£15 Shellac/gel polish the norm?

[Sharan]

Hi geeks

Everyone around me seems to be doing shellac/gel polish mani/pedis for £15 each, not on offer, but their usual price. Has this now become the norm?

I've always charged £25 and was comparative to local salons, but recently there has been an influx of home salons charging £15 and their work is GOOD and comes highly recommended (as does mine, I'm just dearer) and can offer better variety of nail art, but not everyone wants art.

I can't make a decent profit @ £15 as I use the full CND system for a shellac manicure. Clients don't seem to care about products and whether I use a full system or not. Yes they're impressed everything is CND, plus I have a nice little set up and I do good sets of nails that last really well, but if someone else is offering a similar service, but cheaper, why would they come to me?! .

I've lost some clients to cheaper nail techs and they are not coming back!

 

[krum]

If your clients don't care about the brand then maybe go for a cheaper system. Speak to them about it.
Some clients care about it being shellac or Gelish but most don't. If you gain more customers and have a better profit margin using a lower cost but professional, high quality system then maybe consider it.

 

[Beauty4all]

There are some talented Shellac (and well known) people charging £15-£20. Those I know of, are fully booked months in advance and do beautiful artwork aswell! However, I have noticed that some charge more for removal and re-do i.e. £10 - £12.
I am just average and charge £23 and free removal if re-done. If I was doing just Nails, then I think I would struggle to compete with £15 but I do use the full CND system and wouldn't compromise that personally. I think it looks professional and certainly helps retailing. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you .

 

[noreenoconnor]

Look into cost per service for a shellac service vs an alternative brand.

Although the bottles may appear cheaper initially i'm sure that you will find the cost per service will not be greater than a £1 ,
How does that make sense to then take £10 off your price even though its going to take you the same amount of time?

These other techs can't be making much money out of their services either so I would focus on your unique selling points. You use a premium brand so market this, show the differences such as easy removal , kind to nails etc.

Are these other techs cutting corners, at £15 maybe they don't do a full cuticle work and you do etc

Could you become a CND Master Painter and shout this from the roof tops to show your have a greater skill level etc? Doing this course would also include a lot of quick, simple , and most importantly cost effective , nail art designs that may help you gain more clientele

 

[DebzBeauty]

Unfortunately there are always going to undercut you...I get it around my area all the time. I charge £25 too (unless I'm doing a special offer for a short period of time) but I think that's good value as I'm mobile, so they are saving in a way by not having to use petrol to get to me. I'm sure you will get regulars who value your work. Those who go for cheap, don't always get the quality they should but they probably don't care. Do you do loyalty cards? They are good to keep/gain new clients. All the best x

 

[Stook]

Where I am, there's a woman offering Shellac for £10.00

I was worried to start with but the few clients who openly went to see her (whilst I was in a 3 week holiday) came back preferring my service - despite it costing £20.00.

I talk to my clients as I perform the service - gently reminding them that all my products are part of the full system of whatever I'm applying (I offer Shellac and Gel II). I talk to them about the benefits of each product and because I'm reasonably new, I currently offer all my clients free removal IF I've applied their polish. If someone else has applied it then there is a charge incurred obviously. It seems this sinks in and the clients who did try the other tec all mentioned how her prep products weren't CND.

I also offer new clients an oil pinkie and an aftercare sheet. I find this approach has enduced a lot of customer loyalty as clients feel they're getting full value. I also find that many have come from other salons who have offered little advice on aftercare and nothing in the way of oil - either purchased by the client or given away.

Final thing is that after asking around, it became obvious that not very many local salons were offering nail art so I'm practicing every spare minute I get. My clients love going away with stamping glitter or a small but simple hand painted design.

 

[Stook]

Oh and I offer a loyalty scheme where every 8th treatment is half price. Old hat but clients seem to love it x

 

[Misstoniilou]

These sorts of things happen in most industries and some clients will come and go. Its hardly ever anything personal.

Nail services is the third industry i've worked in. Horses being the first - I can't tell you how many arguments i've had with people over whatever latest idiotic 'tip' dodgy dave has given them, or how many bad habits ive had to correct because people have gone for the cheaper option and the second being promotional work - and again there, there were cheaper companies than the one i worked for, Yet we always had work, because we were smart and professional and we got on with it without causing trouble. The clients appreciated that, and the smaller things like having a uniform etc, so they instantly knew who we were workig for, instead of ttrying to track down some random girl dressed like every other girl you see on a friday night in a club.

Anyway i'm rambling but my point is, dont let it get to you.

 

[krum]

I don't think charging £15 for a cheaper system is undercutting though.
Now if they were charging so little they made no profit just to nick customers or they were using a non pro brand then that'd be dirty undercutting but someone simply charging what they have worked out is a good price for them with their product and still making them money I don't think they should be looked down on.
Not everyone wants shellac and Gelish and not all clients can afford 25 pounds per 2 weeks. There's room for all different price ranges depending on the price of different products and clientele.
What ruins it is people deliberately undercutting to client steal, cutting corners to the detriment of nail health, being NSS and using non professional or unsafe products (bluesky, MMA etc).

 

[MrsBB2013]

I use ibd just gel polish and charge £18 with free removal if I put it on, and they are having another set back on. I am salon based, and thought it was a reasonable price. I might look to increase at some point, but I am in a new salon so just gaining customers. Also I think where you live makes a difference. Generally everything in the south is a little more expensive, and if you are in an affluent area, posh salon etc I would charge more since people will pay. Under the £20 mark seemed reasonable for my area of Yorkshire. I also don't use all of the products from the brand, the solution I use to wipe of the tacky layer is cheaper but does the job perfectly well this helps keep costs per set down x