Pricing with gel polish and acrylic

[Ella_Glam]

Hello, I live in Essex. Where I am based, there is literally a nail bar and salon on every street corner (that's not to say they're all good, but all ALWAYS very busy!) so there's lots of competition in my area, meaning cheaper prices..
After 5 years off, I'm just starting back up at beauty, I already have a few clients, but this is only my first month re-starting out again, so I've just started advertising to try and gain more clientele.

What I'm struggling with is pricing. I've done a lot of market research, researching all of the reputable salons, mobile techs etc. in my area and comparing their prices to help decide mine, but unfortunately due to the high amount of beauticians and nail techs in my area, the prices are rather low.
The standard going rate for a gel polish manicure is £10 and £15 removal and re-paint. I think that seems really low, but that is even what the reputable salons are charging in my area who are using gels such as IBD, CND and ORLY. I use all of these brands, but mainly IBD (ive found its my favourite to apply) And ORLY.
Acrylics are anywhere from £20 - £25 mainly with some exceptions of £28

What does everybody else charge for gel manicures and acrylics and acrylic infills? I really feel like your pricing shows off your work, so I don't want to make my work look like a "cheap job" but at the same time, to get any new clients, I really need to keep my prices so that I can compete with the big salons in my area, don't I? Sorry for the long message, I look forward to your replies X

 

[Trinity]

There is no way those offering Gel Polish for £10 are using authentic genuine products, it's just not financially viable to do that, they would be running at a loss once products and staffing charges are included.

If you want to set yourself apart double your prices...I know it might sound weird but think logically, would you rather do 3 clients for £10 or 1 for £30? 'Work smarter not harder' is my motto - do not try to compete on price, be exclusive. Gucci/Harrods/D&G/etc.don't give a fig if the cheapie shop down the road offer £10 handbags/jeans/whatever. they know what they sell is quality, people will pay for exclusivity and something special...be more Gucci

 

[Ella_Glam]

Thank you so much for replying!
I think I just need more confidence in setting my pricing, my biggest fear is not gaining clientele because i'm not charging £10 for gels.. I cant see how £10 for a set of gel nails is financially viable either- whether mobile or salon! If they aren't using genuine products and charging this little, it makes it stressful for those like us, who are using the genuine and expensive products and need to charge that extra to get a profit!

As sad as it sounds lol, I've made a chart of 17 good rep salons in my area (would have been more but not many people put their prices online anymore!) and the most common price for gel in my area is £10 - £20. Most common price for acrylics is around £28, whereas infills tie between £15 and £25.
Originally I was planning to charge £28 for acrylics, or £33 for acrylics with gel colour, if the client would rather that.
Could I charge £20 for gel polish and still get people interested? I feel like I'm competing with these salons that do gel polish for £10 lol!

 

[Trinity]

Thank you so much for replying!
I think I just need more confidence in setting my pricing, my biggest fear is not gaining clientele because i'm not charging £10 for gels.. I cant see how £10 for a set of gel nails is financially viable either- whether mobile or salon! If they aren't using genuine products and charging this little, it makes it stressful for those like us, who are using the genuine and expensive products and need to charge that extra to get a profit!

As sad as it sounds lol, I've made a chart of 17 good rep salons in my area (would have been more but not many people put their prices online anymore!) and the most common price for gel in my area is £10 - £20. Most common price for acrylics is around £28, whereas infills tie between £15 and £25.
Originally I was planning to charge £28 for acrylics, or £33 for acrylics with gel colour, if the client would rather that.
Could I charge £20 for gel polish and still get people interested? I feel like I'm competing with these salons that do gel polish for £10 lol!

Don't be common, or compete, be special, better and exclusive - make sure the nails you produce are the BEST in the town, then people will pay more for your services. Add the little special things (that don't cost much) that make people feel appreciated and love coming to you, a fabulous warm welcome, excellent service, a blob of lovely handcream to finish, a bit of sparkly nail art for free occasionally, all the things that would make you come back for more if you were a client.

 

[Becreative]

Goodness me you wouldn’t be able to get acrylics done in my area for less than £35 minimum and it’s lower cost of living here in Lincolnshire but you have to go with a happy medium, don’t go cheap cause you’ll get cheap clients that don’t like to pay for quality and don’t go to expensive or your clientele may expect more from you than other nail techs, go in the middle then once we’ll established you can bump it up a little, people don’t or shouldn’t expect you to keep the same price forever. Put on your prices an expiry date in small print or a notice that you can alter pricing for bookings if made more than 8 weeks ahead incase they say they booked it at a certain price but there booked in for the next few months. I always think if there not happy to pay my price then they can go elsewhere then come back to me and pay more for a removal of a rubbish set. Know your worth and it will pay off