Would you DJ a wedding for $550 in 2021?

[djtaso]

I bought a Dell Laptop at Best Buy in 2017. On Sale for $429 marked down from reg price of $599 at the time.

2019 The Hard Drive died. Took it to a reputable Computer repair shop, and it cost me $185 for a new SSDI HD to be installed, plus windows to be reuploaded, plus optimization. For all he did I felt it was a good price.

Anyway, not even 4 months later, the Power jack went bad. Took it to the shop because I thought it was a bios problem according to Google, and all the fixes I tried did not work. Ended up needing a new power jack. They also said I had to use a beefier charging cable to go along with the new jack. Plus they re optimized the laptop for me again to speed it back up. Another $150. So far, I have $790 or so into the laptop, and it is having battery charging problems again...started two days ago.

So about $200 per year in overall costs SO FAR, but this isn't even my main laptop. It's my secondary laptop, and I only use it about 1/5th as often as my main laptop. I don't plan on spending any more money on it, and I guess for the money maybe I got my money's worth out of the machine?

I haven't bought a Macbook ever in my life, but it seems as far as PCs go I can only recall ONE Laptop lasting me more than 4 years, and not having any serious problems (The Beats HP Laptop that I had 2013-2020) It seems that a laptop lifespan is about 3-4 years without money being poured into it. Then again, I have never bought a PC laptop that was over $1,000 either.

I have 3 MacBooks all of which I routinely use.... My first MacBook Pro at $2400 has been my go to laptop for everything I do since 2013. My 2015 MacBook Pro at $2400 used to be my performance laptop but is now just for backup and handling odd tasks. My 2017 MacBook Pro at $2500 is my performance laptop. It doesn’t do daily tasks, just is my main performance laptop with the best specs.

 

[SEDJ]

I bought a Dell Laptop at Best Buy in 2017. On Sale for $429 marked down from reg price of $599 at the time.

2019 The Hard Drive died. Took it to a reputable Computer repair shop, and it cost me $185 for a new SSDI HD to be installed, plus windows to be reuploaded, plus optimization. For all he did I felt it was a good price.

Anyway, not even 4 months later, the Power jack went bad. Took it to the shop because I thought it was a bios problem according to Google, and all the fixes I tried did not work. Ended up needing a new power jack. They also said I had to use a beefier charging cable to go along with the new jack. Plus they re optimized the laptop for me again to speed it back up. Another $150. So far, I have $790 or so into the laptop, and it is having battery charging problems again...started two days ago.

So about $200 per year in overall costs SO FAR, but this isn't even my main laptop. It's my secondary laptop, and I only use it about 1/5th as often as my main laptop. I don't plan on spending any more money on it, and I guess for the money maybe I got my money's worth out of the machine?

I haven't bought a Macbook ever in my life, but it seems as far as PCs go I can only recall ONE Laptop lasting me more than 4 years, and not having any serious problems (The Beats HP Laptop that I had 2013-2020) It seems that a laptop lifespan is about 3-4 years without money being poured into it. Then again, I have never bought a PC laptop that was over $1,000 either.

And Ive had pretty good luck with the PC laptops Ive bought, my first one I bought in 2005, and I used till 2012-ish, used that one till I upgraded in 2018 to the one I am using now. I just in fact put in a new SSD drive in that one yesterday , its my back up laptop and its like a brand new laptop.

All them were Dell's and they were/are not budget friendly(well, my current one is a part of Dell's G3 Series budget gaming, but even then it was close to 1K) .

 

[DJ Ricky B]

And Ive had pretty good luck with the PC laptops Ive bought, my first one I bought in 2005, and I used till 2012-ish, used that one till I upgraded in 2018 to the one I am using now. I just in fact put in a new SSD drive in that one yesterday , its my back up laptop and its like a brand new laptop.

All them were Dell's and they were/are not budget friendly(well, my current one is a part of Dell's G3 Series budget gaming, but even then it was close to 1K) .

In that same time frame, I have had two Toshiba Satellite Laptops, Three HP Laptops, and one Dell, so 6 in total. One of the Toshibas was a back up laptop, and only lasted maybe 2 years before it was just Dog Slow. The first Toshiba was a great laptop until the keyboard keys slowly started to break away on it. It was hard to use once like 6-7 keys were broken, then the HD finally went on it. The first HP I had I don't even remember what happened to it! LOL but It was a good laptop for maybe 3 years, and I think I got almost 5 years out of it.

