As a follow up to my rant on the red light district Stagers - http://activerain.com/blogsview/287074/Get-off-your-back I thought it would be good to put this one up so that anyone reading this who wants to know what to charge - it's easy. . . just ASK.
I cannot imagine a Stager established in business that would not share with a new(er) Stager what they are charging when they work the same market. I know there is the whole idea of "competition" but really, why wouldn't I tell someone what I can get for jobs - and what I charge for various services - because if I don't then they are left to (as one new Stager shared) be the "whore" that goes after jobs - and all because they did not know better. Our prices vary depending on the type of job - but there are parameters we can share and definitely an hourly going rate that we use to guide our fees.
I know this is one of the topics for discussion in the RT forums, but to me whether a person is on this site or part of that discussion or attends a RT or not, we need to be willing to share what our market will bear in pricing with others - and so it's not just an AR or SIF thing. I don't think this is happening.
I do think part of the challenge is Stagers that do not understand how to properly bid and therefore undercut the market. But another part of the challenge is that they are "guessing" at what the market will allow them to charge instead of giving an informed estimate.
As someone who when teaching others specifically spells out how much to charge, what the going rate is for the city I am in based on asking established and successful Stagers how much they charge, I know it is easy to find answers if people just ASK.
So if you get an email or call from a new person - or find out someone new has entered your market - consider taking time to share with them. I have done that many times in my own home - with people that are now my "competition" - and I did it because I wanted them to understand the potential for earning, and for building a true business (not just a hobby) income.
Just ask - and the answers are there for us all.
Jenni.
How much do you charge? I would love to see if it is indeed that easy? do you charge by the hour? if so how much for occupied and vacants? Or do you charge by the sq ft, if so how much for both again?
I want to see if we are in the ball park.
Thank you so much.
Brian Bloom
Hi All - great feedback on the post - I ran out to look at a couple of houses and am pleased to see the points this post generated.
Gary - I have gotten those "stealth" calls too - I can always tell they are fake when pressed for an address or any "real" info.
It is annoying - I agree Teresa - just be up front and ask and I will share.
Linda - that is sad that no one would "help" - but that has been the norm in many industries. I have just found that Stagers are more open to sharing because there IS enough to go around and we don't want to drive our market down by not sharing.
Brian - I am not in your particular market (so you need to ask someone that works in your area of IL) but if someone asked me what to charge in my market - I would tell them "our going hourly rate that we base our pricing on is at about $95-$100/hour." (When I first started 6 yrs ago it was $75/hour. The Bay Area is at about $125-$150/hour). Then for an occupied house - we know it takes about an hour per 1,000 square feet - so if someone calls and wants us to do a report on a 2,000 square foot house - 2 hours x $100 - or $200.00. Some Stagers prefer to do a flat rate for their reports regardless of the size of the house and I prefer to do mine based on square footage and time. My goal is to get the back-end business of hands-on Staging so we don't build in an extra amount up front - and wait until we are with the client to sell them on the need to have us help them. I am paid at that point for my time and inventory installed to help add the "WOW" factor.
Then for vacant houses - again knowing what the hourly rate is - a Stager needs to see the house first, and based on the square footage and number of rooms to be done - use a scaled pricing to get the job done. It does depend on the type of staging - light, moderate, or fully furnished, but it all begins with our time - and what we know it will take to get the job done. The rental - that is a variable figure but is not dictated by you or me. Our own rental - we work to get a minumum of 20% of the retail value of the item each time it goes out. For our greneery and trees, we scale it higher due to a shorter lifespan, and artwork - depends on the piece. Our pricing is usually comparable if not slightly less than the rental companies in town who are viewed at being too expensive.
I do use a formula in my head for the vacant houses - 80 cents-$1/square foot and 5 key rooms for that price. If it's a higher end house, we move our price to $1.10-$1.25/square foot with the key rooms - as a guide. There is wiggle room - with the rental again, and even with time. I usually allot 1/2 for rental and 1/2 for time - and then work with those numbers adjusting things up or down depending on what is going in and the budget for the staging.
I know how fast I can get a house Staged - and so we have worked to become very efficient in houses. My motto is "I am not going back." I want to load what I need, use it all, and not have to go back to add anything or do any tweaking. I want the $$ in the budget for time to cover my loading, unloading, staging and de-staging time.
My process though is to not quote over the phone - and if pressed by a "client" I will give a price range - just like a Realtor would have to without seeing the actual property for sale.
