How did you decide on your pricing?

[number1kitty]

Just wondering how many of you decided what to charge. We were taught at college to get price lists from different salons, and charge an average. That stuck for years and I did just that.

However the beauty industry has changed sooooo much since I went to college. We have access to better education, far more advanced products which give results and we live in a society now where our services are highly in demand. So why then do we still charge similar prices if not less than years ago. Why?

Is it that demand for the services has driven down the price of products so we can charge less? Has competition meant we have had to be cheaper to draw in business? or are we undervaluing our worth?

I get asked so often by people I train what they should charge. Now thats always dependant on area and always will be. But some people when I make a suggestion grimace and tell me they can't charge that cause its xx more than her down the road - like who cares!

When they bite the bullet and listen to me and charge more they are shocked when they still get clients. . I charge nearly twice the average for a tan in my area and get clients paying this happily.

Every other industry raises prices annually with the RPI. Why don't we? If this was the case I reckon a set of nails would be about £50+ and a half leg wax £20 and a Facial £70+.

I went to a spa the other day to see some equipment and the spa manager sat there and worked out what she would charge by taking the cost of the treatment with the cost of staff and added on the profit per hour they need to make. Genius!

Do we then all undervalue ourselves or is it really all about competition? Does anyone think that if we as an industry raised our prices would those unscrupulous salons be forced out the closet. Would people see that we charge more and must be experts in our field? How many of us drink wine and do we all buy the cheapest bottle on the shelf?

Sorry to wittle on - Just wondered what your thoughts are?

Kate

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

I agree with everything you say here....I see my price list as a target a goal that I would realistically like to achieve when im turning out great sets..and when I have acheived this I will raise them further for sure....tbh my nails are ok but I know they aare not good enough to charge full whack just yet but I believe I have set out a price list that is about average for my area...but currently I give 20 % off those prices....as I progress and im hoping it doesnt take me too long - I will knock the 20 % on the head....ill charge the full prices for a while and then I will raise them considerably...I believe in myself and I believe I can achieve my goals.

I use the best products I can find and take the best training regularly as well as keeping in with 'the latest'...I wont scrimp on anything so if anyone wants to complain that they think im too expensive because betty down the road is cheaper and quicker I will tell them that my prices reflect my training and the products that I use etc etc.

So I decided on my prices by researching everyone in my area...everyone out of my area...everyone I admire on here etc and voila!...im not confident in my nails right now as just lately in particular ive had a fair few problems with breakages etc and yet im still charging more at my 20 % off rate than X Y and Z down the road whose full prices are less than mine...its tempting to think sometimes maybe I should lower my prices or everyone will just go the cheaper places and some may think me stupid but ive decided to stand my ground as I owe it myself not to downgrade myself..my nails..my products and the industry!........and yes hope for the best really!
Ive looked at so many prices on here and techs around my area etc...I love a good old frisk through someones price list lol and i get so angry when I see some of the ridiculously low prices some techs are charging...for example only today I was looking on the net and see a creative trained tech charging £22 for a set of nails...I felt like ringing her and saying WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! lol its ridiculous. The amount of people as well that charge £5 or £6 for a polish....£9 for a full manicure !! Im like WHAT!! im sorry but why flippin bother offering a service if its that bad you think you can only charge a fiver for it!

 

[Jenx]

I only offer spray tanning and trained about 6wks ago. I work from home and can go mobile. When I decided on my price I had a look at what everyone else was charging. Most salons were £20 and mobile were £15. However, I then thought what is it worth for me to do the spray tans, e.g. I would rather do 4 tans at £20 than 5 tans at £15 as I am working around my children so time is precious to me (I'm a stay at home mum). So I charge the same as the salons (£20). I must be honest I strongly believe I have a fantastic product which does help and my tans are perfect (probably more due to the solution, than my technique lol), so didn't want to start low until I was confident. I also think it is hard to increase prices, much easier to drop if not getting any business. I believe that people feel they are not getting such a good service if you are too cheap.
So anyway, to answer your question, I looked at what others in my area were charging as a guideline, and then decided how much profit I wanted to make. Then came up with my price.
Jen x

 

[champagne]

The amount of people as well that charge £5 or £6 for a polish....£9 for a full manicure !! Im like WHAT!! im sorry but why flippin bother offering a service if its that bad you think you can only charge a fiver for it!

My file & polish is £6.00 & my Express Mani (cuticles & Polish) is £9.00

I dont think this says my service is BAD, its priced well for the area im in....

Its all very well having higher prices but we also have to be realistic based on location....

My enhancements are at the top end price wise for my location but still not overly expensive...

My buisiness is doing very well, im still in the first year as a small salon owner and in good profit....

I took 5-10 local price lists and set myself in the price bracket that felt right for area, had enough profit & wasnt overly expensive whereby I may lose out on clients.

I dont do too many special offers, I havent really felt the need, I always run some at Xmas, but this year im getting booked for xmas, so dont think I will need to.....

