Tonsk 0 Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 Well - Over 2/3rds the way through the year, so I thought it may be interesting to discover what an average charge is for this year. I am also going to post an average charge for next year, as I know my prices have gone up and it would be interesting to know how others have.... Feel free to explain why you have selected the option you have... I selected £201-£250 this year - As most of mine are £225... What about you? The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
Mattaious 0 Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 i selected 151-200 as most of mine worked out around 180-185 Link to post Share on other sites
NRG Roadshow 0 Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 I selected £201-£250 My normal non-wedding price would be £175. My price for a wedding would fall into the £201-£250 mark. Why is it dearer? Well because I make a lot more effort with making sure a wedding disco is right for the customer and I include a home visit with that price too. Link to post Share on other sites
Tonsk 0 Posted September 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 Why is it dearer? Well because I make a lot more effort with making sure a wedding disco is right for the customer and I include a home visit with that price too. Thanks for letting us know - Anyone else? Lots of votes, but no comments on why. Taking mine a little further, my average is £225 - This is up on the average of £190 that I had last year - Again main reasons why I charged £35+ more this year is because I really think I am worth it... I started off worrying that I didnt have a very full diary, so started doing a couple at £185-£200 - then the phone and website went ballistic so I put the price up as there is only one of me - If people want me, they will pay the price - or the next person will... Supply and demand..... The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
spinner 0 Posted September 6, 2007 Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 I voted £401-£500. 99.9% of mine are weddings. Link to post Share on other sites
Tonsk 0 Posted September 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 So - Anyone like to share how much they charged last year and why they charged more, less or the same this year? The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
Dream Catchers 0 Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 £180 last year £200 this year. Reasons, mainly inflation I suppose. Jim Link to post Share on other sites
Tonsk 0 Posted September 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 £180 last year £200 this year. Reasons, mainly inflation I suppose. Jim Inflation? Does it really cost an extra £20 for your function? I know petrol went up, but tyre prices, wheels, cars, vans etc are mainly very similar to last year.. Equally, the cost of a lot of our equipment is falling or the same as last year... Plus you already own a lot of the music used so with the cost of CDs and downloads the same it wouldn't be them.... So I don't figure why inflation plays a large part.. Not knocking, just wanting to check, as I used to say inflation for my yearly rises, but then realised that wasn't 100% true... In my daytime job, I received a payrise this year that worked out at about £90 a month, so if I based my prices similarly, then I should've only charged £22.50 ish or less instead of £35. The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
Dukesy 0 Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 Not intending to be picky, but is an increase of £20.00 per year really that bad? :shrug: What about the cost of living? Has it gone up? If not, then you can be sure there is a rise in interest rates with possibly more to come, according to the experts. This can put pressure on the employers to increase wages and further interest rises! Interest rose to its highest level in 15 years in January this year! Has there been rises in mortgages? Well, over-stretched home owners seem to be struggling to pay their mortgages! Repossessions have indeed increased and the C.A.B. are working overtime with debt advice! There was a sharp rise in utility rates last year but the companies were leaned on which resulted in more recent price cuts. How does food pricing compare to our European neighbours year-on-year? Do local authority rates stay exactly the same or are they spiralling? Hey! Remember Sylvia Hardy who was sent to prison for refusing to pay her tax bill in 2005?! When you consider that, for example, whilst the discount incentives to join or switch insurance providers are abundant, the vehicle insurance companies do not appear to be getting cheaper. And does fuel appear to be getting cheaper? What price can be put on professionalism from one service to another? Personally, I see no problem with a consistent increase every year to take in year-on-year considerations but believe that potential clients might notice a price hike from a £200 to £300+ for the very same service as last year, increased because someone merely now believes they are worth it! Are we as service providers really perceived to be over charging, all driving around in Bentley's like Smithy?! BTW - When are you going to take me up for a flight Smithy in your private jet? tongue out icon Link to post Share on other sites
spinner 0 Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 My price rises are partly inflation, partly because I can and partly to be more than other local providers. Link to post Share on other sites
