Fair Price for stringing

C

cpmoran

Rookie
I may have a chance to string for a local club, or two. I will be picking up the raquets, and droping them off 18miles round trip. I will be using the clubs string. I would prefer to use my reels:( My machine is a Gamma 6004 upright pro model. I am a USRSA member, but I am fairly new to stringing. I take my time and it usually takes 40-45 per frame.

What price seems fair for both of us?

I called the pro shop and found that they charge around $30 for wilson super spin. @ $64 a reel for me (not having wilson contract). So the club is making $26
 
YULitle

YULitle

Hall of Fame
It all depends on your area. At local Sports Retailers like Sports A. and D's Sporting Goods, you can expect to be charged anywhere from $10-$15 for labor. But at a pro shop, (again this is all based on where you live) you can expect to pay $15-$20 for labor alone. What I'd do is use the USRSA website and contact some local stringers to see what they charge for labor.

The pro shop DOES need to make money in this, but you should get your fair share too. Try posting what area you live in, someone here might be near by and give you some insight.
 
F

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
I don't think it's unreasonable for you to be clearing any less than $10 for each frame that you string. I pretty much string for my pals and I only charge them extra if the string I use costs me more to get my hands on, but my situation is less formal than yours and I have a cheap supply. With your certification, I think $10 per job is easily justified.
 
C

cpmoran

Rookie
Thanks for the replies. The main reason I asked, is because I think he said $5 a raquet. I would do it for $10, but to $5 seems like a waste of my time. However I do like stringing. I did manage to finish my raquet today in 33 min including reel measurments, and old string removal.
 
B

bruno hau

Professional
cpmoran said:
Thanks for the replies. The main reason I asked, is because I think he said $5 a raquet. I would do it for $10, but to $5 seems like a waste of my time. However I do like stringing. I did manage to finish my raquet today in 33 min including reel measurments, and old string removal.
Click to expand...
At least $10 profit for you per string job. Who's paying for your gas & time for the 18 miles roundtrip dropoffs? You actually like STRINGING? I view stringing as a necessary evil to play tennis.
 
H

Hooooon

Rookie
you guys are ridiculous... $10/frame is impossible to pull in an area with any competition...$5 is low (what most college players charge), but more than $7-8 given the situation would be a relative gold mine...
 
Richie Rich

Richie Rich

Legend
Hooooon said:
you guys are ridiculous... $10/frame is impossible to pull in an area with any competition...$5 is low (what most college players charge), but more than $7-8 given the situation would be a relative gold mine...
Click to expand...

really? around me most charge $12 if you bring your own string.

i'd tell the OP to start with $10 for labor and go from there
 
J011yroger

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
Local shops here charge $20 and up labor only.

I wouldn't take a dump in a brown paper bag and deliever it 18 miles round trip for five bucks.

How many frames would you be doing at a time? You could charge less if you were doing more volume, at more speed.

J
 
J011yroger

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
Hooooon said:
you guys are ridiculous... $10/frame is impossible to pull in an area with any competition...$5 is low (what most college players charge), but more than $7-8 given the situation would be a relative gold mine...
Click to expand...

$15/hour...goldmine?

J
 
racquet_jedi

racquet_jedi

Professional
The coach at my local highschool strings racquets for $15 per using his own reels...

It's pretty cool, once I asked for a poly/synthetic hybrid, I got Cyberflash and Gamma Syn...

But this is not fair, my friend paid $18 for a stringjob once, and he got full Pro Hurricane...
 
C

cpmoran

Rookie
I string for my team mates, and I usually use cyberflash and gosen, or pro supex spriral flex for $15. Big ace and gosen or sf for $16, and $17 for cyber power and gosen or cf, or full polly for $17 $18, and $19. I am happy with those prices as I make money on the strings and labor, and usually pocket $13 per. I will take $10, from the club since I dont have to look for clients, since I am new to the business. For $5 I would rather watch blues clues with my kids all day!! By the way the only guy I know of around me charges $15 labor, but a full job of Alu Power will cost you $37 and some change. So I am doing my community a favor and getting some extra tennis cash for myself at the same time
 
S

SCARFULZ

Guest
My local club charges 16.00 for labor alone. I did the stringing for the KC Explorers and made 15.00 per racquet in labor. I have also strung for 10.00 and 15.00 for random people and have had plenty of business. I would say make 10.00 the minimum but if you produce quality product, they would pay up to 15.00 no problem.
 
