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Experience needed: How much to charge?
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Thenasty:
do you  the guy pretty good ? Be carefull about charging ANY SOFTWARE/ROMS, he might turned around and sue (if you don't know him that well). for selling him MAME or ROMS unless you get them LEGALLY. Just my .02 cents.
pointdablame:
If I were you, I'd cover my behind and not even get him any roms.  let him deal with that.  Explain the legalities to him, and where he might be able to get some if he so chose, but nothing more.

Just my .02
DrewKaree:
There are two ideas listed here that should be your starting point.  The first:
--- Quote from: pointdablame on September 25, 2004, 01:02:08 pm ---If I were you, I'd cover my behind and not even get him any roms.  let him deal with that.  Explain the legalities to him, and where he might be able to get some if he so chose, but nothing more.
--- End quote ---
You simply cannot open yourself up to doing everything for the guy, otherwise you will end up pissing away anything you make in the "little details he never mentioned he wanted.

and the second
--- Quote from: spystyle on September 25, 2004, 04:37:44 pm ---I say charge him by the hour, the same that you make at work.
--- End quote ---
while you may think this to be unreasonable (depending on what you make at work) this can be used as a rough gauge as to what you SHOULD charge for labor/skillz.  To wit - you are taking your free time to do this for him.  You are taking time away from doing something else.  He is unwilling/unable to do the same thing.  If HIS time (and I don't mean this in a mean way) is so valuable or he lacks the skills/abilities to do this, then clearly he should expect to pay what you feel your time is worth, or else do it himself.

As stated before, find out the details, and work out a (semi) contract - you already have some of the materials, so you don't need payment for that, but DO get advance payment for what you are going to need.  Wood, paint/laminate, t-molding, and wire, I would charge an up-front fee of 50%, with the remainder due either BEFORE or ON delivery.  

I'll work on how I'd do it, and add it to this thread shortly.
Darkstalker:
     The biggest advice I can offer: Document everything before you start building!  Sit down and plan out EXACTLY what he wants.  Go over the fact that you are converting a cab you already own (He may want a hand built one and pay the extra money), cover the T&M costs, artwork (with pictures), and get it all down on paper.  Then have him SIGN it with a down payment if you don't trust the deal.  You can always make him pay for most of the parts up front, and the labor afterwards.  
     This way a week into building if he says "Oh, I really wanted this and this, not this" you can say:  "Well, that's not in the original order, but I can make those changes for <blank> more since that involves making a new panel."  That's what's called "feature creep" in the PSO world.  Count on it, because it will most likely happen.
     Unless you are really experienced with building/converting MAME cabinets you might want to shave off some "learning curve" time, and charge what you think is fair.  One of the best first questions to ask is: "How much are you looking to spend?"  If they say $400, you know not to waste your time.  You might want to give a ceiling value too, just so he knows MAME cabinets can get pricey depending on how many bells and whistles he wants on it.  Give him a quote that you think is fair and if he balks at it, you're only out the time it took to put the quote together.


--- Quote ---You simply cannot open yourself up to doing everything for the guy, otherwise you will end up pissing away anything you make in the "little details he never mentioned he wanted.
--- End quote ---

     You can, just so long as you cover them all before you get started and charge accordingly.  Changing things after the fact just costs more money for him.  You'd be surprised how quick a wish list will shrink when T&M are applied to it :)  
     Since you aren't including a computer, you may want to do the nice thing and give him some MAME config files and some instructions to use since he won't know how you programmed the encoder.  Either that, or he can supply the computer later down the line and you can install and configure MAME on it for him.  Play dumb when it comes to ROMs though, or point out the commercial sets available like starroms.com or the Capcom series.
DrewKaree:
First off, you will be finding out his wishes.  

Break them down to what it will mean for you to - a)get the parts b)cost of parts

I would add 50% to small parts (meaning buttons/wire - remember, you have to pay shipping as well, recoup your money on that)

I would add 20% to any other parts (joys, ipac, t-molding, lighting, tv/monitor, trackball, spinner, etc.  This is for parts needed to PLAY, not build, the cab) this would add ~$8-20 depending on the part.

Figure out the highest price you've paid for a cab...will you find one for that price again, or cheaper?  If so, then charge that price.  Remember, you traveled to get them and lug them back to your house, hence the extra, otherwise you may end up blowing any money made (or spending your OWN cha-ching!)

If he wants plexi for a marquee or CPO, charge double the price for what you need.  This will allow you SOME reduction in stress, because you can make ONE mistake.  If you do not make a mistake, give him the money back (or drop the price accordingly) at the end of the transaction, if you feel so inclined.

I would charge a minimum of $50 for your tools.  This one is simple.  You have them, you already paid for them.  The wear and tear, bits, blades, taxes, whatever else involved in the cost of purchasing your tools...it's simple - he doesn't/won't be using his stuff, your stuff is costly to purchase, outfit, and replace if something happens.

After finding out what his wants are, how much time do you think it will take for you to build it?  Now that you have that figure in mind, treat it like you are building a house - cost x 1.5.  Hours figured x 1.5 = x.  Minimum wage is ~$5.50.  If you make $20/hr @ work, split the difference between those two figures (i.e. ~12-13/hr) if you feel so inclined.  Myself, if I can't make $50/hr on a side job, I'm not willing to do it, because the headaches aren't worth chicken feed money.  I do remodels (kitchen/basement/bathroom) on the side with union workers (in-laws), and even at THAT price, it's less than they'd spend on a contractor!  YOU HAVE SKILLS - they warrant you charging a decent amount for your knowledge, and you'll make a product he isn't willing/capable of producing.  

I would factor in the B.S. hours (where'd I put that friggen pencil?  Dammit, where are my wire crimpers!  How do I wire up this trackball?) because those things either are never figured into the total, or he may want parts you've never dealt with before.  

How many hours do I think you should charge for?  Cutting wood - 1 hour.  Running wire - 1 hour.  Paint/laminate - 1 hour.  Glue/Screw/Nail carcase together - 1 hour.  Detail work - 1 hour.  B.S. work - 1 hour.  Total hours 6 x 1.5 = 9 hours.

Multiplied by $20/hr = $180.  Is this too low?  In my opinion it is, but I take on side jobs with a minimum bid of me making $50/hour (remember, I have certain skills a customer wants.  Either they're willing to pay for them, or they're willing to use their own $5.50/hr skills.  This way, I'm only doing jobs that are worth my time.  BELIEVE ME, there's a WORLD of difference between the two jobs, and it DOESN'T take a skilled person to notice the difference!  That would make my price for labor alone $450, but in the end, his cab will end up costing him ~$7-900.  How much do you estimate YOUR cab cost you?  Would you sell it for that price, or is it worth more than that?  I'll tell you what, you'll find mame machines selling for about that at the auctions I've gone to!  Last one I went to, a mame machine sold for $1300!  All because you have the skills.  

I get the feeling that you are a bit nervous to overcharge for this.  If this is true, consider this one thing.  If you were to remove the computer from your cab, how much would you charge for it?  Ultimately, that's the price you should charge for making a cab, plus a %15 markup for having the cab completed.  

Good luck with your experience, and fill us in on what you choose to do and how it all works out.
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