Grammie Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 Ok, I have looked at alot of other longarm sites to get a general idea of what is the norm to charge for certain services in Longarm quilting. I feel I have a fair understanding. I am considering the Compuquilter and I haven't noticed anyone mentioning that they use the Computer generated designs or I should say the charges do not reflect this. Will the fees remain the same/ On what scale if any is the COMPU considered CUSTOM? Say a customer wants a different design in each BLOCk, how will I charge or do I have some way of doing this without scarring away a customer. I just wasn't sure. Will I be able to show the Compuquilter choices on my Web once I have it up and running? Lots of questions, Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artinfabric Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Contact (name removed), I know she had a compuquilter and is also a dealer. I am sure she could help you. (name removed) APQS Millennium/Liberty/Freedom w/Compuquilter Longarm Training & Machine Rentals Sales Representative American Professional Quilting Systems www.apqs.com Check out her web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 The only computer quilter I know has a Statler Stitcher and she charges 3-5 cents an inch for computer designs. I had one customer give her a wholecloth type quilt (just a large chunk with some borders) and it turned out beautifully but at 5 cents and inch, the queen size quilt ended up costing just over $400. That's more money than most of my customers are willing to spend. I contend that quilters select a longarmer on 3 criteria, in this order. Close location, price and then quality. I get very little business "cold" from my website. I get referrals, and then people in other parts of the country contact me, but usually because I quilted for a relative or friend............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue E. Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Tammie, I believe that you make the decision as to how you want to produce the quilting for the customer - either freehand or using the CompuQuilter. As long as you produce the quality work the customer wants with the designs the customer is willing to pay for - either e2e or custom or even heirloom the customer shouldn't determine HOW you produce the work. So ... I believe you should set your rates that you are comfortable with for each type of quilting and charge those rates whether or not you use the CompuQuilter. In my other business (I have a wordprocessing/resume writing business), my clients tell me what their needs are and when they need the work and I produce the work in the best method for me. My rates are based on the type of work I am doing - whether straight typing, graphics, spreadsheet/database work, consulting, writing, researching, etc. The client very rarely has a say in how I go about producing the work as long as I am giving them the quality and final results that they are expecting and paying for. I have a CompuQuilter and do not yet do customer quilts. However, when I decide to take in quilts, I will adhere to this same philosophy. I will give the customer choices as to designs and what they want, but I will determine how I go about producing the final results. The customer probably won't even know that a computer is being utilized (that is our little secret).; Now, if you are going to be digitizing for a particular customer, you need to charge for your time and expertise. I believe that digitizing should be a premium fee because it does take time and not everyone is able to digitize. Good luck and let us know when you get your CompuQuilter, because I know you will get one. They are great and I love mine:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinaCollins Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Grammie, My prices for CQ quilting are the same as when I am hand-guiding... meaning that I have different levels in my price structure and regardless of whether I use the CQ to do their quilt... they are being charged for the design category, not which quilting mode I use. However, that being said- I make more per hour when using my CQ because I do not have to devote time to marking, measuring, and etc. Here's an example: My last quilt before getting the CQ installed was a double wedding ring where I had to mark 81 motifs and then quilt them. I think I made about $3 an hour before it was all said and done! -LOL!- However, on the next double wedding ring quilt that came in after my CQ installation, I was able to quilt the motifs one after the other- no resizing of the motifs, no marking, no ripping out where my quilting was less than perfect, and so on. I made a LOT more $$$ on the CQ quilt than I did when I was doing the motifs hand-guided because the quilting took me a LOT less time to complete.... So, even though my prices are the same for both hand-guided quilting and CQ quilting, my profit margin went up dramatically using the CQ- and in turn I DO earn more per hour.... AND ya gotta love that!!! Clear as mud??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbWetzel Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Tina.. thanks for the information. I am contaplation a purchase on the compu quilter... but haven't made that plunge yet. I am interested in the charges are per inch as using the compuquilter. I will get in touch with Linda to see what she has in mind. Barb Wetzel Ivy Corner Quilting Altoona, Iowa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinaCollins Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Barb, You can go to my website and look at my quilting services price scale ( http://www.applecreekquilting.com ) if you need a reference to how I charge. My apologies in advance for the very out-of-date quilt pics on my site.... Sadly, I haven't uploaded any new quilt pics in years---- I know, I know..... I REALLY need to take the time to show some better quilts! (hanging my head in shame:(:mad:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LA Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Hey Barb, I received your E-mail but it continues to bounce back to me? Give me a call tomorrow & I will pass my info on to you. Linda Originally posted by johnwetzel Tina.. thanks for the information. I am contaplation a purchase on the compu quilter... but haven't made that plunge yet. I am interested in the charges are per inch as using the compuquilter. I will get in touch with Linda to see what she has in mind. Barb Wetzel Ivy Corner Quilting Altoona, Iowa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingwithlove Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Grammie, When I lived in southern CA, the longarmers that I used charged by the hour. I was then surprised when I moved to AZ and became a longarmer to learn that here they charge by the square inch or sq yd in some cases. I was told that most longarmers base their charges on what they want to earn per hour. You have to figure out how long certain types of designs take and the best investment is a stopwatch! The more complicated the design, obviously the more the charge. Check out other longarmers in your area. I have formed a mini-support group with the ones in my area, and they are more than willing to share what they charge. It seems odd because we are in somewhat of a comptetition for the same customer base, but it works great. We refer customers to each other when we cannot meet a particular need or deadline. Good Luck & I LOVE my compuquilter! Like I told Bob K. at the Road to CA show "Quilting is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!!" SusieQ Prescott Valley, AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwltnlady Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Just my 2 cents, I live in So. Cal and can attest that many LA'ers charge by the hour, but how can you reliably tell how long something is going to take? I just did a medium panto on a 73" x 83" that took me 9 hours, start to finish, (I'm still kinda new at this) I timed myself from pinning all the way to unrolling. If I charged even the CHEAPEST which around here is $20/hour it would be beyond reasonable to expect someone to pay that. I charge by the sq in. and break things into simple, medium, intricate and (someday) heirloom. So, on some stuff I will come out ahead and others a bit behind, but I think it will average out and for me, this sounds like the most fair. At least you can give a more accurate estimate of the charges to the customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBL Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 I have the Hartley fence, but havn't used it much for customer quilts. I now have a client that wants her quilt done with all circles. I don't see this as a problem especially since I have Myra Ficken's new book. My question is charging. What category do you put that in....Custom? I want to get a good price but don't want to overcharge and scare the client away. Any Thoughts would be appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBL Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Im sorry, I wrote the previous post after a long day....I have Myrna Ficken's new book..and its great...sorry for the typo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbWetzel Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 Hey Linda... i just saw your post. We are leaving on a Cruise Sunday morning and will be gone for 7 days. When I return, I will give you a call. I am sorry, it has been a little busy around here. Thanks... much Barb Wetzel Ivy Corner Quilting Altoona, Iowa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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