Hi all

A customer from before phoned me as a friend wants a dj for her 16th bday party!! aparently her original dj let them down so they phoned me!!

She wants a disco between 7.30 and 1am and i said £180 is that too expensive do u think? I havent heard nothing yet but she said that there budget was tight!!

Just wanted to know ur thoughts

For those of u who dont know where im from its Berkshire!! About 15min from windsor castle to be exact lol

Cheers

Rick

Not expensive for your area at all

So so difficult to price each others gigs.......... however knowing the area, price of houses etc (came up on another thread again) I reckon that is well reasonable!

Personally even this side of London I would have priced it higher than that till 12 !!!

Spin

Only you can really answer the question, depending on 'normal' prices, the venue etc, I'd be happy with £180, so would CP, but we are in different areas

Rick... as you know, I know berkshire very well, windsor/sloug/ surrounding areas.... you are far too cheap... wonder why the original dj let her down? cos a gig in that area from 7.30 - 1.am should be at least in the region of £300. Dont take the age into consideration either, if they want adult hours then they should be prepared to pay adult prices!

If you are happy doing it for 180 fine...

Like Karen said - if they had already booked a D.J, as they have made out, then they would have probably charged the local rate, which Kaz says is roughly £300.

Of course, they may have booked a cowboy for £100, in which case its proven to be false economy (he's let them down!). If she gets back to you, and pulls her face over the price, point out that, you will put the details in writing to her, and turn up for the Gig! . Chances are, she's ringing around now and getting quotes of £250 - £300 in which case she'll think your show is a bargain. It could of course, also backfire on you, if she thinks you are too cheap, then she may class you as a cowboy yourself and not get back in touch.

Dream? No you must aspire to those sort of fees!.... I reckon I could come up with something that you could do to add a little extra to your show to pull in the extra ££££££s......... but it may involve nudity!!

Ive seen the baby pics... you havent changed that much surely!

Hi all again

Right she still hasnt phoned back yet!! She knows im no cowboy as i played her last gig but this is for a friend

Yeah maybe im a bit cheap as u mention kazz but i wanna do a few more gigs before going up to the top prices etc!!

I thought that was quite a resonable price but there u go this gig might not happen!!

It was actually a call from the blue as i havent done any advertising for a while due to my back probs etc

Well maybe its time to get it up and running again soon as i might be changing departments @ work allowing me to do a far easier job in terms of not having to do much/any lifting!! Have to see what happens there

thanks for all ur responses again

Hi Rick - hope your back is better.

On 'cold quotations' from the Yellow Pages, I have to be flexible to get work because of competition. I'm happy with the service I provide for the fee I quote.
When 'clients' are hunting around for a 'cheap disco' and act 'alarmed' at the quotation - I explain the breakdown of the costs around their hours required, which reflects the certificates held (P.A.T. & P.L.I.), level of experience and portfolio, gear used, *member of djsunited, etc, etc, etc.

If you've caught up with the other recent forum posts on the arguments for a national fee structure, you would have read that the only 'agreed argument' was that entertainers will charge what they think they are worth.

If you are happy with your quoted rate and what you are going to earn - then it's fine!

For bookings which are specific between hours, say 7pm - 11pm or 10pm till 2am, then stick with a flat rate fee. (like your 'specific' hours you are going to do)

I normally charge a rate up till 12 midnight, and any time after that is overtime rate (unsocial hours).
(When I'm asked to quote a fee that has a finishing time of 11.30pm - the quote already covers it)
Because my fee covers till 12am Midnight, then, I can quote the 'overtime rate per hour' - which would reflect several considerations:

De-rig - how long to dismantle the disco gear
Venue - is it upstairs / has lift access or stairs, does it have easy access
Location - low, medium or high cost of living area
Time - how long will it take to get home from the gig

So based on just these considerations, my overtime rate will vary from quote to quote. In some cases, the overtime rate will be less than your main quote because you may be working close to home. But if you have to travel many miles, then of course, you can adjust accordingly.

Going back to the national fee structure - I would like to see a map of the UK where the highest quoted working-fee is listed. That should act as a benchmark of what to charge in different area's!!!!!!

*if the client wants me to suggest another DJ if I'm unavailable - I'll suggest someone from the forum I've contacted or used before.

To the original question...if you were seriously overpriced for your area...even your mate would have told you so.

If theres a question on the night about "You're much more expensive than -the other guy-" simply point out that YOU really do turn up! and thats the difference.

If you still need "ammo" (although Im sure you wont), point out that your prices give you just enough "cover" to maintain equipment regularly, replace old knackered gear when it needs it, and .... (pause for effect) means that you dont have to cancel bookings and let people down at the last minute for any reason.

I guess you know the answer to your original question by now but in case it didn't get through................
No you are not too expensive!
Cheers
Vinnie

Quite frankly a customer who is phoning around for quotes is usually the type that has an idea of what they are going to pay in their head already... and are not going to pay above that price... no matter what you say. In all honesty, when the customer considers that the price is the most important issue, then they are hardly gonna be interested in pat/pli now are they! On the odd occasion that I get a customer whose first question is "how much do you charge" I can almost guarantee that price outweighs performance.. and I dont get into conversations trying to justify my pricing.

work to a standard and not to a price !

For your area sounds cheap, but, if its short notice and you want a booking, then perhaps its ok,


We have a standard charge for the first 4 hours then add per additional hour, I taek into consideration any long distances for travel, and upstairs etc.

If though we havent got a booking, and time is short, I do bring it down a bit to try and secure it, on the principal that somethings better than nothing, we do have a minimum and will not leave the house for less, punters can take it or leave it, its not our main income and there is a point where ist just not worth loading setting up etc.