The best way to figure out pricing is to call other people that do this in your area and find out what equipment they use and what some of their prices are then try to be competitive with them (you need to act like a customer to do this). The diffrent markets in the us have very diffrent pricing structures, something you would have made in Hollywood or New York you could probably get done a lot cheaper in Famsville Iowa.

Quality is a BIG issue in this kind of business. You've somehow got to find a balance between a level of quality that you feel is acceptable at a point where you can make something out of it and still charge what people are prepared to pay.
What I find makes it really difficult is the clients who have poor quality material that needs the most work are the ones who can afford to spend the least money.
Also be brutally honest with yourself. Given the cost of your gear, depreciation and running costs you need to recover more per hour of your time than you might realise.
Even if you're only doing this as a second job believe me it can soon end up as just that, another job. It can be pretty disheartening when you realise that you could have made more per hour stacking shelves at the local supermarket.

Walmart charges $19.95 in our area. A full service photo shop nearby charges $29.95

We charge $40 for up to an hour, $50 for two hours, with copies going for $25 and $35 respectively. And we do lots of DVDs, Walmart not withstanding!

The way to determine the price for a DVD is to determine what it costs you to produce it, not what your competitors are getting, or what you think might be a good price. What is the cost of your time and equipment to make the DVD: utilities, insurance, transportation, etc.; plus the cost of the jewel case, the photo (paper, ink, machine time) for the cover and for the disc; amortization of the equipment involved; plus your salary and profit for the business? This is what the price to the customer has to pay for.

Our customers pay us $40-50 rather than go to Walmart because we give them the one thing Walmart doesn't: personalized attention. It takes a couple of minutes to include two or three chapter stops and we often create chapter stops without being asked. It takes another couple of minutes to personalize the background for the menu. We pull a picture from their video and make the jewel case cover from it. They come away feeling that they've been treated specially, and that they have something very personal in hand. Doing all this "personalized" work adds perhaps 10 minutes overall to the time spent on the DVD, but it brings in double what Walmart gets. And perhaps more importantly, it brings in repeat business and referrals.

I'm with JackW. It all depends on what you can do it for - and what the market will bear.

If you say you want to do a VHS to DVD for $10...people will pay you $10.

If your time, energy and efforts (not to mention equipemnt....discs, labels, ink, cases, etc) is all worth $10 a disc - then charge $10.

One thing I would caution .... you mentioned you would do some edits (cutting out obvious 'junk' at your discretion). Bad move - and even worse idea.

One man's junk is another man's gold mine. I would suggest you never cut out anything that you haven't spoken with the client about. Sure enough - you go cut out someone scratchin their butt and that is the one peice of vide that they really wanted to keep.

My local newspaper had an article in the Personal Technology section on this topic today. You may find it of interest. Changing home videos to DVD a breeze

-Dan

I had a client that needed 70 DVD-R of a DVD I made.
I quoted $8.00 each and that included printing on the disc
with a DVD case.
He found a place that would do the same for $4.00 ea.
And they would print an insert for the DVD case.
Man it's about time to jump ship and go be a real estate agent!

MKS

I don't do this often but when I do, I ask that the client be there as I'm transferring ($35/hr. while we're sitting there transferring in real time and discussing any editing etc. and then $45/hr. during everything else). Once the material is dumped into the computer I can show them what can be done as we go along (transitions, music beds etc). They are usually very pleased with the options available and feel they are getting a bargain with how quickly those decisions/results can be executed once the material is in the digital domain. As far as copies I charge them cost plus my $45/hr. I live in New Mexico in an area with a population of about 50,000.
Randy

I offer different levels of tape to DVD transfer....it's about what everyone stated--$45 to $50 per tape-if I go straight into my Sony DVD- no editing, just a dub. If they want editing-like fades and removal of bad areas and a simple menu with chapter points..that is about $150 for a one hour tape. I have to digitize, edit and encode the material so it looks nice and fits onto a single DVD...all this takes time...and to be honest- $150 is cheap. I like to charge about $125 laber hour, $75hr to digitize and encode(if I can walk away on the encode)...
If the want a slick DVD- motion menu, edit package with FX- I bill it out per hour or we agree on an estimate. To be honest tho....most of my clients are corporate...not a home video user...but I have done favors for the $45 to $50 range per hour

Check out Yes Video. They were reviewed by Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal last week. It's the second time in three years he's written about them. They have a major partnership with Kodak and may be the leader in VHS to DVD transfer. Their pricing is based on huge volume and scale, so you can certainly charge more than they do. However, I certainly don't think you would want to charge less.

