Service Pricing: read this and have a think....

[Vetty]

... Attached is a thread from Mumsnet.com (Style and beauty | what is the best nail polish? | Mumsnet Discussion) which started off as a discussion about nail polish and then one member raised Shellac and what a wonderful product it is. If you have a read you will see she loves the product but is only paying £6 for it . However, I get the impression that she would pay a higher price and sees the £6 price tag as a bonus!

So, my point of discussion is do we as Tech's somehow 'predict' what clients will or wont pay and then set our prices accordingly? Fwiw, I am not cheap - the poster on the thread says 'its v v pricey most places about £20 but the lady I go to does it for £6 so shopping around a good idea', so she would be horrified by my prices!!! Why are so many so scared to charge what they and their products are worth?

As an aside I do find the general public breathtakingly ignorant of most things to do with nails !!!

 

[Andrea85]

How is someone doing it for £6.00???? Surely it can't be Shellac?

The line about how UV light "buggers up your nails" made me laugh!

 

[gr8nailz]

UV light "buggers up nails"...hilarious. I don't do this just so I can carry on casual conversations with random folk that I see every couple of weeks. I for one am in the business to make money, not just break even. $6 to Shellac someone's nails? I'm with Vetty on this one. She'd die if she saw my prices. To see me, a spa manicure and Shellac would cost her $45 and that's WITHOUT nail art.

She would get a glass of champagne with that, though. :wink2:

 

[Zo Zo]

I am completely horrified that someone is doing Shellac for £6. Horrified!

I wonder if that includes a soak off:lol:

As I was saying on another thread, one business undercutting another is not good for anyone. The person charging £6 is barely scraping a living and at the same time they are causing problems for others who are not ripping people off, just wanting to charge a fair amount for the service.

 

[Zo Zo]

They're talking about Ferrari Red. Am I behind the times and not aware of this Shellac colour OR is it NOT a Shellac colour??

 

[gr8nailz]

I didn't even catch that Ferrari Red thing, Zo Zo.

 

[Zo Zo]

Ok so they're not getting real Shellac. But even so... £6! It's just WRONG.

 

[Andrea85]

Ok so they're not getting real Shellac. But even so... £6! It's just WRONG.

Exactly! You can't even get just a polish for that usually, nevermind a normal manicure. Crazy. Does it say where it is? I couldn't be bothered reading any more, it was annoying me!

 

[Gemgem675]

Exactly! You can't even get just a polish for that usually, nevermind a normal manicure. Crazy. Does it say where it is? I couldn't be bothered reading any more, it was annoying me!

I think she said it was somewhere in the Wiltshire area

 

[Andrea85]

I think she said it was somewhere in the Wiltshire area

I'd love to know exactly what she's getting done. Is anyone in Wiltshire?! Ha.

 

[deanosnana]

Great thread, Vetty!

Hmmmmm...I set my pricing according to my clients. But, I also have to make a profit, as well. Salons in my area charge a fortune for Shellac and my pricing is lower than theirs. I'd rather do several customers at my lower prices than 1 client at a higher price.

Plus, the economy in Michigan is in the toilet. So to me, it's win-win. My clients are getting a great service at affordable prices and I'm making money doing something I love doing.

 

[NailsBeautyEtc]

Half of me was tempted to register and post just so I could put people straight ... but I lost the will. A geek on another thread that they were beginning to learn that it's all about confidence - I assume confidence in herself and her product. So I'm going with that!

I wonder if the shellac poster in the mumsnet thread actually got a Shellack ... hehe ...

 

[Perfect Pinkys]

... Attached is a thread from Mumsnet.com (Style and beauty | what is the best nail polish? | Mumsnet Discussion) which started off as a discussion about nail polish and then one member raised Shellac and what a wonderful product it is. If you have a read you will see she loves the product but is only paying £6 for it . However, I get the impression that she would pay a higher price and sees the £6 price tag as a bonus!