I purchased my Wife a Cheap Toshiba that sucked, so I bought her a Dell the year after that. Her Dell has lasted 6 years now. It is very similar to my Dell except it came with more Ram and an I5 processer. Mine was a late gen I3.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

What I find is what are you doing with a laptop? This is for everyone. I use my new one to get on line and sometimes listen to music off my HD. The main one I've had for well over 5 years. I've had to replace the battery and power cord twice and that's it. I only use my main laptop to DJ, play Monopoly and burn CDs.

 

[Jeff Romard]

I bought one in June 2007 and one in September 2007. The first one developed audio problems about 2.5 years in the second one is my main performance machine till today. It was in the $700 range for both of them so todays dollars probably $1100 or so both were Dell (1501 and 1525). I have 3 Toshibas and an HP that were all bought between 2014 and 2018 all running well. I'm considering buying one this year to replace the 1525

 

[ittigger]

I bought a Dell Laptop at Best Buy in 2017. On Sale for $429 marked down from reg price of $599 at the time.

2019 The Hard Drive died. Took it to a reputable Computer repair shop, and it cost me $185 for a new SSDI HD to be installed, plus windows to be reuploaded, plus optimization. For all he did I felt it was a good price.

Anyway, not even 4 months later, the Power jack went bad. Took it to the shop because I thought it was a bios problem according to Google, and all the fixes I tried did not work. Ended up needing a new power jack. They also said I had to use a beefier charging cable to go along with the new jack. Plus they re optimized the laptop for me again to speed it back up. Another $150. So far, I have $790 or so into the laptop, and it is having battery charging problems again...started two days ago.

So about $200 per year in overall costs SO FAR, but this isn't even my main laptop. It's my secondary laptop, and I only use it about 1/5th as often as my main laptop. I don't plan on spending any more money on it, and I guess for the money maybe I got my money's worth out of the machine?

I haven't bought a Macbook ever in my life, but it seems as far as PCs go I can only recall ONE Laptop lasting me more than 4 years, and not having any serious problems (The Beats HP Laptop that I had 2013-2020) It seems that a laptop lifespan is about 3-4 years without money being poured into it. Then again, I have never bought a PC laptop that was over $1,000 either.

For a $429 machine, you spent $335 in repairs in 2 years - with more repairs coming (battery problems as you state). You''ve essentially already bought another machine with just the money you've spent on repairs. Considering you don't use it alot, this is rather expensive. Had you bought an $800 machine, I'm 99.9% sure that your experience would have been different.

My desktops are usually around 10 years old before I get a new one. My laptops, I have a Sony Vaio from 2004 that still runs (still original equipment), a Macbook Pro from 2007 (original), another from 2012 (I have upgraded this one, but not because of failures) and an Asus laptop that's about 2 years old (original) - all of them are still running. I also have some older Mac G4's (circa 2002) that are still running. If you want better performance and more reliability, you have to buy better equipment.

As for Mac's, everyone I know of that has converted to Mac, every problem has gone away - and they're holding onto their machines longer. My 2012 macbook pro is my main performance machine - and it's 9 years old.

If you're buying a $429 machine every 3 years (+time to set it up the way you need it). In 9 years, that's $1,380 if you have no system issues. At $429 + $360 of repairs, that's $2400. You've essentially paid for a high end Mac but instead have gone through 3 machines with problems.

 

[dunlopj]

What I find is what are you doing with a laptop?

I always brought 2 to every event. Just used for DJ'ing.....NEVER were on-line. Simple Dell laptops....nothing spectacular...never any problems.

 

[DJ Forbes]

Back to the original topic.... I'm just a budding dj and i was thinking... yea, I'd do a wedding for $550 and let them know I'm new and want to get my name out there.... but then I looked at the local competition to see what they are charging. They are in the 900+ range.... so now I don't think I would... I think it's important to know the local market in your area. I think I may say that I don't have their experience, but I'd do it for $750. It's only a few hundred bucks, but I think undercutting folks (especially people I know and work with at times) by that much is bad business. Yes, I'm less experienced, may not have the level of setup they offer, but there is no sense underselling myself. Maybe that's a bad approach, but that's my opinion.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

For a $429 machine, you spent $335 in repairs in 2 years - with more repairs coming (battery problems as you state). You''ve essentially already bought another machine with just the money you've spent on repairs. Considering you don't use it alot, this is rather expensive. Had you bought an $800 machine, I'm 99.9% sure that your experience would have been different.

My desktops are usually around 10 years old before I get a new one. My laptops, I have a Sony Vaio from 2004 that still runs (still original equipment), a Macbook Pro from 2007 (original), another from 2012 (I have upgraded this one, but not because of failures) and an Asus laptop that's about 2 years old (original) - all of them are still running. I also have some older Mac G4's (circa 2002) that are still running. If you want better performance and more reliability, you have to buy better equipment.