J

jim e

Legend
Hooooon said:
you guys are ridiculous... $10/frame is impossible to pull in an area with any competition...$5 is low (what most college players charge), but more than $7-8 given the situation would be a relative gold mine...
Click to expand...

$7-8 a gold mine?? Midas muffler charges $98.00/hour just labor. Back in the late 60's and early 70's when I use to string(my high school and college days) I got 10/frame labor,plus string price.I cannot see how anyone would justify doing a good job for $5/frame, but to each their own.If you enjoy doing it then do it for free, but if you charge then make it worth what your time is worth, and you should determine that, and let no one else tell you what that is worth!
 
lethalfang

lethalfang

Professional
Hooooon said:
you guys are ridiculous... $10/frame is impossible to pull in an area with any competition...$5 is low (what most college players charge), but more than $7-8 given the situation would be a relative gold mine...
Click to expand...

Gold is priced at more than $800 per ounce.
If you want to make a living off stringing, to charge less than $10 is ridiculous. You'd be living on government food stamps if you charge less than $10/frame.
In any area with competition, those who charge less than $10/frame, if advertised to the public, will generate so much business (or charity, whatever your preferred term) that, there will be plenty of racquets left to be strung at over $10/frame.
 
H

Hooooon

Rookie
jim e said:
$7-8 a gold mine?? Midas muffler charges $98.00/hour just labor. Back in the late 60's and early 70's when I use to string(my high school and college days) I got 10/frame labor,plus string price.I cannot see how anyone would justify doing a good job for $5/frame, but to each their own.If you enjoy doing it then do it for free, but if you charge then make it worth what your time is worth, and you should determine that, and let no one else tell you what that is worth!
Click to expand...

... "relative" gold mine meaning vs the market and no, someone who can string 4 racquets in an hour is not worth $40+++/hour. racquet stringing is very simple skilled labor and $15/hour compensates the delivery service for an otherwise $10/hour job.
 
lethalfang

lethalfang

Professional
To string 4 racquets per hour requires an expensive stringing machine.
To charge $10/frame, will require how many racquets just to break even? Ya rite!

Well, that's why I do not string for money, because it doesn't play. I string occasionally for friends for free just to be nice. There isn't enough money there for me to make money.
 
miniRafa386

miniRafa386

Hall of Fame
i would do the retail price for the string, not like the prices on TW or *******, but what the retail price is, but subtract $5 or so from it. like nxt tour is $40 retail, but string it up for $30 or $35. makes you look like your giving them a deal :)
 
H

Hooooon

Rookie
lethalfang said:
Gold is priced at more than $800 per ounce.
If you want to make a living off stringing, to charge less than $10 is ridiculous. You'd be living on government food stamps if you charge less than $10/frame.
In any area with competition, those who charge less than $10/frame, if advertised to the public, will generate so much business (or charity, whatever your preferred term) that, there will be plenty of racquets left to be strung at over $10/frame.
Click to expand...

making a living stringing? i realize there are atp stringers and respect what they do, but stringing racquets is not skilled labor and this guy has to invest nothing and do no selling. minimum wage labor+equipment rental+delivery=$15/hour/generously
 
Richie Rich

Richie Rich

Legend
Hooooon said:
making a living stringing? i realize there are atp stringers and respect what they do, but stringing racquets is not skilled labor and this guy has to invest nothing and do no selling. minimum wage labor+equipment rental+delivery=$15/hour/generously
Click to expand...

disagree. it is a skill. it needs to be done right and properly. it's just a skill not too many appreciate because they are used to a string job done by hacks - who charge $5/racquet
 
dancraig

dancraig

Hall of Fame
What can you hire a grown man to do for ten dollars labor? You can hardly get a haircut and that takes about ten minutes.
 
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dancraig

dancraig

Hall of Fame
I think a shoe shine at the airport is 6-8 dollars. Takes about 10-15 minutes.

Most anybody can string a tennis racquet, but do you want most anybody stringing yours?
 
S

SCARFULZ

Guest
Hooooon said:
making a living stringing? i realize there are atp stringers and respect what they do, but stringing racquets is not skilled labor and this guy has to invest nothing and do no selling. minimum wage labor+equipment rental+delivery=$15/hour/generously
Click to expand...

I disagree as well. Stringing is a skill. The racquet stringing competition is no different than any other competition. Proving your skill to be better than the others. Not everyone can string a racquet in 10 minutes.

