Hourly Rental??

[randijoy]

I have been considering renting my machine out hourly but wanted to get some opinions on it.

1. What is a standard hourly rate for this and what is customary for an initial training session? I live in the Chicago area so I imagine I can charge in the mid to upper range.

2. Is it too risky from a cost standpoint with wear and tear and unskilled users (I would require a training lesson first) or would I just be reinvesting the money I make into maintanence and repair?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Randi

[Mary Beth]

Randi,

That is a personal decision to rent out your machine. For me...no way would I consider it. Even if they were trained, I would feel the need to stay close by in case something happened and I needed to fix something. I just feel like I have invested a lot of money in this equipment, I have had extensive training in classes and I have a lot of supplies....just can\'t see letting someone come in here and take an hour training session and then turn them loose with my machine. But that\'s just me. There are a thousand others out there that will disagree and that\'s okay. You will hear all sides of this issue.

[BethDurand]

Hear hear Mary Beth!

beth

[michelleslongarm]

I would be concerned about someone getting injured and a possible lawsuit. Will it be in your house?? Will your insurance cover injuries from your business? Just something to think about.

[Lsilver]

I wouldn\'t do it unless you own a shop, but it\'s your call. I would be very concerned about liability and also how to limit the renters.

From a liability standpoint, you would really need to know that nobody has to get hurt much for it to be your problem.:mad:

When I got my machine I was definitely not anxious for the opportunity to watch others learn and train on MY machine. Now that I have had her for a while, I feel even more strongly about it.

[chickenscratch]

I would view renting out a machine after an hour or two of training like giving a kid a 10 minute driving lesson, then turning him out to drive on his own.

In my opinion a car is much easier to operate than a longarm machine.

[nineva]

Yo, MB, you are soooo right. No way would I let ANYONE touch my Millie except for close trusted quilters or, under direct supervision of someone that knows what they are doing. I paid way too much to let someone that knows nothing about the way Lola runs to play with her innards or outtards. I was very comfortable when Myrna was here, but we were all longarmers and there was always someone there. There was only one person that did not have a Millie.

Here are some things to think about:

How are you going to feel when a renter breaks a needle and messes up your timing? On a weekend when APQS is closed.

How are you going to feel when a renter has tension issues and reams on your tension disc and you can\'t get it back to your sweet spot?

How are you going to feel when a renter has thread issues and blames your Millie when it is really their thread causing the issue.

How are you going to feel when a renter leaves the needle down while advancing the quilt, rips it and blames you?

How are you going to feel when a renter wants to leave their half finished quilt on the machine and you really want to work on your own quilt.

ETC ETC ETC

These are worse case scenarios, and you should do what is right for you. Personally, if the guild members want to quilt their own, they should put out the big bucks you are putting out and get it out of their system. ROFLMAO JMHO

Nancy

[randijoy]

OK- I hear everyone loud and clear. The liability is not an issue since I own a Bed and Breakfast that I host quilting retreats in and I pay a fortune for insurance because everyone is so lawsuit happy - as evident by a drunk woman who fell down the stairs and tried to sue. Thank goodness insurance companies do not just settle anymore like they used to. This woman didn\'t get a penny for her own stupidity.

I WILL NOT BE RENTING MY MACHINE - I am graduating from an industrial ABM machine that can handle anything you throw at it. It is designed to be used in a sweat shop by people who do not care since they are only there to use it and get their paycheck.

[ffq-lar]

I personally would not rent my machine, but I am booked pretty far with customers, so that is a moot point. Several chatters here have mentioned they rent their machines on occasion and are probably afraid to come out of the woodwork because of the howls of people like me who say NEVER do that!

But, to answer your question about rental charges, the usual set up is a 4-6 hour class that you charge at least $100 dollars for. This gives time for lots of training and hands-on for the customer. Then I have heard $25 an hour for rental is fairly standard. This deters the dabblers and you will deal with serious piecers who want to try longarming with an eye to skill-building while finishing those extra-large tops, or the ones who want to build a quilt from start to finish and say they did it all. My LQS is an HQ16 dealer and rents machines for $15 an hour--that is a deal and I am sure it has sold a few machines after getting those piecers hooked!

A B&B quilt retreat..sounds like heaven from this side, but I am sure it is tons of work for you! Enjoy your new set-up and have fun!

[SandraG]

Ok, first where are you located? A B&B retreat sounds great. We are always looking for places to go.

Second, I have a Millie and a Freedom in my quilt shop. I do rent the Millie. My classes for rental is $150.00 and includes lunch and 1 set of zippers. I teach the classes once a month and have from 2 to 4 students. Both of my machines are in the same room so I am usually in the room when students come for rental.. I make sure that I am available the first time someone comes to rent the machine so I am available to help. I do not have people knocking down the door to rent the machine. Students usually find out that it is not as easy as it looks and not any less expensive. The people who rent on a regular basis are people that are interested in a machine and are usually waiting on adding space or arranging finances.

I hire two quilters that come into my shop to quilt on the Millie for customers. Neither of them keep the machine up like I do. So it is not just "renters" who would not maintain a machine as it should be. I always have to go behind the quilters to clean the machine, wheels, etc. Last time, my business partner and I took pictures of the dirt and grime under the needle plate and in the bobbin area. I also kept the thread that I took from around the wheels to show them.

My point, no one will maintain your machine like you will.

Sandra

[TAQuilts]

The shop I work at rents their machine to customers after they have taken the 3 hour class on how to set up and use it. This Class cost $60.00 then Actual renting of machine is $15.00 per hour, going up to $20.00 in July.

Be prepared to Babysit at least the first 2-3 x\'s a new customer uses it.

Customers are NOT always careful, I think it\'s because they are in a hurry paying by the hour.

Have spare parts on hand and know how to replace them yourself.

On the bright side, Actually many customers find out it\'s too much work, and become good paying LA quilt customers.

I have my own machine at home, and I\'d never rent her out.

Terry

[nineva]

Aww shucks, now I went and spoiled it for you. No no nono nononononono. You will LOVE your new machine. It will become your baby. You will pet her, play with her, talk nice to her, be mad at her, be grumpy and tired when she doesn\'t do what you want. But you will LOVE her. Do not be afraid. My Lola is the best thing I did for myself after a lot of years of doing for others. Walk away from the fear. You will know how to handle any of the above problems. But the point was, will your renters? No.

Relax. Breathe. Enjoy.

Nancy:D:D:D

[juliagraves]

I successfully rent out my machine. You can see all my pricing, rental agreement, classes, etc on my website. I have my computer and sewing table in the same room as my longarm, so I am able to do other things while they are here and still make $. My husband and I took the maintenance class and he is available to make repairs (I can too, but he\'s more gifted at it). I do believe that we have more repairs due to renters. I have liability insurance. I have never had a bad experience in over a year of renting.

I personally would rather rent than go through the agony of "will they think my quilting is good enough?" "will the customer like the design I picked?" etc. Some people take the class and decide they would rather pay me, which is fine - I do some quilting, but I would rather let the machine work for me and earn me money while I do something else.

I would be happy to email with you about specific questions.

Julia

[Cheryll]

I have let a friend quilt a small quilt. It made me nervous and it is more of a pain than fun. That machine is actually worth more than my present car. It\'s bad enough if I were to mess it up but it would be worse of a friend did it as it would cause hard feelings some way. Just be happy to enjoy your machine I think.

I have taken classes at a local shop where she rents the machines. She gave a one day class and then expected you to be capable of doing everything when you rented. Believe me one day is not enough.