Price markup

[Clyde Hollinger]

Friends,

When I started piano service as a part-timer, I sold the parts to my clients
basically at cost, thinking I made enough on the labor.  I changed that when
I realized virtually every other business realizes a profit on the selling
of parts.  A piano service client is naive to think that we would sell them
the parts at wholesale.

The percentage markup does not need to be disclosed to the client.  Some
businesses enjoy a larger markup than others, and I rarely know what markup
other vendors are adding to their wares.  I do have a $1.00 minimum parts
charge.  Years ago a local piano retailer had a minimum $8.00 parts charge;
I suppose it's higher now.  If I'm not using enough parts to sell for $1.00,
for example a couple paper punchings or something like that, I don't charge
anything.  I do this mainly because all my charges are rounded off to an
even dollar.

My impression is that even with a substantial markup on parts, that's not
where the money is for most of us.

Regards,
Clyde Hollinger

"Robert A. Anderson" wrote:

> I thought that the important part of Susan's post was
>
> " Not that we shouldn't
> >mark up parts prices, but we shouldn't need to hide the fact that we
> >are doing it."
>
> That makes good sense to me. If I want to hide what I'm doing from my
> customer, then I should be asking myself about my motives. If I have a
> customer who doesn't think I should sell parts to them at a profit, then
> we don't have to do business. My life is simpler when I don't have to
> keep track of too many secrets.
>
> It seems to me that wholesale prices should be in a price list. Prices
> become obsolete faster than catalogs. The practice of listing twice the
> wholesale price is just an added confusion and serves no useful purpose
> for me.
>
> Bob Anderson
> Tucson, AZ
>
> P.S. I listen to National Public Radio, but I wouldn't advocate "getting
> rid" of Rush Limbaugh. I don't approve of him, but if we started
> "getting rid" of people we don't like then the fundamental thing might
> apply: "What goes around comes around."