Pricing needs to meet the needs of the business but it also has to meet the pockets of the clients.....without them paying I wouldnt have a business xx

 

[angelina221]

I went and got price lists from my area to see what they were charging. I priced my services according to how much product i used, how much time it took etc.... and bore in mind how much my competitors were charging.
My prices are not cheapest in town and some of my services are the most expensive in town. I probably offer the cheapest spray tans. I would say my hair prices are round about average for my area. My beauty prices are up with the more expensive ones and some of those services are the most expensive in town.
I think charging £6 for a file and paint is a bit low! I charge £10 and if they want french polish it's £12.50.
I'm not going to put my prices down because the competition is cheaper.
It's a good guide to see what you competition is charging but it's not good getting price lists and then pricing yourself somewhere in the middle if you haven't taken into account what products you are using etc....
I would be more inclined to see what the competition is charging, take your products etc....into account, and then put your prices as the most expensive.
It's not very easy to start putting prices up and if you are too cheap then it puts people off.

 

[number1kitty]

My file & polish is £6.00 & my Express Mani (cuticles & Polish) is £9.00

I dont think this says my service is BAD, its priced well for the area im in....

Its all very well having higher prices but we also have to be realistic based on location....

My enhancements are at the top end price wise for my location but still not overly expensive...

My buisiness is doing very well, im still in the first year as a small salon owner and in good profit....

I took 5-10 local price lists and set myself in the price bracket that felt right for area, had enough profit & wasnt overly expensive whereby I may lose out on clients.

I dont do too many special offers, I havent really felt the need, I always run some at Xmas, but this year im getting booked for xmas, so dont think I will need to.....

Pricing needs to meet the needs of the business but it also has to meet the pockets of the clients.....without them paying I wouldnt have a business xx

I know prices are always going to vary between areas, but what if you started charging a few pounds more for your treatments do you think other salons would eventually follow suit?

Its always good to remain competitive in an over saturated market but there is competitive and theres working for nothing.

You can argue both sides of the coin. If you had only two filke and polishes in in an hour thats £12. You make no money personally from that as your overheads and products would eat into it. However if you charged £10 you would have made £20 and enabled yourself to make a little profit. But then as I said two sides to every coin - perhaps people will go elsewhere.

If your good at what you do, and people like you then will they not be happy and willing to pay your higher prices?

I incorporated a three tier pricing structure into my salon. If someone wanted me they paid top whack, if they wanted a newly trained therapist they paid 20% less and if they wanted a junior they paid 50% less. Surprisingly the other therapists were rarely requested as the clients wanted the best and were happy to pay.

I don't know its a double edged sword and until everyone else starts to raise prices we will all pretty much hold back.

I just think that there are really bad therapists out there and really good ones. Those of us that spend thousands on ongoing education, seeking out the best products and yet we charge the same as the bad therapists.

I also look at it this way. I am so skint at the minute and would love a load of beauty treatments but I can't afford to spend a tenner at the minute let alone fifty quid so I don't go. I just think if you can afford it you will pay for it and if you can't afford it it rarely matters what the price is.

Kate x

 

[Trixy]

I took the cost price of the treatment and added on a profit I was happy with, I then compared it to other salon prices in my area and my prices are alot cheaper than theirs as a result.... dont know if its a good thing or a bad thing but my clients seem happy and always comment on how they get value for their money by me...

 

[champagne]

Some good points of view......Mine suits me at the min.......F&P is approx 15-20 mins work, min product use and 3 within the hour is fine for me.....(french is extra of course)

I work with £20-£30 per hour, this seems to be working ok at the moment, profit and overhead wise..

Its my rebalance price that lets me down....they are def too cheap...lol

Clients arnt often bothered about which products are being used, they want value for money with good service, im making profit on it at the moment, im going to review and increase my prices in April 2010, I will have been a year in the salon then.

Some of my other prices are top end & you're right people do still pay it, its a good service...

Oh and I too think that 22.00 for a set of CND nails is ridiculous....

I think its very difficult setting prices for yourself when you first set out, so many things to consider but if my prices wern't competitive i do believe that in this economic climate i would lose custom to the cheaper salons in the area....

 

[number1kitty]

I have to agree rebalances are what I hate about nails. It never seems worth your while as you always charge less than a full set and it takes almost as long to do and you use the same amount of products.

I hope we all get into a comfort zone where we can all as an industry raise our prices as I think standards alone have been raised drastically over the last decade. xx

 

[leonnib]

I took the cost price of the treatment and added on a profit I was happy with, I then compared it to other salon prices around us.

my prices are cheaper then some salons but not all

 

[kimi1101]

I heard from someone a good way to work out is work out what you need to make in an hour to pay rent, bills, wages, etc and add some on to make some profit then work out from there. If you wanna be making £30 an hour and you spend an hour on a facial, make is £30. Easier said than done though!! x