Is a $1,200 to $1,600 for a 5 to 6 hour Wedding DJ a Low End Budget DJ?

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DO you consider a DJ who charges $1,200 to $1,500 to be a low end Wedding DJ?

  • Yes, DJs in this price range are working low end weddings, and are in the lower range of price.

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • VERY LOW END. All DJs priced below $1,600 are low end DJs working low end events

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No. This is a middle range price for a Wedding DJ

    Votes: 15 55.6%

  • No. This is Upper Cusp of the Middle Range nearing the High End

    Votes: 7 25.9%

  • That is rediculous. $1,200 to $1,600 is a high end Wedding DJ Price

    Votes: 3 11.1%
  • Total voters
    27
This past week I started to reflect a little more on where I wanted to take my brand, how i wanted to scale back even more on certain types of events, and simply due to my continued demand, I just decided last week to increase my price to $2500 for a 4hr reception and increased my minimums as well. I've already received 6 inquiries since then, 2 of which booked (1 I'm still waiting for the mailed retainer but have signed contract), 2 of which I have meetings set up with next week (1 even put a retainer down to not lose the date prior to our meeting about options), and the other 2 we'll see. I believe this price adjustment now puts me as the 2nd or 3rd most expensive dj in NJ. I never looked at other dj's as competition though as I always had my own circle of clients which never crossed with them, but I'm still curious to see how the results will play out. In the greek community I'm now $1000 more than my next closest competitor. And about 20x more expensive than mix, with substantially less equipment at the base level. :)
 
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djtaso said:
This past week I started to reflect a little more on where I wanted to take my brand, how i wanted to scale back even more on certain types of events, and simply due to my continued demand, I just decided last week to increase my price to $2500 for a 4hr reception and increased my minimums as well. I've already received 6 inquiries since then, 2 of which booked (1 I'm still waiting for the mailed retainer but have signed contract), 2 of which I have meetings set up with next week (1 even put a retainer down to not lose the date prior to our meeting about options), and the other 2 we'll see. I believe this price adjustment now puts me as the 2nd or 3rd most expensive dj in NJ. I never looked at other dj's as competition though as I always had my own circle of clients which never crossed with them, but I'm still curious to see how the results will play out. In the greek community I'm now $1000 more than my next closest competitor. And about 20x more expensive than mix, with substantially less equipment at the base level. :)
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You have things I don't have. You have some super nice ad ons that helps to increase your price if a client wants it which usually the case. You said you deal with mostly people who have their own business. So you mainly don't deal with people who would have a hard time getting you paid even though your retainer is only $300.
 
Taso I have a question for you. I heard you say a lot of your clients have businesses and that's why they can afford to pay you your price quote. Actually I have 2 questions please sir. When you first became a DJ what was your price then and how long have you been a DJ? I'm asking to show something and that is that you just didn't get to the level you're at now right away like some people think. People have said I'm blowing smoke up your butt. That's not it. I'm proud of your success. Being able to do what a lot DJs wish they could do. Classic line I've heard from some DJs on here that nobody in their area will pay that much for a DJ. I like to say there's a thing called World Wide Web and why do those DJs have to limit themselves to only do events where they live? Can't they branch out and do events for clients who will pay a certain price. I'm not saying this as a put down, just an observation.
 
Mix .. STOP being so hung up on price. You have asked this question waayyy too many times to count. Taso's price, MY price, anyone's price .. has nothing to do with you unless you do the same thing, in the same market, and for the same clients. When you get to the point of having too many gigs .. THEN you can work on getting the right price model.
 
