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The lens guy at the swap meet changed my take on CLA pricing
Talked to a retired tech at the Portland swap meet last Sunday. He said he charges $80 for a basic CLA, and I laughed at first. But he showed me his work, shims, grease, collimation, all done by feel. I always thought $150 was fair, now I see I was padding my own quote. He asked why I charge double for the same job, and I couldn't answer. That conversation made me look at my invoices different. Anyone else ever get schooled on cost by an old-timer?
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nancyn6918d ago
Done by feel" got me good because I'm over here using a collimator and still messing it up half the time. I charged someone $160 for a CLA last month and it took me three tries to get the focus ring right, so honestly that $80 guy probably does better work with his eyes closed than I do with mine open lol. I think the real lesson is that some of us are paying for our own learning curve, not the actual job. Maybe I should start charging by my skill level instead of the going rate, which would mean I owe people money at this point.
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