Good stuff man! Pricing has been the hardest thing to figure out so far. I'm just finishing up school and I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row lol. Thanks for all the knowledge you share!
Thanks for sharing. In Portland, we're $27.50/cylinder. I didn't realize other parts of the country were that much lower! Check out Locksmith Ledger's report they put out (in 2017 I believe) showing the national average. I think $10-$15/cylinder for a rekey is a little low. Thanks again!
Yeah, in cali it's about $15 average. A lot of shops changed their prices to that to compete with the big franchises prices. That's also just for the common locks. Prices go up depending on the type of lock. Every shop around me is $15.00 and has been for several years. All their other prices have gone up tho haha
Could you do a deeper dive on special pricing situations that might come up or that you've dealt with, such as "go away" pricing, last minute additions to jobs, or anything out of the norm?
I give a range for pricing because you never know what other additional work may need to be done. It also weeds out the stingy customers that waste your time. A cheap locksmith may not be good, but a good locksmith isn't cheap!
Thank you so much for putting this together!I’ve always been confused about how to price locksmith jobs.P.S. Where can I find pricing ideas for other services(e.g. key originations, storefront hardware installations and service)?
You are welcome! I've gotten this question so much I decided to sit down and break it down this way to help everyone have a guide! As for the other prices that heavily depends on your market. I will try and put together a guide for that as well, it gets tricky on that as a rural Locksmith in Wyoming will charge a different price for the same install than a franchise Locksmith in Los Angeles ya know? The old school way is to just call around a good handful of the closest Lock Shops, ask them as a customer (most won't tell you if you are a competitor), write down the prices and then find an average and then compare that to your budget here. Some shops charge $1.50 for a house key copy in rural Michigan, some shops charge $3.50 in busy Los Angeles. It's a much trickier system to come up with lol
Does that trip charge apply to automotive as well? Trying to figure out what to charge for key programming and Laser key cutting. Thank you for your videos, they have help me out a lot.
So, this video is really a base example of pricing. It differs based on many factors such as the area you live, being mobile vs owning a brick and mortar and of course if you are an Auto-Locksmith. Here in California the low end trip charge has settled around $85.00 for your more home-town guys and the average seems to be hovering around $100.00. The ultimate decider on that will be to "shop" around your own local and surrounding locksmiths, always best to call as many as possible... but, ask them all their price to program a 2018 Kia Forte. Write this price down and pay attention to who uses "Flat Rate" pricing vs "starting point" pricing. The flat rate guys will give you a more accurate price to be able to average out later. Regardless of which one you call, always ask their "hourly charge" or "service call fee" to be able to get a better average overall when you break it down on paper. I will try and record an updated version of this video soon to better explain pricing in the Auto Realm lol, once you dive into Auto's or Safe's, the pricing can vary based on several factors.
My prices are very fair across the board which keep me in business and well respected in my community. I do offer some perks to my bigger clients who have tons of locks, but being a rural Locksmith, my main competitors are charging 4x my rates. My clients stay with me because my prices are fair, I am always on time to appointments, my work is triple checked and quality is important. If you are in a metro area with a dozen locksmiths or the $25/lockout guys then you may consider offering exclusive deals. But, remember that even if a client has 50 buildings, once you have rekeyed them, you may not see them again for a very long time. Also, the client who goes for those deals will quickly choose a competitor who offers an even better/lower price. Personally, I still charge the same rates amongst all clients, big or small. Bigger clients with multiple units or crazy amounts of doors I give discounts on bulk keys or things like that. But, never undersell yourself to get a big client. You will walk out of those jobs breaking even or even losing money sometimes. If you offer $20 less on a service fee, your competitor may offer $30 less. Then you are just racing to the bottom for a big client who ultimately just ends up with the better deal while you 2 race to the bottom. You want to stay competitive, always check local pricing changes and never be the guy who undercuts the competition by a significant amount. Those guys always go under. Many customers prefer the middle of the road pricing opposed to highest or lowest. It’s more important to answer your phone and follow through on your word to the big clients. They usually have a corporate card and they couldn’t care less on the cost.