Here's the link:

Yes Video

About that pricing for "YesVideo, which charges about $25 to convert any kind of home video to a DVD" mentioned in the San Jose Mercury News:

This company was part of the dot.com bubble that over-ran the silicon Valley a few years ago. I remember seeing their original ads and being frightened at the low prices they offered. This is one of the most expensive parts of America to live, and 25 bux to convert video to DVD with lots of chapter buttons seemed calculated to drive all us little guys right back to palying in bars.

I did a little research and found that like so many of the startups in this area at that time, they were headed by a very compelling sales-oriented guy who obviously made a great sales pitch to some of the venture capitalists that were investing in new compnnies hand over fist, and got his company funded quite well, thank you.

I haven't read anything about them since the dot-com bubble burst, but they're obviously still out there and haven't burned thru their investment capital yet.

I hear they do a reasonabll good job, by the way, but fully autoamted and assembly-lined.

The lesson: instead of going to video/audio/art/music school and gradually building your skills, equipment, judgement and clientele, go to business school and learn to write convincing business plans, then just hire the techie geeks.

" quoted $8.00 each and that included printing on the disc

I would have said I'll do it for $3.99 each, you'll still make a profit on it. Figure a disc is $1 at the most 20-30 cents to print the label and insert, and 20 cents for a jewel case. That's about $1.50 per disc for you to do the job, you would have made $2.49 profit per disc. And guess where that person would go next time when they needed discs duplicated.

That is the problem people think that just becasue they are copying a DVD they are doing some amazing technical thing and should get more money for doing it than they should. If you're prices are high people will go other places to have their discs duplicated, and you won't get any buisness. If you keep your prices low and competitive, you will get a lot more jobs, and while you won't be making as big of a profit on each job, you will still have lots of work to do and lots of money coming in the door. I don't know about you but I would rather work hard and make some money than just sit there and wonder why I'm broke!

you would have made $2.49 profit per disc.

Your time is worth $5.00/hr? (Assuming you can burn 1 in 30 minutes - if you can burn 1 in 15 minutes, then $10/hr?)

Actually, that's generous because it doesn't include printing, assembly, packaging, and deliver time.

Well, concidering the only real "time" I spend on burning is me putting a disc in a dulicator and pressing a button, yeah $10 for 10 seconds of work is fine for me. It's not like I can't go off and do other things while a discs is burning. I shouldn't be charging the client for times when I am in the bathroom, or surfing the net while their discs are burning.

Like I said, it's better to have money coming in the door and have competitive prices than have no money coming in the door and charging double what everyone else is.

Unless you have a standalone duplicator, that means the computer is tied up the entire time of the burning. In my case, that's also the same computer on which I edit video (can't edit while burning) and on which the DVD printer is attached (can't print while burning). Plus, it may only take 10 seconds to insert the DVD but it will take another 30 seconds or so to navigate the dialogs to start burning the next DVD. So, for the sake of argument, figure 4 minutes for the 4 DVDs. And that's assuming you are organized enough to be back about the time the DVD ejects - get back early, you're wasting YOUR time - get back late - you're wasting BURNING time.

Now, once they are burned, you have to create the DVD artwork and manually feed each of them into the printer. Figure 2 minutes EACH plus the cover creation time. Now you have to create the DVD Sleeve artwork and print EACH of them - another couple of minutes each plus the creation time. Then you have to put the sleeves and DVDs into the case - another minute each? That's a total of about 25 minutes (not counting the artwork creation time) for 4 DVDs in which you made less than $10.

However, your point is taken. You've upped the rate to approaching $20/hr.

I guess I just assumed that if someone was starting a home DVD buisness they would invest the $300 and at least get a 1 to 1 DVD Duplicator so their computer wouldn't be tied up all the time, just makes sense to me. If you're using your computer to do everything then I can see where it would not be as cost effective, but you would still make a profit on it. I do somewhat of the same thing at home, I have a PC a MAC and a 1 to 1 DVD/CD Duplicator so there is always another piece of equipment open for me to be doing other work on when one is tied up.