Tonsk 0 Posted September 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 Dukesy, I am in no way saying £20 price rises are wrong - Infact I put my prices up by a lot more than that, I am just wondering if saying inflation isn't a proper reason... If you say, like Spinner, because I can then that makes a lot more sense. As I said, there is only one of us, so we can only undertake one function an evening - So immediately, there is a good reason for a price increase, ie supply and demand... The more years you work, technically, the better you should be at that work. So putting this into discos, you can charge more because your functions should be better than last year, whether it be equipment upgrades, more music, a better understanding of a certain genre, whatever.... So word of mouth means more bookings - but with only one of you, prices have to go up.... That was the query behind my question - Why do you charge more... If the answer is as simple as you want to, fine - but my thoughts were "is there anything special or different about what you do this year compared to last year?" Apologies if my last post seemed antagonistic, it was meant to trigger peoples thoughts to why. The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
Dream Catchers 0 Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 I think inflation is correct. Inflation isn't purely the rate that the BOE quote, there are many forms. Houses go up by one rate, cars by another and the cost of Hollands Pies stays the same. The charge for a mobile disco has gone up around here by about 10%, so that is inflation. If I had put my prices up by £30 then I would probably have said inflation and because I'm worth it. This does beg another question, do I not think I am worth an extra £10 since last year?, yes I do, but then my prices would have gone up more than inflation and you then get the "I dont want to pay more than £x" clients that simply wont bother with you, and we all know £210 is an awful lot more than £200. Maybe I should charge £199 as that is mentally £100 cheaper than £200. Jim Link to post Share on other sites
wizard 0 Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 £250 + which is £25 up on last year...............why ?? dunno but the bookings keep coming in. So it's going up again next year. have noticed tho' the more you charge the better class of gig you get !! ( to a certain extent) The oldest swinger in town....... probably. Happy Easter.. well I have seen easter eggs in the shops Link to post Share on other sites
Tonsk 0 Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 have noticed tho' the more you charge the better class of gig you get !! ( to a certain extent) I do tend to agree - Although especially more with weddings as birthdays sometimes are a little "iffy".. The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
Norfolk DJ 0 Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 £250 + have noticed tho' the more you charge the better class of gig you get !! ( to a certain extent) I agree also on that one, but also as Tonks said, birthday parties can be iffy Link to post Share on other sites
Tonsk 0 Posted October 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 So, so far the majority are £151-£200... Scarey, considering that means: 1. We are about the same (if not a little less) as a Toastmaster 2. We are almost definately the cheapest thing at someones weddings 3. We cost less than a Chocolate Fountain.. Depressing really..... The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Smith 0 Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 3. We cost less than a Chocolate Fountain.. and the cake, chair covers, flowers, favours ..... 2. We are almost definately the cheapest thing at someones weddings As an industry we only have ourselves to blame. Some do manage to achieve realistic rates though - others still need convincing that they are worth more smile icon Link to post Share on other sites
Revelationroadshow 0 Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 So, so far the majority are £151-£200... Scarey, considering that means: 1. We are about the same (if not a little less) as a Toastmaster 2. We are almost definately the cheapest thing at someones weddings 3. We cost less than a Chocolate Fountain.. Depressing really..... And guess what I'll be running tonight! Well, I'll be employed by the wife! £151 - £200 really really is scary! It would be interesting to run a poll to see how much we THINK we are worth and compare that to what we actually charge! I voted for the £251 - £300 mark. Although it would have been a lot less a year ago. How so? Because I have spent this year re-branding and pushing myself into the "what I'm worth" bracket. The show, interestingly, has become smaller with less flamboyant lighting - LED PAR's, Datamoons mainly. Customer choice has dramatically increased - last wedding came complete with 4.5 hours of music! I can't justify an increase of £50 - £75 on my bottom line simply because of year on year, this is quite simply me re-branding and pushing my market. Certainly scary at first, but this year is filling up very nicely and next year, WOW! I have to add to this that I also offer other services to my clients - microphones for speaches, background music, confettee, and so on - more along the "what can we do for you / what would make your wedding perfect" lines though, so next year has some £400 - £600 bookings in it, but that's just the start I think. It really is frightening to think that there are show's that charge so much less - good for you, it's your call, your business and I am certainly not critisising you. And as for the Chocolate fountain, £450 gets you a fountain, chocolate and dips for 3 hours - God I wish I had thought of that! <a href="http://www.djassociates.org"><img src="http://www.djassociates.org/anims/compres_banner.gif" alt="Join the DJ Associates Disc Jockey Association" border="0" width="468" height="60"></a> Link to post Share on other sites
