour. However, with the occasional “tough dogs”, I limit
the repair cost at an upper amount, based on the radio. In the case of an Omni
6 or similar, that limit is $250. Orion’s (and similar) are a bit higher.
My reasoning is that, first, I have maybe 2 - 3 hours invested. Completing the
repair ensures that I will at least get paid for that time, even if I need to
use more than $250 for the repair. Often, as was the case with this radio, I
learn something that will pay off on the next similar radio.
Secondly, I hope that most of my repairs do not even take an hour but the
repair minimum of $80 ($150 for an Orion or similar) makes the effort worth my
time. Like buying and selling, if the overall average yield fails to meet my
expectations, I will simply stop doing it.
73
Gary
> On Sep 6, 2018, at 11:11 AM, Bob McGraw K4TAX <rmcgraw@blomand.net> wrote:
>
> I just received a quote from a company regarding repair. Diagnostic fee $250
> and $135 / hr. If I have the unit repaired the diagnostic fee would be
> applied to the repair. In any even, I'm spending a minimum of $250 plus
> shipping both ways.
>
> Yes I understand the warranty repair issue. However, if it had not been
> warranty, how much would be charged? Frankly for ham radio repairs today,
> considering time and test equipment required and space allocation, $135 is a
> reasonable rate. The days of $35 / hour are long gone. Folks, get over it!
> Now you know why I no longer repair ham equipment.
>
> 73
>
> Bob, K4TAX
>
>
>
> On 9/6/2018 11:05 AM, MadScientist wrote:
>> Well I certainly did not charge the customer for the added time - it was a
>> warranty repair.
>>
>> I also learned from the experience so, to some extent, it was worth the time
>> spent.
>>
>> I WISH I could get people to pay me $135 per hour for this relatively rare
>> level of repair expertise.
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Gary
>>
>>> On Sep 6, 2018, at 10:46 AM, Bob McGraw K4TAX <rmcgraw@blomand.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Gary:
>>>
>>> I most likely can't count or recall the times I have asked the question;
>>> "why do you think the radio needs alignment?" If a component has been
>>> replaced, well then......... maybe. Just to "do it" to be "doing it" is
>>> an invitation to introduce an issue or issues which did not originally
>>> exist. Bad idea from the start.
>>>
>>> I commend you for your good trouble shooting on your part. Hope your
>>> customer was very understanding. And with your time and effort, at normal
>>> billing rates, the radio was, frankly, not likely worth repairing. Now
>>> for those of you that may not agree, if billing rate is $135/hour and at 8
>>> hrs, that's $1080 plus shipping. Nah, the radio working is great OK, but
>>> not working, nah, not worth it. Repairing old radios must be done solely
>>> for the "LOVE" of the radio, not from a practical or business point of
>>> view. That's one of the reasons I no longer repair radios. As my friend
>>> TIM says: "Time Is Money".
>>>
>>> Glad there is still someone that can and is able to repair these older
>>> radios. With the prices of new radios falling and the ones being
>>> introduced into the market, any form of repair is largely out of the
>>> realistic realm of practicality . Sad, but I think we'll see more and
>>> more of this.
>>>
>>> 73
>>>
>>> Bob, K4TAX
>>>
>>>
>>>
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