How much to charge?

how on earth do you work out how much to charge for different kinds of readings?

i have seen professional readers charging anything between £5 and £35 for a 1 question reading.....and a hell of a lot more for 12 month ones!

i have just started to advertise and i am at a total loss, although i obviously know that the more cards and longer the reading is, the higher the charge goes.

help! lol

jue xx

I've wondered that myself and ultimately decided I am not ready to start charging for readings...but around the Atlanta area a reading can be anywhere between $20 - $120 dollars. The most I have paid was $40.

I think a good starting point is $1 a minute. $15 for a 15 minute reading at a psychic fair goes over pretty well.

Acacia said:

I think a good starting point is $1 a minute. $15 for a 15 minute reading at a psychic fair goes over pretty well.

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Yup and it goes well for £ in the UK, too. It seems the fairest system to me.

That's about what I charge too. Seems to be the going rate.

Sue x

Look at what others charge for the same service and charge in a similar vein.

Online, I charge US$5 per card, with a 3 card minimum. The average reading is 5 cards. I actually use more than 5 cards, but it gives me a guideline to work within

In person, I charge $50 per half hour. This is slightly more than the average ($45) but no one bats an eyelid. I include a cassette tape in each reading as well.

If I am doing a function and have to travel, I charge $110-125 per hour, with a 3 hour minimum.

I am infuriated by readers who undercut the average price. I think it does the rest of us a disservice.

I give free 1 card readings on my site and regularly do free readings at charity fund raising events, so I don't feel guilty about charging.

You can tell in the first few minutes if you have made a connectoin with someone, and on the rare occasion I don't, I would discontinue the reading and give their money back.

Most psychic fairs here in Australia are about $40 for a 25 minute reading - when I do the fairs I work for the promoter and only get about half, or less, but I still do them when I feel inspired to. It's a differnt kind of energy to work in and I feel it helps me grow as a reader, as well as being affordable for people who mightn't otherwise have a reading.

Brigantia said:

I am infuriated by readers who undercut the average price. I think it does the rest of us a disservice.

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Fascinating. How does it do you a disservice?

We all work in the same field certainly, but we could never exhaust the numbers of people needing readings.

Surely, pricing is a matter for the individual, their confidence in their own abilities and the buying public?

I think most folk understand they get what they pay for and that 'cut-price' might not be the best option for a reading. Similarly folk will avoid what they see as 'over-priced'.

I charge a pound a minute too.

Major Tom I see undercutting the average price as being in competition with others.

I don't think we need to compete. There is plenty of work for everyone.

Maybe it's different in my city to yours. Most places charge in the same price range and some have days where they offer discounted readings for those who are unwaged. I don't have a problem with that.

I don't understand why a competent, experienced reader would charge say half the going rate in their area.

One of my clients went to such a cut rate reader and was told that she would be raped and murdered in the car park on her way home but she could buy a particular thing from the reader to protect her. I have heard this scenario a number of times. The readers aren't making a living from the reading, but by preying on people's fears and profiting from that.

Another gent I read for had gotten caught up with another such cut rate reader and she and her partner conned him out of thousands of dollars and had him guarantee a car loan which they subsequently defaulted on.

My own experience with cut rate readers is that they have an ulterior motive. I realise that this won't be true for all those who offer cheap readings. i am just speaking of my experience and explaning why I think they do genuine readers a disservice.

Hi jue!!

Good to hear you are moving in this direction!

In New York the charges run from about $40 a half hour to about $75 a half hour (the latter charges more typical of Manhattan).

I charge $40 and half hour. While I do set up my hourglass (or half-hour glass if it's a half hour) I am not rigid about time, unless I have a series of clients. Then, I manage the time nicely.

Jenrette in her book on Professional Tarot (a very good book with some fine suggestion for launching into professional reading)...uses a "Karma Jar" and places some bills in it...that's if you are reading in a public place and taking walk-up or sign-up clients....in that case, doing 10-15 minute readings.

I guess it's best to start by checking out what the "going rate" is in your locale...that's always a safe bet...I feel I am still rather new to reading professionally, so I charge at the lower end of the spectrum.

So far, no one bats an eye at the price. I state it simply.

Actually, my flyers and business cards do not give a price, since I need to suit the price to the situation...if it were a party set-up, might want a total minimum cost for the evening. For individuals who call my home office, I simply quote the half hour price...and they can then opt for that or for more.

I also do "exchanges." My masseuse gets a few readings a year from me and gives me an hour massage for an hour reading. She charges $80 an hour for a massage...works well. I also give her one reading a year as a gratuity, since I get a massage twice a month.

terri

Major Tom said:

Fascinating. How does it do you a disservice?

We all work in the same field certainly, but we could never exhaust the numbers of people needing readings.

Surely, pricing is a matter for the individual, their confidence in their own abilities and the buying public?

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I agree, Tom...not a disservice. One of the reasons my business cards and flyers don't display the price is that I talk privately with the client before a reading. I do have a few people who would find the $80 for the hour a bit steep for their budget...I have worked, then, on a sliding scale...offering an hour for less...these are people I know, one a clerk at my pharmacy...she was so grateful...I did tell her that I was reducing my rate slightly for her and to please keep that information between us. I trusted her to do that.

I have been asked recently to read on a regularly basis in two locales in town, but just can't do it right now. In that case, I would probably have a little stand next to me, with the $40/half hour price on it...

I don't know of any "cut-rate" readers in my area...doesn't mean there aren't any.

terri