Pricing Update
Why the pricing change? It comes down to this - I can’t use industry pricing standards anymore because I’m not doing industry standard work. I often spend way too long on a flute to bring it to my standards, and then as a result, staying in business becomes very difficult. But I also want to stay somewhat affordable. So here’s what I’ve come up with: a way to allow me to obsess over your flute, still stay in business, AND bring you the highest quality work your money can buy.
Let's talk about COAs. Most places charge a flat rate and say it includes up to 3 hours of work.
A flat rate for a COA isn’t fair to anyone. Not to you, not to me. And, for the record, I think I've done a COA to my standards in under 3 hours...maybe twice?
But, say you’ve got a unicorn of a flute, and it only takes 2 hours, and I’m satisfied that it sounds amazing. Why should you pay the same as someone who’s got a flute that needs 8 hours of work? And, if your flute needs 10 hours of work the first time I see it, but a more average 5ish hours the second time I see it, why should you pay the same amount both times?
And for my part, in order to stay in business, I need to be assured that I can make a reasonable amount of money for my time and expertise, even when things run longer than expected.
Here’s my creative solution:
For the first few hours, I charge the lowest industry standard price of $90/hour. That’s enough for me to run my business, pay for benefits, and get some time off so I can stay healthy and available for you. As the job stretches longer, my hourly rate drops. That way, if your flute needs 11 hours of my attention, you’re not paying $90 for all eleven of those hours, but I still get to eat something other than ramen noodles (which I do enjoy, but, ya know…) while chasing every detail on your flute to give you the same Boundless Flute standards you love.
For example:
My average COA length is 4-7 hours. If your COA takes 5 hours, the total comes to $419 - about $30 more than it would under the old pricing, and still less than other places doing 3 hour COAs, with the benefit of having had almost twice as much time spent on it. Your flute sounds better, and you’re getting a deal, and we get to keep Boundless Flute around!
Say your COA takes 8 hours, though. At that point, it will be more, around $622. But, that’s almost 3 industry-standard COAs, for only about 1.5 times the cost. And, I still make enough to stick around and make your flute gorgeous again next year.
You win every time here because as the COA takes longer, I make less every hour, down to about $24 during the last hour. So, I’m motivated to finish yours quickly enough to start a new COA, where I start off at $90 in the first hour again. But, I’m also winning because I’m making enough over the entire job that if your flute truly needs some real love, I can afford to give it that. Hooray!
Here’s a breakdown of potential costs for you and an illustration of how my rate falls during each hour. The green rows are the most likely outcomes for an average COA on a flute that I’ve seen before:
Let's talk about COAs. Most places charge a flat rate and say it includes up to 3 hours of work.
A flat rate for a COA isn’t fair to anyone. Not to you, not to me. And, for the record, I think I've done a COA to my standards in under 3 hours...maybe twice?
But, say you’ve got a unicorn of a flute, and it only takes 2 hours, and I’m satisfied that it sounds amazing. Why should you pay the same as someone who’s got a flute that needs 8 hours of work? And, if your flute needs 10 hours of work the first time I see it, but a more average 5ish hours the second time I see it, why should you pay the same amount both times?
And for my part, in order to stay in business, I need to be assured that I can make a reasonable amount of money for my time and expertise, even when things run longer than expected.
Here’s my creative solution:
For the first few hours, I charge the lowest industry standard price of $90/hour. That’s enough for me to run my business, pay for benefits, and get some time off so I can stay healthy and available for you. As the job stretches longer, my hourly rate drops. That way, if your flute needs 11 hours of my attention, you’re not paying $90 for all eleven of those hours, but I still get to eat something other than ramen noodles (which I do enjoy, but, ya know…) while chasing every detail on your flute to give you the same Boundless Flute standards you love.
For example:
My average COA length is 4-7 hours. If your COA takes 5 hours, the total comes to $419 - about $30 more than it would under the old pricing, and still less than other places doing 3 hour COAs, with the benefit of having had almost twice as much time spent on it. Your flute sounds better, and you’re getting a deal, and we get to keep Boundless Flute around!
Say your COA takes 8 hours, though. At that point, it will be more, around $622. But, that’s almost 3 industry-standard COAs, for only about 1.5 times the cost. And, I still make enough to stick around and make your flute gorgeous again next year.
You win every time here because as the COA takes longer, I make less every hour, down to about $24 during the last hour. So, I’m motivated to finish yours quickly enough to start a new COA, where I start off at $90 in the first hour again. But, I’m also winning because I’m making enough over the entire job that if your flute truly needs some real love, I can afford to give it that. Hooray!
Here’s a breakdown of potential costs for you and an illustration of how my rate falls during each hour. The green rows are the most likely outcomes for an average COA on a flute that I’ve seen before:
Overhauls and repads will work on a similar structure, but those tasks actually put me about where I already was in terms of pricing - just with, once again, the flexibility for me to go longer if a flute really needs it, without putting myself out of business, and the ability to save you a little if your flute is a well-behaved unicorn. Yellow is typical repad time, green is typical overhaul time, though there is crossover and the possibility of either being longer or shorter than average.