I realize this is an older video. Is it a good idea to ask for the license plate number of the customers vehicle in case they decide to drive off if a tow truck gets the keys for them? Or is that going be asking for too much from the customer? I’m looking to change careers from a pipe fitter. I’m tired of beating myself up every day getting up at 4am and working in heavy industrial areas, grinding welding rigging
You could ask for the license plate number, it is a really good idea when the car is in a parking garage or at a mall, helps narrow down the car haha Sometimes when I was working with road clubs they would send me a description of “Lockout - Silver Honda” at the mall… No plate, no model. So, the more info the better. Also, for your own record keeping you also can jot down the Plate and last 6 of the VIN. Verify it with the registration. Take photos of any damage and document it prior to service, a lot of people try to open their own car before calling.
This was a hypothetical example. I used numbers that would be easy to follow along for video purposes. It was already going to be a long video and I didn’t want to bog it down with endless math lol
Hard to say with all of the knock-off brands you can find online, the downside to those machines are when they break you can’t find parts. HPC and Silca have reliable machines with parts availability from many distributors. The HPC1200 “Blitz” is a legendary Code Machine and you’ll find that in most locksmith vans/shops. If you take the “poor mans” choice and use a duplicator and space and depth keys, the Silca Flash 008 is a solid duplicator. HPC makes the Mini Speedex which costs less than the Flash, but in my experience the belt kept breaking after a handful of uses on the Mini Speedex. The belt only costs $3-$4, but it would just randomly break after a handful of duplicates. So, if you go that route I would stock up on belts!
California. But, this video is just an example of pricing. Not actual prices lol I did it this way to help viewers not need to do a lot of math and follow along easily.
@@LockandKilo Ok ya that's makes sense. Currently I am a $85 Trip Charge Rekey $25 per lock cylinder.. House open ups are total $120 and Car Open Up $100. Installation is trip charge + $55 for a fresh install.
Dead days happen as well as slow days. This was meant to be a guide, not an exact science. Every shop big or small will have slow days and even slow weeks, but that’s where networking comes in to play as well. I do not recommend changing your price day by day. Set your prices and stick to those prices. In my experience I have had multiple slow weeks and still averaged my normal profits by the end of the month. This info is to be used as a reference guide as everyone is different. Networking will play a major role in how successful a shop will become. The examples used in the video were to keep the math simple and easy to follow.
Networking. Living in the real world means having to talk to people. Living in the business world means having to talk to people with a smile on your face.
This is the very reason why i dont call services for anything. Because they charge too much. Id rather go without if im not able to fix something myself. Ill figure it out eventually. If repairmen/servicemen can learn how to do something, so can i.
You have to remember that the Locksmith, Electrician, Plumber etc spent thousands of hours studying/training, paying for trade schools, buying tens of thousands of dollars in tools and equipment and setting up a custom vehicle to handle these jobs... On top of that they hold expensive licenses, permits and insurance policies and they are responding to customers who often need them ASAP. Personally I usually have 6-10 clients scheduled every day and often times they can live up to 1 hour away (2 hours round trip) just in drive time. Then you have to factor in the emergency lockouts that you need to squeeze in when someone is panicking and has to get back inside. For the most part I do many of my own home repairs, auto repairs etc.. but, with my busy schedule I will pay a professional their fee to handle a time consuming task as they have the knowledge, equipment and tools to do the job faster and save me time. My mechanic for instance changed my service vehicles struts, brake pads and rotors all in 45 mins and I was able to minimize my trucks downtime and still was able to make it to 5 more customer that same day. His fee was worth the time I saved.
@@LockandKilo These are the worst type of customers. Think they can do everything themselves until they really mess something up. Then come back crying.
Im new to the locksmith business and this has been a great help to starting my business!
Good stuff man! Pricing has been the hardest thing to figure out so far. I'm just finishing up school and I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row lol. Thanks for all the knowledge you share!
Thanks for sharing. In Portland, we're $27.50/cylinder. I didn't realize other parts of the country were that much lower! Check out Locksmith Ledger's report they put out (in 2017 I believe) showing the national average. I think $10-$15/cylinder for a rekey is a little low. Thanks again!
Yeah, in cali it's about $15 average.
A lot of shops changed their prices to that to compete with the big franchises prices.
That's also just for the common locks.
Prices go up depending on the type of lock.
Every shop around me is $15.00 and has been for several years. All their other prices have gone up tho haha
Could you do a deeper dive on special pricing situations that might come up or that you've dealt with, such as "go away" pricing, last minute additions to jobs, or anything out of the norm?
