How should you price a tuning file?

Most file services set their first prices by looking at the competition and knocking a bit off. It works until the first bad month. A price has to pay for the easy jobs, the hard jobs, the corrections, and the Saturday you spent on one car.

What does a file really cost you?

More than the tuner's minutes on that one job. Add the tool subscriptions and protocols, the editor, the corrections you do for free, the time spent answering questions, the jobs you turn down after looking at them, and your portal. Divide that by the files you do in a normal month, and you have the number your prices must clear before you make anything.

What should the price depend on?

Things the customer can see, so it feels fair:

On a portal, your price list holds your prices per ECU and per vehicle type, with tiers for your best customers, promo codes and bundles, and the customer sees the right price on the order page.

Should you charge per file or sell credits?

Most services end up offering both. Pay-per-file suits a customer you see now and then, while credit packs suit the regulars and bring your money in earlier. See credits or card for how they compare.

If a customer has to ask for your price, you have already made it harder to buy from you.

Should you publish your prices?

Publish enough that a stranger can tell whether you are in their range. Customers tend to assume that a hidden price is a high one, or that it will depend on how they ask. Showing it on the order page also ends the conversation that used to take ten messages.

How do you handle customers who haggle?

Give them a rule instead of a discount. A tier for customers above a certain number of files, or a bigger credit pack with bonus credits, rewards what you want without undercutting everyone else. It also means two customers on the same volume pay the same, which matters when they talk to each other. They will.

How often should you change your prices?

When your costs change or when your queue is always full. A long queue is usually a sign you are too low. Raise prices for new customers first, and tell your regulars well ahead, because a good customer will accept a fair rise with notice and will never forgive a surprise.