As for Mac's, everyone I know of that has converted to Mac, every problem has gone away - and they're holding onto their machines longer. My 2012 macbook pro is my main performance machine - and it's 9 years old.

If you're buying a $429 machine every 3 years (+time to set it up the way you need it). In 9 years, that's $1,380 if you have no system issues. At $429 + $360 of repairs, that's $2400. You've essentially paid for a high end Mac but instead have gone through 3 machines with problems.

Reading a lot of comments about DELL Laptops, I believe they have truly declined in quality and reliability. I don't plan to buy another one.

My next machine is likely going to be another HP, and likely going with a 17.3" this time around as well. Next machine will be a more expensive unit.

This one at Costco has caught my eye!

https://www.costco.com/hp-17.3%22-touchscreen-laptop---11th-gen-intel-i7-1165g7---geforce-mx450.product.100767843.html

 

[SEDJ]

Reading a lot of comments about DELL Laptops, I believe they have truly declined in quality and reliability. I don't plan to buy another one.

My next machine is likely going to be another HP, and likely going with a 17.3" this time around as well. Next machine will be a more expensive unit.

This one at Costco has caught my eye!

https://www.costco.com/hp-17.3%22-touchscreen-laptop---11th-gen-intel-i7-1165g7---geforce-mx450.product.100767843.html

You are not the only that believes Dell has delicned, I am seeing that mentioned a lot more.

That is a decent laptop in that link , nice that its a dual drive , I wont go back to using a laptop with only one drive.

 

[Jeff Romard]

Reading a lot of comments about DELL Laptops, I believe they have truly declined in quality and reliability. I don't plan to buy another one.

My next machine is likely going to be another HP, and likely going with a 17.3" this time around as well. Next machine will be a more expensive unit.

This one at Costco has caught my eye!

https://www.costco.com/hp-17.3%22-touchscreen-laptop---11th-gen-intel-i7-1165g7---geforce-mx450.product.100767843.html

Dell, HP and Toshiba for the most part are using the same parts the Dells may have different motherboards I know they used to and they were proprietary but other than that if you open them up you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference

I believe that is the exact machine I was looking at at Costco a couple of weeks ago it's more expensive here $1099 if I recall

 

[Proformance]

Back to the original topic.... I'm just a budding dj and i was thinking... yea, I'd do a wedding for $550 and let them know I'm new and want to get my name out there.... but then I looked at the local competition to see what they are charging. They are in the 900+ range.... so now I don't think I would... I think it's important to know the local market in your area. I think I may say that I don't have their experience, but I'd do it for $750. It's only a few hundred bucks, but I think undercutting folks (especially people I know and work with at times) by that much is bad business. Yes, I'm less experienced, may not have the level of setup they offer, but there is no sense underselling myself. Maybe that's a bad approach, but that's my opinion.

It's a bad approach because you are deferring to someone else's lead - and doing so on faith alone.

If you can do a wedding for $550 and get the chance then do it! This is the only way you will ever find out if you have what it tales to lead the pack. So, you do a $550 wedding and people say: "Wow! I can't believe my friends wasted $900+ on those other guys." Soon, you are the go to guy for weddings and you can set your prices to the number YOU decide is the most profitable rather than standing in line to wait your dutiful turn to play someone else's game.

The alternative might be to charge $750 and perhaps people think: "I should have hired the other guys for $900+." Your new. You don't have competition - you have aspirations. If you think you can just run and jump on that ladder half way up - be prepared to fall hard. Start by stepping on the first rung and see how high you can climb.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

It's a bad approach because you are deferring to someone else's lead - and doing so on faith alone.

If you can do a wedding for $550 and get the chance then do it! This is the only way you will ever find out if you have what it tales to lead the pack. So, you do a $550 wedding and people say: "Wow! I can't believe my friends wasted $900+ on those other guys." Soon, you are the go to guy for weddings and you can set your prices to the number YOU decide is the most profitable rather than standing in line to wait your dutiful turn to play someone else's game.

The alternative might be to charge $750 and perhaps people think: "I should have hired the other guys for $900+." Your new. You don't have competition - you have aspirations. If you think you can just run and jump on that ladder half way up - be prepared to fall hard. Start by stepping on the first rung and see how high you can climb.

I agree depending on the area. $550 in New York City will seem way, way cheap even for a newbie. $550 in a lot of areas for a newbie is competitive.