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steve149 said:
Mix .. STOP being so hung up on price. You have asked this question waayyy too many times to count. Taso's price, MY price, anyone's price .. has nothing to do with you unless you do the same thing, in the same market, and for the same clients. When you get to the point of having too many gigs .. THEN you can work on getting the right price model.
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Steve why is it somebody keeps making threads about price? I was not just asking because of the price he charges now. Like I said it was to show he just didn't get there over night. He had to put the work in to get where's at. Now since you said it I propose we have a 2 month ban on anyone making a thread talking about prices and what a DJ should or should not be charging and why.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Steve why is it somebody keeps making threads about price? I was not just asking because of the price he charges now. Like I said it was to show he just didn't get there over night. He had to put the work in to get where's at. Now since you said it I propose we have a 2 month ban on anyone making a thread talking about prices and what a DJ should or should not be charging and why.
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What will you do for the two months?
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
You have things I don't have. You have some super nice ad ons that helps to increase your price if a client wants it which usually the case. You said you deal with mostly people who have their own business. So you mainly don't deal with people who would have a hard time getting you paid even though your retainer is only $300.
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I literally JUST said that I charge $2500 for LESS equipment than you bring. That’s my price for a sound ONLY setup. What does all the “super nice” add ons have to do with the base price.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Taso I have a question for you. I heard you say a lot of your clients have businesses and that's why they can afford to pay you your price quote. Actually I have 2 questions please sir. When you first became a DJ what was your price then and how long have you been a DJ? I'm asking to show something and that is that you just didn't get to the level you're at now right away like some people think. People have said I'm blowing smoke up your butt. That's not it. I'm proud of your success. Being able to do what a lot DJs wish they could do. Classic line I've heard from some DJs on here that nobody in their area will pay that much for a DJ. I like to say there's a thing called World Wide Web and why do those DJs have to limit themselves to only do events where they live? Can't they branch out and do events for clients who will pay a certain price. I'm not saying this as a put down, just an observation.
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I started at around $150 for an event back in 2004 and that price point didn’t even last a year. About one year later I was at $350/$400 and by 2008 I was at $750. By 2010ish I broke $1000.

Im not sure what question 2 Was...
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Steve why is it somebody keeps making threads about price? I was not just asking because of the price he charges now. Like I said it was to show he just didn't get there over night. He had to put the work in to get where's at. Now since you said it I propose we have a 2 month ban on anyone making a thread talking about prices and what a DJ should or should not be charging and why.
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Why is your price point the same after 30yrs?
 
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djtaso said:
Why is your price point the same after 30yrs?
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Because I went through a 7 year absence from the business and when I came back I just did events just because they were available and I was just excited to be back doing what I love to do. I didn't look at how to increase our prices over time. That means looking at different clients who will pay more for the services we were providing wich is what you did. Kudos to you!

Now let me say this. These price threads keep coming up. We go through tons of pages and end up with the same results. Usually nothing gets solved. Nothing wrong with talking about a problem. The thing to finally get to a solution. Keep complaining about a problem without getting to a solution, why keep talking about the problem. For example your vehicle needs the breaks to be fixed. You keep driving even though you know the breaks need fixing. Eventually the breaks get worn down to where you can longer stop the vehicle. You have an accident. Now should you be upset for having the accident or upset that you didn't get the breaks fixed so you wouldn't have the accident?

What the question should have been is if someone wants you to do a 5-6 hour wedding for $1,200-1,600, would you agree to do the wedding? What I'm talking about is what would you do. Not focusing on anybody else but you. Of course there are those who would turn them down because they know they can get somebody else to pay them more then that. The other question that should have been asked if are you at that price point today or far above that? How many of you are not at that price point but wish you were? I'm talking about the focus being about you. I never said you can't learn from others. At times to be honest I let my ego get the best of me instead of being open minded. I remember I used to attend those New Jersey Disc Jockey meeting I used to attend once a month. Some great people there. I have something I do on Tuesday and I do need to take off and go to that meeting once a month again.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Because I went through a 7 year absence from the business and when I came back I just did events just because they were available and I was just excited to be back doing what I love to do. I didn't look at how to increase our prices over time. That means looking at different clients who will pay more for the services we were providing wich is what you did. Kudos to you!

Now let me say this. These price threads keep coming up. We go through tons of pages and end up with the same results. Usually nothing gets solved. Nothing wrong with talking about a problem. The thing to finally get to a solution. Keep complaining about a problem without getting to a solution, why keep talking about the problem. For example your vehicle needs the breaks to be fixed. You keep driving even though you know the breaks need fixing. Eventually the breaks get worn down to where you can longer stop the vehicle. You have an accident. Now should you be upset for having the accident or upset that you didn't get the breaks fixed so you wouldn't have the accident?

