I posted this question in another thread somewhere, but nobody answered it. So here it comes again:

Anybody ever raise their prices by 25%? What happens when you do that?

Let's just say for gets and shiggles that you are fully booked with oh 300 horses on your schedule. Now you send a letter to your customers telling them that you have raised your price from $75 to $100. So now your entire customer base is scrambling to find another farrier.

Every farrier in your area is being pounded with telephone calls from your customers. Word gets out that you bumped your prices. The competition can't absorb your customers. Meanwhile you start taking on new customers who were dumped by the lower priced farriers who took on your price shoppers.

The cheap farriers wind up with reputations for unreliability because they bite off way more than they can chew. Eventually the cheap farriers raise their prices because everybody else has already raised theirs.

TRY IT!!! I DARE YOU!!!

The only reason I don't charge more than my current prices is because I do not honestly assess my skills and experience as being worth more than I am charging at this time. Believe me, when I can deliver foot work as pretty as Ron Alders' my services are going to be very pricey.

Tom Bloomer, CF

tbloomer wrote:
technically you would be raising the fee by 33 1/3%..... but who's counting

hell, if you could convince them that it's only a 25 % increase, you are doing even better than you planned

I like the way you think and I hope that your price projections for the next several years filter down my way

Derin

OK Dave

I will supply the nails,band-aids, and cool water.

I'm not raising my prices as a whole but I am raising my extras ...ie.., shoe mods, pads, specialty shoes, hoof repair etc.., My prices are already high for my area. It's sad but people around here in NM. would go years without trimming a hoof to keep from paying the prices you all get. But, when they do I charge accordingly to let them understand that a regular schedule is cheaper.

Tom and Mike F are priced right at what we are (for the high end of mid priced). I asked the original post because I did the backwards planning method and turns out I need to charge a bit more to make the wages that I feel I should be making considering the work and types of clientele I serve. I figured some here may charge a percentage per year like Tom did in his business planning and was trying to get a feel for what that percentage might be. My last price increase was 3 years ago at 15%.
As for losing business.... every time I've raised prices over the last 15 years I've gotten A.Busier, B.Better Horses, C.Clients that are easier to deal with and pay on time, and D. More work from Veterinarians. Sure you lose some but, You get to pick and choose the new ones because your income has actually increased.

Mike GivneyCF

Hoofangler, you are correct. Like I said I am at the high end for the area I work and live in. I lose some clients but I am always gaining clients. I bet 40% of my clients were referrals from one of the vets here in town. I do quite a bit of work for him and he is a farrier from his previous life. (prior to vet school) It's always easier to work smarter than harder.

I just quit caring and charge what i need to to make a living. Last summer my average feul and supply credit card bill was $2700 a month, then insurances, a bit to the "I'm broken and i cant bend over"fund, A bit towards the next truck, repairs, cell phone bills, and I was spending $3500 a month before Uncle Sam took his pie and left me a peice... I lost or just quit doing about fifty horses, and have more net now than when I was doing those fifty...and more time...and less aggravation... and fewer miles on my truck...
I have not had a new client in about two montsh(since the snow flew) but I am happier
Jason

mikes_horseshoeing wrote:
I thought of giving it a try. Lots of folks around here go to the omish for shoeing. I admit it, I can't shoe enough horses to make any money charging those prices. If I did it I'd hire some cheap labor, teach them each to do a piece of the job, set up an assembly line and shoe 100 head/day. That plan might need some modification but that market does exist and I'll bet there's a way to service it profitably...though my own back is not the way.

T.L. Buck wrote:
Is there a going high/low pricing for trimming in NM (rural)? The best farrier in the area is charging $80 for keg shoes and I don't know about the rest. He's been shoeing for more than 15 years and his work is really nice.

Guys I have found that in most situations the Barbershop Formula as described in Dr. Butlers book works pretty well. What does surprise me is how many farriers have never heard of and are clueless about it.

In 1900 the price of a haircut was .25, and the price to get a horse shod was $2.00. This was 8 times the price of a haircut. Think about it guys, in most places today 4 steel shoes are still about 8 times the price of a haircut in a barbershop.