I recently had a lead for a wedding in York, PA. Only about 40 guests so smaller wedding. Only 4 hours and starts at 4 p.m. Their maximum budget was only $500. We are all booked up anyway as the wedding is on 9/25 so I declined to bother with it, but no way I can find someone for under $500. This would be a great client for a newbie DJ getting into weddings to book. There are cheap experienced DJs in the area that are open, and will offer to do it for $500 or a bit less than that as well, but a DJ just starting with weddings would have a pretty good chance on booking this one.

For $750, in most areas, clients will want an experienced DJ for their wedding.

 

[Jeff Romard]

Back to the original topic.... I'm just a budding dj and i was thinking... yea, I'd do a wedding for $550 and let them know I'm new and want to get my name out there.... but then I looked at the local competition to see what they are charging. They are in the 900+ range.... so now I don't think I would... I think it's important to know the local market in your area. I think I may say that I don't have their experience, but I'd do it for $750. It's only a few hundred bucks, but I think undercutting folks (especially people I know and work with at times) by that much is bad business. Yes, I'm less experienced, may not have the level of setup they offer, but there is no sense underselling myself. Maybe that's a bad approach, but that's my opinion.

As odd as this may be I agree with Proformance. You're new grab it and see what you can do. It really doesn't matter what others charge you're not running their business. Do the gigs get the referrals climb the price ladder.

A lot of us will balk at $550 but think of it in these terms if it's a 4 hour gig your performance pay would be just under $140/Hr. Lets include 10 hours prep time, in reality it's much less most times it's still $40/Hr not bad for a beginner. A top notch apprentice plumber in LA will make about $35/Hr electrician $24/Hr and has about what you have invested in tools and a couple of years education before he does. The bottom end of that scale is considerably lower

 

[ittigger]

Reading a lot of comments about DELL Laptops, I believe they have truly declined in quality and reliability. I don't plan to buy another one.

My next machine is likely going to be another HP, and likely going with a 17.3" this time around as well. Next machine will be a more expensive unit.

This one at Costco has caught my eye!

https://www.costco.com/hp-17.3%22-touchscreen-laptop---11th-gen-intel-i7-1165g7---geforce-mx450.product.100767843.html

I agree to a point - all mfr's make crap. Most mfr's also make some good machines. In the last 5 years, I've personally been involved with the Dell 3510, 5520, 5570, 5580, 6530, 6540 and 7520 (and a few others that I can't directly recall the model numbers of) - all decent performing machines. The 'hardware' issue I've seen most is swollen batteries - limited to the 5570 and 5580 lines.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Back to the original topic.... I'm just a budding dj and i was thinking... yea, I'd do a wedding for $550 and let them know I'm new and want to get my name out there.... but then I looked at the local competition to see what they are charging. They are in the 900+ range.... so now I don't think I would... I think it's important to know the local market in your area. I think I may say that I don't have their experience, but I'd do it for $750. It's only a few hundred bucks, but I think undercutting folks (especially people I know and work with at times) by that much is bad business. Yes, I'm less experienced, may not have the level of setup they offer, but there is no sense underselling myself. Maybe that's a bad approach, but that's my opinion.

It maybe only a few hundred dollars to you. To someone else it could be a big thing. The thing is to look to find potential clients who will pay the price you want to charge. You can throw a price out there, that doesn't mean someone will pay that price. Also you mentioned others having more experience then you and may offer more then you. That can be a big difference in the price you charge and what another may charge. You say you're fairly new to this business. May I ask how long have you been a DJ?

 

[DJ Forbes]

You say you're fairly new to this business. May I ask how long have you been a DJ?

Mix, I'm just in the early stages of starting out... still gathering equipment, researching others in the area, looking at venues, potential clients, etc. With the whole Covid thing, I'm trying to determine if it's worth taking the plunge and starting a business. I hate to invest and then all the venues close up again. All of the above comments and replies to post make a lot of sense.

 

[dunlopj]

I'd hate to invest and then all the venues close up again.

IMHO, sadly, I think that's where we're headed....

 

[cyberphox]

Not for $550, not even in my area. The basement DJ's can have it, and word will get around that you get what you paid for.

 

[IceBurghDJ]

Obviously a $400-500 PC will play music just fine all day. Buy 2..$1000. Less if you buy refurb.
And you have ivested what, $7500?

Even if I could, I'd spend that money on something else...a nice vacation, some woodworking tools...the wife maybe. My kids.

I have 3 MacBooks all of which I routinely use.... My first MacBook Pro at $2400 has been my go to laptop for everything I do since 2013. My 2015 MacBook Pro at $2400 used to be my performance laptop but is now just for backup and handling odd tasks. My 2017 MacBook Pro at $2500 is my performance laptop. It doesn’t do daily tasks, just is my main performance laptop with the best specs.