I agree, but you have to start somewhere.
When I was a very beginner, I charged 1.5 cents per square inch no matter what I did..panto, custom, stitch in the ditch.
I soon realized that all quilting is not equal...
It takes sooo much more time to do stitch in the ditch than even a complicated panto...
At 1.5 cents a square inch, I generally end up getting about $10 - $12 per hour for pantos by the time you add all the time to load the quilt. I have never made that much from custom quilting...I guess Im just too particular and it takes me a very long time to complete to MY satisfaction.
And I also am not charging for thread. Some LA Quilters add that to the per square inch price.
Hope you are ble to settle on a fair price for you efforts and area.