What the question should have been is if someone wants you to do a 5-6 hour wedding for $1,200-1,600, would you agree to do the wedding? What I'm talking about is what would you do. Not focusing on anybody else but you. Of course there are those who would turn them down because they know they can get somebody else to pay them more then that. The other question that should have been asked if are you at that price point today or far above that? How many of you are not at that price point but wish you were? I'm talking about the focus being about you. I never said you can't learn from others. At times to be honest I let my ego get the best of me instead of being open minded. I remember I used to attend those New Jersey Disc Jockey meeting I used to attend once a month. Some great people there. I have something I do on Tuesday and I do need to take off and go to that meeting once a month again.
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Anyone looking to spend less gets referred to someone else... I dont bother trying to persuade them. if the countless pics, 300+ videos, and reputation don't sway them, nothing else will.

Anyways, the reason I post is not for the people that respond... but moreso for the people that are just reading and gathering info about what is possible. It's how I was for years before I started contributing.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
why do those DJs have to limit themselves to only do events where they live? Can't they branch out and do events for clients who will pay a certain price.
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Are you asking these two questions to yourself? Haven't people on here told you that you should travel outside your little corner of the world for higher paying clientle? You are in pretty close proximaty of NYC, and major money in NJ, aren't you?
 
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Let me say this and maybe this will cut down on somebody making another pricing thread. I guarantee everybody can identify with this. One person has plenty of money to pay for a particular item where `it's not a struggle to pay for it. They decide that they don't want that item. Maybe because they know where they can buy the exact same item somewhere else for a cheaper price. That's what happened with me. I bought the Samson Concert Series 288 dual wireless mics from KPODJ for exactly $250 straight cash. In Sam Ash which it's their brand the cost is $330 plus tax. So I saved about $100. Now somebody else can have plenty of money to buy the same item that somebody else didn't buy and wouldn't hesitate to buy that item. Keep in mind I'm not talking about somebody is struggling to buy it because it would either interfere with a bill they have to pay or almost broke.

Now let me go to an extreme situation for example. Let's look at somebody is looking to buy a Cadillac Escalade. Now that SUV new cost over $70,000. One person can go into the dealership to buy one and easily have the money to pay for it. All they have to do is write a check in ful. They investigate the person while they are there, see that things on the up and up. Now they wait till the check clears and then contact the buyer to come and pick up their vehicle. I'm talking about where they don't have any monthly payments. and can easily pay the insurance for 1 year. Somebody else may be in the same situation and decide that they don't want that SUV. They will look for another one and I'm not talking a cheaper one. One that cost as much but is a different make and model. Again I'm talking about those who can easily pay for it. Not someone who will struggle to pay for it.

Now let me say this. This question being asked is not fair to us. What counts is not what we think. What counts is what a potential client is willing to pay us. We can quote a bride $1,600 to do their wedding. Now it depends how many brides are willing to pay you that price quote. If either no brides or not enough brides agree to pay you that, that should tell you they don't think you're worth that price. Now this not blowing up Taso's butt. His starting price right nw today is $400 more then $1,600. There are those who easily will pay the extra money to get Taso to do their wedding because they believe he's worth spending the extra money. Then there's those who wouldn't because they either can't afford to pay that much or don't see it's worth paying more for him to do the wedding. So it's about where you're at and what you're doing. Simple question. Are you happy where you're at with your business?
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Simple question. Are you happy where you're at with your business?
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I think most of us have made peace with where we are. Or, we are working to improve our pricing.

What is your starting price for a wedding?
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
No he said he was considering doing that. He more then likely will do it to see how things work out.
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No i said I've been doing it... and if you check my site, it lists my starting price at $2500

This past week I started to reflect a little more on where I wanted to take my brand, how i wanted to scale back even more on certain types of events, and simply due to my continued demand, I just decided last week to increase my price to $2500 for a 4hr reception and increased my minimums as well.
Click to expand...
 
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