I guess it all comes down to having the right tools to do the job, and be able to do the job in a more cost effective manner. They always say you have to spend money to make money. Small investments like a DVD Duplicator can actually save you lots of time and money and will eventually pay for itself and begin to make you money.

A lot of the above economic analysis neglect overhead. You have heat, light, insurance, workers comp, returns, and many other things to pay. The money for this comes from what business school courses call "marginal contribution." This is a fancy word for the difference between what you charge, and the direct cost of the material and labor required to produce each unit. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the difference between what you charge and the cost of a blank DVD is your profit. Big mistake. You need to make much more, or you'll keep wondering each month why you can't quite cover all your bills.

You also have to pay for depreciation on ALL of your equipment, not just your DVD burner and labeler. You computer, monitor, and other peripherals are being "used up" with each hour of use, and eventually will have to be replaced. If you pay $1,500 for your computer system, and it lasts two years, and has a residual value on eBay of $300, then you need to cover $600 per year to have cash available for your next computer.

Another metric to consider is how much money you can make doing something else. I can get a job at McDonalds for $6/hour. Therefore, I darn well would expect to make more than that, clear and free, doing something myself. My gardeners make $10/hour. Most secretaries make between $12 and $15. Elementary school teachers make $20.

It seems to me that, after ALL your expenses and overhead have been paid, you ought to be shooting for a minimum of $15-20 for yourself. If you can't develop a business model that gets you that much, then you should either admit that you're doing it because you really enjoy it and don't mind making less than you could make elsewhere, or you should consider doing something different.

… just a thought from someone whose brain was permanently warped, a quarter century ago, by two years at a “well-known eastern school of business."

But if you are doing it out of your home you can wipe out a lot of the overhead costs that a lot of corporations have to deal with. As far as the equipment depreciation, I usually rebuild my computer systems every year or two, when something better comes out I simply sell my old stuff on E-bay. A lot of the times that will cover at least half if not more of the cost of buying new equipment.

The unfortunate fact that I have discovered is that the best returns usually come from doing the least creative work. (I'm talking about the consumer oriented end of the small business).

We deal with consumers who are used to seeing very polished presentations on TV and on studio released DVDs. They often have the perception that if they can buy the Matrix at Best Buy for $14.95, then you must be ripping them off by charging several times that for a one-off DVD.

Most of my returns come in image capture of old home movie film, simple DVDs done on a set top burner, and in those jobs where the occasional multiple copy sales occur.

Most of this can be avoided by educating your clients BEFORE taking in the job. Keep a bunch of samples of work you have done from diffrent formats. When a client comes in you can say OK, you have VHS-C tape you want to put on DVD, here is what one looks like that I have done before. This will be similar quality to what you will get, this is what the menu will look like etc... Then the client can make a decision based on what they see wether they want to make the investment to have their tapes transfered to DVD or not.

Adding up expenses, including your time is an absolute necessity for a successful business, and us "artsy types" tend to underestimate that in a big way.

It is also important to keep bringing business in. So if you have to quote low rate, make sure your quote is for the bare bones service, and make sure you explain that to the customer. Then hold their hand along the way, to create trust and comfort, and keep suggesting more things you can do for them: add photos, more buttons, audio, cooler Menus. Have samples of cool stuff you've done so they get it, and you'll become their dvd guru. Charge for all the extras in a way that's profitable for you. Don't press on the extras, just show them all the stuff they could have, and they'll come back and recommend yo to their friends. It's slow, but it works.

Okay...I know this is old-But....a comment was made something like: If you can buy a DVD at best Buy for $14.95...then anything higher is ripping them off! One reply was to educate your customer...so true! You must educate them on the economies of scale and volume pricing! Movies are replicated in the hundreds of thousands-not one at a time. It's the "Bulk" price -vs- I just want one. They have to see that! It is part of our everyday life- if you can purchase in huge quantities- you get a lower price- economics 101. If you explain and educate the client- you will minimize your issues. All of my clients understand one aspect in the DVD world- if they want 500 DVD's- they are usually duplicated and the cost is actually $100 more than if they replicate 1000 DVD's! The replicated DVD is a better product with a silk screen or offset printing right on the DVD...and they have an extra 500 to sell, give away- or use them for coasters! Just explain the theory! Heck- I usually get $50 for a one off master and $25 each for the next ten...$15 each up to 25. My 2.5 cents worth!
Mike

Out of curiosity, where are you located Mike?
Randy