So what is the going rate for such things as OS installs/upgrades, CDROM installs, memory installs? I’m getting more and more requests to perform these kinds of things, and most the time, because some are friends, I usually would give them a freebie, or I’m paid for parts plus maybe twenty bucks. Now as more requests come in for PC work, people are willing to pay. But I don’t know what to charge. Any PC techs willing to share their rates for such things? Thanks in advance.
At the computer company that I work at, we charge $85 an hour, in half hour blocks. Plus the cost of the equipment.
I’ve had relative success charging $30 an hour; of course I’m a high school student, and I haven’t tried higher rates, so I may be underpricing myself. To reverse the question–how have you find so many prospective customers? The people I know only need so much computer stuff done, and many of them know enough to fix on their own. I’d work a lot more at $30+/hr if I could find more clients. Sure beats any other work I could get at my age, $7-8/hr tops.
Close friends and family are free. Everyone else pays $65/hour + parts. I only do this part time on evenings and weekends, and I don’t advertise so all my work comes from referrals and repeat customers.
You could also go the flat-rate route. A fixed rate for simple hardware installs (like a DVD-ROM drive and to make sure the system recognizes it, etc). A little higher for software installs.
The big money would be in troubleshooting.
My guy charges $45/hour, one hour minimum. Worth every penny, too. He’s been in business for five years.
Basically through word of mouth from hooking up friends and co-workers. I just don’t really know what’s fair as far as pricing goes for providing this service. $30hr plus parts sounds pretty reasonable.
All my clients are charged a flat fee.
Hourly rates seem to scare them. And well it should in some cases. I do quite a bit of “system tune ups”. (Remove spyware, virus, temp files, scan disk, defrag, etc.). By the hour… it would be prohibitive for them. So, I give them a flat fee of $60…barring any unforseen problems. (Which I will call and tell them about before proceeding.)
$40 for a simple virus removal…
Computer builds… cost of parts plus.
I do a heap of freebies as well. Hard to charge friends, as they are the ones that are bringing me the business of their friends and co-workers.
I prefer not to advertise as well. I let my work and my friends speak for me. 
Wow, $65 to $85 seems high.
I do programming on the side (VB6, C, .NET, JavaScripts, HTML, ASP, PHP) and I only charge $35/hour. Maybe I should switch to the hardware stuff.