The lady I am using just did a 72 by 96 quilt for under $40. The postage and insurance was 1/3 the price of her LAQ services. She is located about 60 miles from me so still cheaper in time and gas to mail my quilt to her.

I'm a long armer and I think the only people you're supposed to tip are employees, not an owner. It's like going to a hair stylist... they make minimum wage, right? You only tip the employees, not the owner. An owner is already getting top dollar, we don't need tips. However, if an employee is doing the quilting, then tip the employee.

I think the idea was that she was so cheap, that giving her a bonus is great. She obviously isn't getting top dollar. I can't believe how cheap she is!

In the uk we would pay in english pounds what you pay in dollars. A queen size quilt would cost £100 not including batting. I think the exchange rate is a little over $1.50 to £1.00 at the moment. If it was me I would tip the lady, I am sure she would be over the moon.

At those prices, she'll be forever paying off her machine. Then there's electricity and time and materials. "Reasonable" is being able to pay the bills and getting at least minimum wage. It isn't just the sewing time, add to that the set up of the machine, customer contact, billing, keeping the books and taxes, training, store cleaning. This is a business, not a hobby. I do have a minimum. It's not worth my time to quilt a small quilt.

i've had many customers (add) a little extra to their check when they pay for their quilt (and i'm not as *inexpensive* as yours!) i charge a pretty reasonable rate- but often if i give someone an invoice that says...$135 on it I may receive a check for $150...I do charge for batting (at cost) if i provide it- most of my customers bring their own choice of batting. I do not charge extra for thread unless i'm using a specialty thread- or making many color changes.
i don't think it's unreasonable to add a bit if you think its worth more to you than you are being charged and you can afford it.