The price of a trim ought to be about 1/3 of whatever youre getting for shoeing.

Of course you try to make the most you can wherever you can but I think the Barbershop Formula as written about by Dr Butler gives us a good point of reference to begin at.

George

Richard,
I live in the Tulasrosa Basin area. Around here I charge $30 to trim and $70 to shoe. Most of the "Cowboy" shoers around here get between $15-30 bucks for a trim and $45-55 bucks for shoeing. Of course that's when you can find one to call you back or when they find time from their "fulltime" jobs to make time to shoe a horse. I like to think I do a lot better job than what I have seen from these kind of shoers. Alot of the horse owners around here that I have come in contact with are less educated to the horse's hoof care needs. A lot of them have the mentality that it's ok to charge a little and come back when we call you. I don't run my business that way. I do this for a living and need to support my needs. I have been doing this full time coming up on 15 years.
George, if I went by that theory I would get over a $100 bucks to shoe. Boy that would be real nice. It would also put me out of business. I am lookin to relocate this summer and start over but I am not sure where to go.

While the barbershop method may be a good indicator, it does not take into account the cost of doing business, and the salary each individual farrier beleives he or she should earn. Some farriers have higher expenses, nicer trucks, need a larger shoe, nail, pad etc inventory. These things require a higher price in order to cover those expenses, not to mention things like health, life, and liability insurance, the cost of truck maintenance, retirement, and disabiltiy savings. Some of us as posted in another thread, use more rasps than others, those are expenses that cost some of us more than others. If I use 2 rasps a week and someone else uses 6 rasps a week, OUR COSTS are different, and quite possibly our prices will reflect that. Some of us drive 400 miles a week, and others drive 1000 miles, this cost should be added in to the cost of shoeing and could easily be reflected in the difference in price. The other thing, is some of us are happy to NET $30,000 others are only happy if they NET $200,000. Your salary is one of your expenses.

jmo
Dave Purves CF MBS

Don't be so sure. I don't know what the market is like in your area, but I do know that 5 or 6 years ago the farriers in my area were all saying the same thing. But as soon as one guy hit the $100, and the world didn't end, lot's of guys followed suit. The range in my area is anywhere from $70 for shoes to $175 for shoes. Trims are in the $20 to $40 range. The scary part is who is going to be the first farrier in your area to charge $100? You'll be surprised what raising your prices will do for your reputation, even with the backyard people. I hope that your area will support this.

Good luck
Dave Purves CF MBS

Dave, those are really great points. I am not sure if this area would supportme going that high. I get the finger already alot because I am $25 to $30 higher than the average "cowboy". I don't let it bother me too much because they are the ones that don't stay on a regular schedule or have trouble paying. I do quite a bit of referral work from one of the local vets and his clients don't complain too much. On some horses I get the $100 to shoe if I do shoe mods. I have a good reputation around here and am always getting new calls from potential clients. I am arfraid to get to high too fast and end up out of business. Horse owners around here are still in the dark ages.

Yeah guys I know what youre all saying about unsophisticated clientele. In my opinion I think none of us make enough money. I believe every horseshoer everywhere including the "cowboy types" ought to be getting well over $100 a head. Race shoeing should be no less than $200.

I realize that different areas will not allow this. Where I live they always have the option of going to the Amish or some other people that will always keep prices artificially low.

We must try to remember a couple of things, first of all its not the same world that we grew up in. Horses are not for the light of wallet. Most horse owners including backyarders have plenty of money. Dont worry your not hurting them.

Second, the worst places for having prices all over the board are the places that are least well organized. Farriers that dont associate with one another and/or belong to associations tend to be largely out of touch. For those of you who think its none of youre business what other people charge or dont care. I contend that it is. People who work too cheap hold the median price down lower than it ought to be.

For those of you who have read my writings on this and the other website know of my pro-licensing stance. This is the biggest reason why. I believe it to be the only thing that would force this type of organization which would lead to more profit and benefit all horseshoers.

George