This video is awesome. Great information. I really look forward to watching your other videos. Thanks for the detailed information.
I give a range for pricing because you never know what other additional work may need to be done. It also weeds out the stingy customers that waste your time. A cheap locksmith may not be good, but a good locksmith isn't cheap!
Thank you so much for putting this together!I’ve always been confused about how to price locksmith jobs.P.S. Where can I find pricing ideas for other services(e.g. key originations, storefront hardware installations and service)?
You are welcome! I've gotten this question so much I decided to sit down and break it down this way to help everyone have a guide!
As for the other prices that heavily depends on your market. I will try and put together a guide for that as well, it gets tricky on that as a rural Locksmith in Wyoming will charge a different price for the same install than a franchise Locksmith in Los Angeles ya know?
The old school way is to just call around a good handful of the closest Lock Shops, ask them as a customer (most won't tell you if you are a competitor), write down the prices and then find an average and then compare that to your budget here. Some shops charge $1.50 for a house key copy in rural Michigan, some shops charge $3.50 in busy Los Angeles. It's a much trickier system to come up with lol
Thank you for this information. I am starting a mobile locksmith service and I am trying to figure out the pricing. Excellent video!!
Where can I be trained around las vegas... thank you
Good job on the info.
Thanks! This is asked so much and there's no one size fits all.. this is the best guide I can offer on the subject. - Kilo
Does that trip charge apply to automotive as well? Trying to figure out what to charge for key programming and Laser key cutting. Thank you for your videos, they have help me out a lot.
So, this video is really a base example of pricing.
It differs based on many factors such as the area you live, being mobile vs owning a brick and mortar and of course if you are an Auto-Locksmith.
Here in California the low end trip charge has settled around $85.00 for your more home-town guys and the average seems to be hovering around $100.00.
The ultimate decider on that will be to "shop" around your own local and surrounding locksmiths, always best to call as many as possible... but, ask them all their price to program a 2018 Kia Forte. Write this price down and pay attention to who uses "Flat Rate" pricing vs "starting point" pricing.
The flat rate guys will give you a more accurate price to be able to average out later. Regardless of which one you call, always ask their "hourly charge" or "service call fee" to be able to get a better average overall when you break it down on paper.
I will try and record an updated version of this video soon to better explain pricing in the Auto Realm lol, once you dive into Auto's or Safe's, the pricing can vary based on several factors.
Thanks. Very helpful.
What cost on sfic fsic removal core remove rekey master keyed. Same key cost to repin. So on
Do you give slightly better deals to property managers or landlord with 20 or so properties that work with you exclusively?
My prices are very fair across the board which keep me in business and well respected in my community.
I do offer some perks to my bigger clients who have tons of locks, but being a rural Locksmith, my main competitors are charging 4x my rates.
My clients stay with me because my prices are fair, I am always on time to appointments, my work is triple checked and quality is important.
If you are in a metro area with a dozen locksmiths or the $25/lockout guys then you may consider offering exclusive deals.
But, remember that even if a client has 50 buildings, once you have rekeyed them, you may not see them again for a very long time. Also, the client who goes for those deals will quickly choose a competitor who offers an even better/lower price.
Personally, I still charge the same rates amongst all clients, big or small. Bigger clients with multiple units or crazy amounts of doors I give discounts on bulk keys or things like that.
But, never undersell yourself to get a big client. You will walk out of those jobs breaking even or even losing money sometimes.
If you offer $20 less on a service fee, your competitor may offer $30 less. Then you are just racing to the bottom for a big client who ultimately just ends up with the better deal while you 2 race to the bottom.
You want to stay competitive, always check local pricing changes and never be the guy who undercuts the competition by a significant amount. Those guys always go under.
Many customers prefer the middle of the road pricing opposed to highest or lowest. It’s more important to answer your phone and follow through on your word to the big clients. They usually have a corporate card and they couldn’t care less on the cost.
I realize this is an older video. Is it a good idea to ask for the license plate number of the customers vehicle in case they decide to drive off if a tow truck gets the keys for them? Or is that going be asking for too much from the customer? I’m looking to change careers from a pipe fitter. I’m tired of beating myself up every day getting up at 4am and working in heavy industrial areas, grinding welding rigging
You could ask for the license plate number, it is a really good idea when the car is in a parking garage or at a mall, helps narrow down the car haha
Sometimes when I was working with road clubs they would send me a description of “Lockout - Silver Honda” at the mall…
No plate, no model. So, the more info the better.
