Set up fee on longarming?
 

I've got a question for the longarmers for hire. A little while ago I discovered that some of the other local longarmers are charging a set up fee as part of their pricing. The explanation that I got from them is that it's for loading, unloading, squaring & trimming the quilt. Thread is extra. I've always included these items in my price per inch. Thread is extra though. Of course seaming a backing, batting, & binding are extra. What do ya'll think of this?

I rarely do a quilt for hire but when I do I just charge by the inch. They provide thread batting and backing.

People find all kinds of different ways to charge for longarming, but it all comes down to trying to get a decent wage for the time put into the quilting. I think the charges are set up the way they are in order to make the final cost more palatable (and understandable) to the customer.

I don't think most longarmers trim the quilt without an extra charge, and many quilters wouldn't want the longarmer to do that anyway since the method to be used for binding can determine how the quilt should be trimmed. I'm not sure what they mean by squaring, whether being sure it's square on the frame (which should be done with every quilt) or actually trimming to make it square before or after quilting (which should have the customer's approval first).

LAs here have a set fee per size of the quilt. Thread and batting included. But they are not professional, just do loops and swirls.

I have read that some longarm quilters have a set up charge or minimum and the reason given was it's especially helpful for small quilts that aren't many square inches it is a way to get an adequate payment.

It's probably just a breakdown of charges because some customers don't understand that it can take 45 minutes just to load the quilt, wind bobbins, etc. Many quilters figure all that into one charge but if you find people are questioning the charges breaking it down to show all the steps involved might help.

I have not yet sent a quilt for long arming, but I would appreciate a break down of the charges.

As a customer I like to know what I am paying for the components of a job as well as the finished job.

I am always happy to pay a fair price for a job well done.

I break my charges down on an invoice so that my customers can see what is labor, design, set up, marking, thread, etc. I started doing this to help people get a better idea of the time and work that goes into the whole longarm quilting process. It probably works out about the same as when I was charging per square inch, but helps me to be more consistent in my rates. Somethings I charge by the hour, i.e. design, marking, unmarking...basically anything that happens before and after it's on the machine. I also give itemized estimates so my customers know what they can expect to pay. Hope this helps.

I just had two quilts quilted by different ladies. One charges $25.00 per hour for the actual time of quilting. She doesn't charge for set up but does charge for thread. The other one charges $18.00 per square yard for an all over pattern. It is more if you want custom. She didn't charge for set up but did charge for thread.

I don't break my fee out - I think X per square inch is pretty self-explanatory, and easy for customers to understand. I also don't charge for thread, but do have additional fees for backing & binding if they want anything done there.
I did institute a minimum fee, to cover the loading/unloading for smaller quilts. Anything under 50x40 (200 square inches) hits my minimum.