mojofunkster Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 I did a couple of searches and nothing popped up, so I figured I would go ahead and post it. How do you price your kit. Do you just charge X% of the price of the equipment? Thanks in advance. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Karlsson Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Some say 2% of new purchase price per day. I like to look at the price list from one of the usual suspects rental department and use that as a guide line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Complex process which is why I cost each job separately as no job is the same Price gear elements just below what you rental house charges (they may add insurance) Then always separate out the following elements Labour Consumables Vehicle usage Discuss the job with your client and try to understand how to meet their budget Negotiation is key to gaining and keeping a client mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Touni Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 I would love clients to pay me 2% of the purchase value per day. Unfortunately it doesn't happen this way. I do equipment packages depending on the job. (Documentary, feature fiction etc.) and I charge a fixed daily rate for the whole project. I also bring more stuff than the planned package. In may cases you will be using that extra stuff. Use your best jugement to decide if you charge or not for that additional equipment. Not charging for it every time you use it has helped me to make my daily rate look like a bargain. This is of great help when you are negotiating your equipment rate in the future. ... and I couldn't agree more with Mike: Negotiation is key! Best, Philippe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Waelder Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 (Johnny Carlson, Msg #2):Some say 2% of new purchase price per day. Pricing your kit appropriately is a negotiation influenced by many factors, particularly customary practice in your region. But I once ran a rental shop and can help a little with the arithmetic. The general rule in equipment rentals is a daily charge of 1% of replacement cost per day. That applies to most items with reasonable service life and dependable operation. For example, a Sennheiser MKH microphone, a Sound Devices recorder, a Nikon camera, most lenses, most mixing panels, etc. Some items have a shorter service life because of rapid technologic development. Video cameras are often "hot" for only a year or so (although the Alexa seems to be having a good run) and there is a need to recover the investment faster. A rate of 2% of replacement cost per day, or even more, is necessary. Some gear may have a long service life but be so specialized that the demand is limited. Examples might include underwater filming gear and waterproof transmitters, ultra long or ultra high speed lenses and similar articles. Only occasional rentals force a higher rate. Conversely, some gear is very rugged and largely unchanged from year to year. Today's C-stand is aluminum but otherwise not much different than the steel units used for Gone With The Wind. Boom poles need an occasional cleaning or repair but are otherwise serviceable for many years with minimal attention. This kind of equipment should be priced well below 1%/day. While they may make package deals, most rental houses catalog each item in the order and charge for it. The itemization of cables, adapters, etc. can quickly run even a simple order into real money. Most owner/operators, in the interest of offering a good deal and to keep the math to a minimum, only charge for the major items in the kit. So one might add up the rental cost of a Zaxcom Maxx, two radio mikes and a boom mike and not factor in the value of the back-up gear or the Cub-1 mike carried just in case. And then, I think most, unless working commercials, charge a bit less than the rental shop rate. After all, most owner/operators don't have the expense of a store front and extra employees. For commercials, at least for national and regional spots, the practice is to charge for everything; there may be a bundled price but it will usually make some allowance for all (most) of the gear made available to the production. Small local spots may be a bit less. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 Some people might be shy about publicly discussing specific exact details of rates & creating quotes? This closed Facebook group might be a good alternative instead: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594983634079820/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholitso Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 +1 for what Mike said. I also base my pricing comparable to rental house prices and negotiate from there and do my best to meet the client's budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulluysavage Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 I also base my pricing on local rental house pricing. I find it is about 1/80 of new price per day. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael McQueen Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 $200 for basic mixing kit: mixer, 2 top shelf wireless mics, boom, top shelf mic and eng cable to camera.Add $100 if they want a timecode recorderDon't charge less than rental houses, you are a rental house, act as if.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulluysavage Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 $200 for basic mixing kit: mixer, 2 top shelf wireless mics, boom, top shelf mic and eng cable to camera.Add $100 if they want a timecode recorderDon't charge less than rental houses, you are a rental house, act as if.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk We offer more value than rental houses in that, we are intimately familiar with our kits, have them custom configured to work efficiently, and keep them in tip top shape. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 On 9/27/2016 at 1:45 PM, Michael McQueen said: Don't charge less than rental houses, you are a rental house, act as if. What if your local area rental houses are much more expensive than the ones in LA/NY/etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael McQueen Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 What if your local area rental houses are much more expensive than the ones in LA/NY/etc? Then match the rates!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afewmoreyears Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 I say, don't match the rental houses... Match the market and your brothers and sisters in your area... Find out the going rates and stick to them the best you can.. Forget about the rental houses... The package you bring is NOT simply a mixer recorder and a mic, at least I hope so... It's all the bits and pieces that comprise your kit... so, unless the rental houses include hundreds of cables, accessories, and countless other items... don't "match" them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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