Also, for your own record keeping you also can jot down the Plate and last 6 of the VIN. Verify it with the registration.
Take photos of any damage and document it prior to service, a lot of people try to open their own car before calling.
Your expenses are so under estimated!
This was a hypothetical example. I used numbers that would be easy to follow along for video purposes.
It was already going to be a long video and I didn’t want to bog it down with endless math lol
whats the cheapest key maker that i could start with?
Hard to say with all of the knock-off brands you can find online, the downside to those machines are when they break you can’t find parts.
HPC and Silca have reliable machines with parts availability from many distributors. The HPC1200 “Blitz” is a legendary Code Machine and you’ll find that in most locksmith vans/shops.
If you take the “poor mans” choice and use a duplicator and space and depth keys, the Silca Flash 008 is a solid duplicator.
HPC makes the Mini Speedex which costs less than the Flash, but in my experience the belt kept breaking after a handful of uses on the Mini Speedex.
The belt only costs $3-$4, but it would just randomly break after a handful of duplicates. So, if you go that route I would stock up on belts!
@11:55 round up to $65.99. Wait a second. Okay, I see what you are saying.
1 year later…charge more!!! How bout like me 2-3 jobs…if you have the skills and knowledge…600 plus a day inflation is a bitch…charge more 😊
You are cheep compared to me. I think your location may be the difference. What state are you out of?
California. But, this video is just an example of pricing. Not actual prices lol
I did it this way to help viewers not need to do a lot of math and follow along easily.
@@LockandKilo Ok ya that's makes sense. Currently I am a $85 Trip Charge Rekey $25 per lock cylinder.. House open ups are total $120 and Car Open Up $100. Installation is trip charge + $55 for a fresh install.
So if u only get one job for the whole day, that customer is gona get charged $500 no matter what? U dont know how many jobs ull get in a days time.
Dead days happen as well as slow days. This was meant to be a guide, not an exact science.
Every shop big or small will have slow days and even slow weeks, but that’s where networking comes in to play as well.
I do not recommend changing your price day by day. Set your prices and stick to those prices. In my experience I have had multiple slow weeks and still averaged my normal profits by the end of the month.
This info is to be used as a reference guide as everyone is different. Networking will play a major role in how successful a shop will become.
The examples used in the video were to keep the math simple and easy to follow.
Yup, exactly. And if he makes $10,000 in a day, he only charges $0.50 per job the rest of the month.
Locksmith that only started his business, how he can get 5 jobs a day?
Impossible.
Networking. Living in the real world means having to talk to people. Living in the business world means having to talk to people with a smile on your face.
double this now with bidenomics
This is the very reason why i dont call services for anything. Because they charge too much. Id rather go without if im not able to fix something myself. Ill figure it out eventually. If repairmen/servicemen can learn how to do something, so can i.
You have to remember that the Locksmith, Electrician, Plumber etc spent thousands of hours studying/training, paying for trade schools, buying tens of thousands of dollars in tools and equipment and setting up a custom vehicle to handle these jobs...
On top of that they hold expensive licenses, permits and insurance policies and they are responding to customers who often need them ASAP.
Personally I usually have 6-10 clients scheduled every day and often times they can live up to 1 hour away (2 hours round trip) just in drive time. Then you have to factor in the emergency lockouts that you need to squeeze in when someone is panicking and has to get back inside.
For the most part I do many of my own home repairs, auto repairs etc.. but, with my busy schedule I will pay a professional their fee to handle a time consuming task as they have the knowledge, equipment and tools to do the job faster and save me time.
My mechanic for instance changed my service vehicles struts, brake pads and rotors all in 45 mins and I was able to minimize my trucks downtime and still was able to make it to 5 more customer that same day. His fee was worth the time I saved.
@@LockandKilo These are the worst type of customers.
Think they can do everything themselves until they really mess something up.
Then come back crying.
@@LockandKilo spoken like someone who understands the difference between running a business and having a job. Well said.
Isn't the free market just soooo unfair? I get it. I do...