So, my point of discussion is do we as Tech's somehow 'predict' what clients will or wont pay and then set our prices accordingly? Fwiw, I am not cheap - the poster on the thread says 'its v v pricey most places about £20 but the lady I go to does it for £6 so shopping around a good idea', so she would be horrified by my prices!!! Why are so many so scared to charge what they and their products are worth?

As an aside I do find the general public breathtakingly ignorant of most things to do with nails !!!

Okay, I am seriously looking into returning to nails after quite a few years and have been doing some rough costings.

With regard to Shellac I work out that if you can get 35 sets from a base coat (12.5ml) and the same from a top coat, and 20 sets per colour (2 coats) you are looking at £5.52 per service + VAT. I have included all prep and removal. I haven't included replacement bulbs or business running costs as this would have fried my brain .

So, according to my workings out this 'nail tech' is losing 63p per service and working for nothing. That is madness and not good for anyone .

The above is obviously dependant on the service actually being Shellac and the service being performed properly. Having said that I don’t think there is anything I could or would do for £6!

Please let me know if you think my sets to product ratio is way out :biggrin:

 

[gjg1]

Half of me was tempted to register and post just so I could put people straight ... but I lost the will. A geek on another thread that they were beginning to learn that it's all about confidence - I assume confidence in herself and her product. So I'm going with that!

I wonder if the shellac poster in the mumsnet thread actually got a Shellack ... hehe ...

Haha! I got bored reading it but people have no clue! Maybe she was meant to write £16 but left the 1 out by mistake?!! I don't see how u can charge £6 for shellac and also what the hell is ferrari red??! Obviously a shellacK colour!! haha!

 

[fairydust]

Sounds like a load of bored housewifes going on with themselves to me......boring!

 

[Zo Zo]

... Attached is a thread from Mumsnet.com (Style and beauty | what is the best nail polish? | Mumsnet Discussion) which started off as a discussion about nail polish and then one member raised Shellac and what a wonderful product it is. If you have a read you will see she loves the product but is only paying £6 for it . However, I get the impression that she would pay a higher price and sees the £6 price tag as a bonus!

So, my point of discussion is do we as Tech's somehow 'predict' what clients will or wont pay and then set our prices accordingly? Fwiw, I am not cheap - the poster on the thread says 'its v v pricey most places about £20 but the lady I go to does it for £6 so shopping around a good idea', so she would be horrified by my prices!!! Why are so many so scared to charge what they and their products are worth?

As an aside I do find the general public breathtakingly ignorant of most things to do with nails !!!

I've been thinking about your question.

I think when I started out, I was pretty aware of treatments prices as I had quite a few things done quite regularly. So I took a look at some local pricelists and thought about what I felt I should charge and what I was happy to earn.

But however much I think about it, I cannot really comprehend £6 for the treatment whether it is real Shellac or not. So I have no idea why the tech is charging that. It's not a liveable wage and how do you ever put your prices up when your clients are used to paying that!?

I understand what you're saying about the client probably being prepared to pay more, but she's not going to unless she's forced into it. For example, if the tech gave up and the client had to find a new tech, I guess she would have to pay the going rate.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Very good thread Vetty. I don't want this to go off topic, but would like to remark on the comment about 'OPI always chipping'!!! I use OPI polish in my salon and my clients swear by the fact that my mani/pedis last well. So much has to do with nail prep and care in application as well as the product... whichever it is!

I realise that the geographical area you cover and pricing of your competitors can affect your own pricing, however, I think you should charge what you are worth in view of training, skill and product quality.

Would I pay £6 to be shellacked? Nooooo, because I would immediately wonder what was wrong with the product or service, but then my view point comes from the fact that I am educated in professional nail services and know what to expect.

You are right, the public in general have not got a clue and even though you try to educate them, they don't listen especially if you are talking £££ versus £ . They want something for nothing.

I am not familiar with shellac except for what I read on here, so perhaps somebody can post on there that Shellac don't do a colour in Ferrari Red.