zanzibar2 0 Posted October 17, 2007 Report Share Posted October 17, 2007 You have to be careful not to price yourself out of the market....and not to sell yourself too cheap. Its about getting the balance right. Before I moved to Suffolk 5 years ago I was an established DJ in Oxfordshire...but it took 10 years to build my reputation. The stage (excuse pun) you want to reach is when a punter wants to book you before they ask How Much?. That was where I was at. I've noticed on this forum there are quite a few DJ's who dont advertise. So they get their bookings as in-house DJ's, referrals or the 3 magic words that money cant buy... Word of Mouth. I'm envious of you guys - and you know who you are :ads: . Now we are in Suffolk, we have to advertise coz nobody knows who we are...yet. We are choosy when we pitch. If we dont want the gig we'll price it out and not bother with the sell. But if we want it then thats where the sell starts. If you believe in yourself then you'll get success. If you have a rig you're proud of it will show to the clientelle. This forum is so right in its advice... Invest in your sound system and music collection before anything else. If the sound is dodgy to me then others must notice it aswell. So we make sure we provide a set that we would enjoy if we were the punter. I have voted £151 - £200 because we are not established enough to charge more and dont have the luxury of been a brand name. And we need to work to pay for the gear....simple as that Cheers l8r Zanzibar Criminal Record Checked £2 Million Public Liability Insured Link to post Share on other sites
Norfolk DJ 0 Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Zanzibar, you are in a different market place in Norfolk & Suffolk. Most local agents are locked into the major hotels at £180-£200, then take their commission, leaving you with £150. People also earn a bit less here, and I think that you will be able to increase your price a bit in time, but I think that people here won't pay above £225 unless you are offering a very different package. Rob Link to post Share on other sites
zanzibar2 0 Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Hi Rob When we started we tried pitching the pubs in Ipswich and got bookings with a couple and we got about £80 - £100 per event. These places were dumps..I mean the dregs, located in the suberbs of Ipswich. We used them to gain experience, especially for my son and it was invlauable to him....but we lost them to DJ's charging £50 a night. There was no way we were going to lug the gear around, set-up and perform for 31/2 hours for that. An ideal scenario would be to get into the town pubs / hotels but its hard to convince a Landlord that you're better than their established DJ if they think they're ok. We like to think we've got quality gear (just invested in a pair of Intimidation Bass Bins) so we price ourselves on what we think we are worth. Are you in Yellow Pages? Cheers John Criminal Record Checked £2 Million Public Liability Insured Link to post Share on other sites
robbiedj 0 Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 We are choosy when we pitch. If we dont want the gig we'll price it out and not bother with the sell. But if we want it then thats where the sell starts. I do that, but a few times, like when I well over priced a birthday in west London because of the hassel in crossing central London around 5pm on a Saturday. They accepted the quote straight away! I had to take it. tongue out icon You want me to play what? Secretary of NADJ, Member of SEDA Magic Moments.. making your moment magic Link to post Share on other sites
Tonsk 0 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Hi John (Zanzibar) I'm not in the YP and nor is Norfolk DJ, other than the free 1 liners.... The YP round here just gets the How Much calls - There are those wishing to pay the price we want, but they don't seem to be the YP customers... Although a lot of us in all areas have discovered this about YP... The Right Music - based in Norwich and covering all Norfolk and Suffolk Link to post Share on other sites
Norfolk DJ 0 Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Tonsk is right, YP tends to be people trying to save £5, might be different now or course. Link to post Share on other sites
zanzibar2 0 Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 So do most Dj's on here work 'in-house'? If you're not in YP you must be well established to get the work..? We are well placed in YP (at the beginning) and still dont get a vast amount of calls. Although when we do get calls we get the ones who say "How Much?!" So I'm with you Tonsk on that one. We are getting well known for 18ths though :Thumbup: L8r Criminal Record Checked £2 Million Public Liability Insured Link to post Share on other sites
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