Talking about price again, if I were to go to someone who hasn't been stringing very long, I wouldn't be comfortable paying very much for the labor. I look at it like a normal job. You start at 7.00/hour and you make raises upon improvement. If you are relatively new at stringing, I would set the starting price lower and get some extra practice and get some people familiar with your product. You can then provide a better product and charge more.

I started stringing 3 years ago. I averaged about 45 minutes to an hour per racquet on a Prince Neos. I was awful and I couldn't weave the crosses at all. It was ugly. I improved and started stringing for the club I work for. I bought my own Prince Neos and strung my a local college team and the KC Explorers making 15.00 per racquet. I can now knock racquets out in 10-12 minutes with the Neos. Start low and charge 10.00 then when u feel you are worth more... bump it up some. It is a good money maker on the side if you can get the customers.

Good luck.
 
B

bsandy

Hall of Fame
SCARFULZ said:
I started stringing 3 years ago. I averaged about 45 minutes to an hour per racquet on a Prince Neos. I was awful and I couldn't weave the crosses at all. It was ugly. I improved and started stringing for the club I work for. I bought my own Prince Neos and strung my a local college team and the KC Explorers making 15.00 per racquet. I can now knock racquets out in 10-12 minutes with the Neos. Start low and charge 10.00 then when u feel you are worth more... bump it up some. It is a good money maker on the side if you can get the customers.
Click to expand...

Hmmm . . . http://www.stringsofhope.org/events/kansascity.html
 
jamauss

jamauss

Hall of Fame
I think to say what is a "fair" price for stringing is subjective - it sorta depends on what you're getting for your money. For example, the tennis center I string for promises 24 hr. turnaround - something nobody else in the area does, AFAIK. We also offer logo stencils in 5 different colors for free. They charge $15 for labor, of which $10 goes to me. They make up for it with their string prices though - they make up the profit there for sure. Most people playing at a club don't know what string or labor should really cost, I'd say. Less than 5% of the people I've strung for at the club even ask questions about what the difference between the string types are and whether or not I have more types of string available than what's available at the tennis club.

I think that you'll almost always get the best deals on string jobs directly from the stringers themselves, though. I can only speak for myself, but when people come directly to me I don't mark up the price of the string at all and only charge $10 per racquet + string cost. When I was first starting off as a stringer and didn't have a ton of experience I was only charging my tennis buddies $5 a racquet and for those few that let me string their racquets back then I still only charge them $5 (there are only a few of them).

The bottom line seems to be that you'll pay more for both the string and the stringing at a club/shop because they're in business to make money. That shouldn't be a shock to anyone, really.

I should also make it clear that the money I make from stringing is really just "funny money" and done in addition to a full-time job. I don't think I'd ever really expect to make a living doing nothing but stringing racquets.
 
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YULitle

YULitle

Hall of Fame
You have to consider some things when looking at price.

Club price is like the OP situation. He's stringing for a club on their machine (I assume) so they need to be making some money, whether it is on the string or labor it doesn't matter, though it's usually labor. This will drive the price up. Unless, like some clubs, the guy/gal that runs it strings the rackets. This keeps him/her from having to shell out wages to a stringer, bringing prices down.

Retail is much the same. The stringer is using their machine so the store needs to make money on the labor to pay for the machine and the plot it sits on (floor space is money.)

By yourself. The highest wages. You bought the machine, so you collect 100% of the labor. This is where you see fees like $15 for your typical stringer.

But there is a trade off (typically.)
By Yourself: Higher wages/Less traffic
Retail/ProShop: Lower wages/More traffic

If you have that entreprenurial zest, you could swing going solo. It's definetly easier than landing a retail job (in my experience.) Some of those contract stringing spots stay occupied for years on end.
 
C

cpmoran

Rookie
I will be using my own machine, a new 6pt gamma 6004. I am also in the stringing business to support my tennis habbit, with bubble time, lessons and a wise tension head as soon as I pay off the crank machine. The club has a machine, but no one there likes to string. The pro might just be looking for a sucker to do it for $5 a frame, and keep $5 for himself, and $5 for the club plus what they make on the string. I hope this is not the case, but time will tell. I will talk to him next week. Thanks for the advice keep it coming!!
 
J011yroger

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
^^^ Hey, maybe you could negotiate a deal where you string for less, but they give you free/discounted court time, or lessons. It would cost them less to give stuff to you in trade, and you would have to pay full price for it anyway.

J
 
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