Melissa - good cautionary note - but I am not price fixing - I am giving "guidelines." I certainly don't want some new person to quote $50/hour when our market will allow for double that - it not only drives prices down, but it also leaves money on the table unnecessarily. If the gas companies can get away with all raising their rates per gallon of gas at the same time and the same general amount (which to me is classic price fixing) and not get slammed by the government - then we can too. People are free to charge what they want, of course, as it's their own business. It is nice to know though, what the going rates are - and then if someone is within 10-15% percent - that is fine. It's the ones that are 50% below market that I am after.
So in my other post - the person that quoted $4,000 for a 6,000 square foot house left about $2,000-$3,000 on the table initially, and THEN lost another $1,000 per month for 2 more months - so walked away from $4-$5K because they did not know how to price. On a house that size - a price reduction is well over $100K - so the investment in Staging is well worth it to get it sold.
Hi Jennie,
What a great topic you've brought up. Thanks for your candor and for sharing tips on costing out different projects and scenarios.
I think some who are newer to the business are inadvertently pricing their services too low because they just don't know what other stagers are doing or what their local market will bear. I was surprised when I attended the Tri-State round table (NJ, NY, CT) because this issue was raised and the differences in pricing among stagers were fairly significant in some cases.
Definitely food for thought. This is a conversation that needs to continue between stagers. Not to "fix" prices, per se, but to understand the market better (as there are relatively so few of us vs. the amount of potential business out there) and, frankly, to price correctly so our businesses flourish.
Thanks,
Sarah
Jennie - nice post. I was concerned with initial dialogue on pricing as I questioned whether or not maximums were going to be established and I didn't want any part of it. I see now it would have been nice had my initial questions regarding my concerns been addressed.
Melissa - price fixing was and is my biggest concern with establishing and publishing ranges for staging services. Additionally, as you might be able to understand, what some folks read in print they take as gospel, no way did I want to get corralled into that pen! But, we do have to move the whole industry forward somehow and we might as well start somewhere - here looks good to me!
Jackie
I just spoke with a Stager tonight from another state who I referred a job to . . . and he shared that he does not charge a monthly rental - and just charges a fee up front - and then hopes (and prays!) that the house sells within 30-60 days. He allows the stuff to sit for up to 6 months with no rental. His average days on market are running at 54 so he is doing well with this method. Again, pricing is up to the individual business owner - but we have to make sure we are charging fair market value - or else why are we in business?
This same Stager also shared that he is not making enough $$ for his liking - he'd like to show more profitability. The way to do that is raise his rates. His rates are far lower than a rental company and he owns all his own stuff. So, he has some room to move up and still be a good "deal" for the client. No matter how we package our services and fees, it's important to know what the "others" are doing out there - from rental companies that compete for inventory to Stagers that compete for the hands-on time. . . just ask.
Thanks for posting on this Jennie. It helps me a lot. Does anyone know what to charge using rental furniture? Not the actual renting costs, but over and above the furniture. Do you base it on your hourly rate? And then add for the accessories? I have my own accessories and will be adding some art.
Thanks!
Diane Concialdi - Orange County CA Home Stager
Hi Diane - your question I think is asking do we mark up the rental on the furniture at all? If that is the question - the answer is yes and no. Some do some don't. It is not something we do as a standard practice. Anyone else out there mark up the rental as a common practice? I thought Fernando in FL wrote that he does this.
To me it really depends on the market you are in - and the price we get for the rental. If the client is paying one bulk price for the job and the rental company is not in there getting a piece paid directly to them - then the mark-up can happen. Even 10% for your time to pick things out or coordinate, etc. If you can get it - do it.
Nancy - thanks - Tucson Stagers - unite! Definitely you want to stay on the same page. How about your IAHSP chapter? - Jennie
Jennie... YUP there is a FINE line between price fixing and pricing guidelines. We need to becareful... but not affraid to understand our industry and the issues facing us.
Me
My rental companies pass on a special rate to me. They bill the client retail and then I bill the rental company for my discount. It's clean and simple and the client doesn't pay over what they would pay if they walked in to the rental company on their own.
I like that Dane. I'll check into it. I've been listing the furniture in my name to avoid the insurance charge and then I can just give a cost for all of the two months with a little bit added on.
Diane Concialdi - Orange County CA Home Stager - dcredesign.com