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Lowering start price from 1.50$ to 1.00$
- Thread starter Brad0505
- Start date
chaz
Active member
I don’t know your area or circumstances.....but are you crazy?!
In my opinion....for what it’s worth.....even if you lower the time accordingly, you are asking for trouble. I’m at $3 for 4minutes. A few years ago when I made that decision....it was in part to chase away the “bargain hunters”, that typically (in my experience) make the biggest mess in the least time. If I were you, I’d consider going UP to at least $2. Likely loose few if any customers, and make a bit for money
In my opinion....for what it’s worth.....even if you lower the time accordingly, you are asking for trouble. I’m at $3 for 4minutes. A few years ago when I made that decision....it was in part to chase away the “bargain hunters”, that typically (in my experience) make the biggest mess in the least time. If I were you, I’d consider going UP to at least $2. Likely loose few if any customers, and make a bit for money
I.B. Washincars
Car Washer Emeritus
Another thing to consider is the guy that buys just one cycle. Whether they make a mess or not, you made 50¢ less, so you would have to gain somewhere just to break even. In other words, don't do it.
Roz
Well-known member
One of Kleen-Rite's SS washes starts at $1 because they think that you cannot get much done in 80 seconds. While that may be true I agree with the above comment, you would just get more bucket washers. If someone is not willing to spend $3 to wash their car you do not want them as customers.
Eric H
Well-known member
Do you think that you are going to wash 33.3% more cars (or sell 33.3% more time) by lowering the price? That's what it is going to take to gross the same amount of $.
For example, if you sell 100 cycles a day at $1.50 ($150)you now need to sell 150 cycles a day at $1.00 to gross the same. BUT, if you increase your start-up to $2 you only need to sell 75 cycles per day to gross the same as you are now. Do you think you will loose 25% of volume by increasing to $2 OR do you think you can gain 33.3% buy lowering to $1.00? Even if you loose 10% at $2 you are still making an additional $30 per day ($180.00)
robert roman
Bob Roman
What can be bought for $1.00?
Stuff like music from iTunes, hair shampoo from Dollar Store, metal coat hangers, one item from fast food dollar menu, and start price for self-service vacuum?
In other words, stuff that can be bought for a dollar does not have much stature.
Consider average price for new vehicle is around $30,000 and 15 year old car at buy-here-pay-here maybe $4,500. Experience shows older vehicles are washed much less often than newer ones.
So, what is being target marketed with $1.00 start price?
Stuff that increases the relative attractiveness (i.e. capture) of a brick and mortar store is what gets more customers in the door.
Attractiveness involves curb appeal, visibility, clean all the time, highly functional, amenities (i.e. landscaping, surveillance, rest room), and strong value proposition.
The latter means the business has products and services that solve the consumer’s problems (clean, shine, protect).
E-commerce such as mobile marketing and digital networks can also help get more customers in.
For example, responsive website and customer app has shown to get more of the younger generation in.
chaz
Active member
Yeah...I was trying to say that....thanks for making it so clear black bad white.
I applied that thinking two years ago on my vac pricing. I was (like most in my area, except for one gas station at 50cents) $1 for 4 minutes. After being totally discussed one day on a vac clean out...I made the immediate decision to increase price to $2 and time to 6 minutes. My thinking....even if I lost 1/2 my vac business I’d be ahead in wear and tear. One of my best decisions ever.....vac income is WAY up and the mess is down.
Obviously there are the free vac locations some of you guys offer.....good for you. In my case free vacs is not something I will or need to offer...
Lowering your price to try to attract more business is just plain DUMB!! It doesn't work, if anything you should raise your price. The car wash at the other end of town from me is .50 for 5 minutes. I'm $2.00 for 4 minutes and I do a lot more business than he does, I very seldom ever see anyone there at his vac's.
DiamondWash
Well-known member
I'm $3.50 for 5 mins
In 2008 I switched to $1.00 tokens from .25 tokens and had to either raise my price to $2.00 from $1.50 or lower my price to $1.00. I decided to raise my price to $2.00 and watched my business decline almost immediately and watched it decline almost 35-40 percent by 2013. In 2013 I added CryptoPay, lowered my price to $1.00 and cut my time almost in half to 2 minutes and 12 seconds. I flash $1 car wash on my Daktronix reader sign and have watched my business increase by about 75 percent and have had record years the last three years. The only thing I regret is not doing this when I purchased the car wash in 2005 because I could have made more money. When I look at the numbers there are hardly any customers that wash for $1.00 and many that wash for $4.00 - $9.00. My highest credit card charge was $70.00 in my truck bay. I'd highly recommend trying $1.00 pricing it has been amazing at my location. Keep us posted.
mjwalsh
6 bay SS w/laundromat
I don't know what percentage of us have tandem bays ... but almost since day one we have always kept our start up lower than the competition to encourage a quick pull forward between inserts keeping both tandem bays being used. Anybody else have that consideration tugging at them a bit?
Earl Weiss
Well-known member
You could try one or 2 Bays with a $1.00 start. A local guy does this calling it "Splash and Dash". Se what happens vis a vis useage and mess etc.
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
Interesting. How much of that increase would you attribute to the overall improvement of the economy and more specific the wash segment of the economy?
How close are your closest competitors and what are they at?
What's the traffic count?
This may veer off the subject a bit, but while I don't think you would want to go that far backwards in your start up price, I do feel having round number for startup seems to make people spend dollars rather than quarters. Back in 2010 I did some upgrades and raised my start up price from $2 to $2.25. Granted this was when the economy was bad, but I didn't see any increase in revenue, and I was getting a lot of quarters, and not many bills coming in (I had added bill acceptors in the bays). So, I went back to $2 and put up signs saying "rolling back prices" etc.... and I saw a study increase in revenue and people using bills rather than quarters. It might be worth going to $2 and giving more time and put up signage letting people know that while the price is higher, they are getting a better value with extra time.
