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Hey Clayford I can imagine your anger about that situation...
I've done one repair 2 days ago and the pedal is still with me, it is Ibanez/Maxon AD100 .
And I really don't know how much would I ask for repair..
What do you guys think? 

Entirely subjective to everything. Parts and supplies cost - Time is money - money is time. And since you've not negotiated a price prior, you have to be careful or you could have a very non-plussed person on your hands.   

Plus like the Aussies and Kiwis, we're *really* good at swearing.

Like none other! I had a UK "English" instructor for 4 years in high school (secondary). I also had her in college. That transition was night and day. Sharp tounge, sharp wit, and zero tolerance for idiocy. God help you if you pissed her off. And as previously noted, almost always did it all smiles.

I'm English so have been being polite about it...

And yet every Englishman I know can tell you to bugger yourself with a smile and make you feel good about it as well. It must be all the queuing. 

I probably wouldn't tell him to shove it, but I would probably politely decline.

Sorry man, between work and school I won't have time today! Maybe next week?

Reading this thread, I think everyone is probably charging too little for repairs, whether you do it full time or part time.  Point in case, what's that average wage?  Here in Canada, I think it's somewhere in the range of $40k a year.  On a 2000 hr per year basis, that's $20 an hour.  So there's your absolute lowest base start.  Then add overhead (lots of money sunk into good quality tools, you have a work station setup in your place of residence that is costing you money, utilities, etc), and you're probably running another $10 an hour.  Put in a premium for expertise, and you should probably be at $50 an hour + parts (with a minimum 30% mark up, as you have stock that you have to maintain, and there's a time value cost with that) with a minimum one hour charge.  And that doesn't account for the time before/after the fix that you're going to spend dealing with the client.

I think we don't charge enough, however there is also the consideration of what the market will bear. I effectively was charging $40/hr for 20 min of work, parts, and shop supplies.

Or, you could tell him that "Due to unforseen circumstances and fluctuations in the marketplace, the cost of the repair will now be $40!"
Should cover the cost of a six pack 

Prices do fluxuate! I got 10pc of LM308N's from a trusted seller on the bay for $7.50 shipped to convert some used RAT's for the local shop. I used 4 of them and my wife accidentally pitched the rest (my dumb butt left them in the padded mailer). Exact same item is now $17.20 for 10pc 30 days later.

edited for clarity

 

I find that this thought process carries over to pedal purchases as well.... the entitlement and "something for nothing" attitude.

You can build a Tubescreamer and A/B it with the real deal and they sound identical. Try to sell it for $75 and people look at you like you are a con artist. "C'mon... it didnt cost you that much to build it. Why are you charging that much?" 

Ok then.... go pick one up on eBay for $400 then moron!

I tend to chalk this phenomenon up to pure hype! Do you plan on USING it or are you going to keep it in your safe deposit box?!

Sorry... did I wonder off topic? 

I don't think you did, but I've only had good experiences from friends wanting something built. Fuzz, TS, boost are the usual requests and I'm ok with building those. I did get a request for a Timmy which earned a sideways look from me along with a quote of $150... But that's what they normally are! I know! Go buy one and support Paul dang it! There we go with those strange ethics again.

I think the following should be my payment policy going forward for repairs etc:
"Terms are payment in advance, in full, and all sales are final, with no letters of credit, lay-aways, or IOU's. We do have a buy-back policy: If you buy it, don't bring it back."

I had a text message from said idiot. He's sorry he flipped his sh!t, can I please fix his pedal and he'll pay me the $20. There's a part of me that wants to help him and another part of me that wants to tell him to fold that $20 till it's all sharp corners and stick it.

I have a planet waves NS capo and a Kyser 12string. I like them both, complaint on the NS is that it's weak on the headstock and will fall off. And it looks like Jacob is ok anyway since he uses a Shubb.

There are several great capos on the market that will diminish fret damage and tuning problems, including Planet Waves Dual Action capo and all the various Shubb models. If your capo doesn't offer a tension adjustment, buy one that does. This will save you a ton of money in fretwork.

"Chalk, $1. Knowing where to put it, $9,999."

That designer quote is perfect in this case - because that's exactly what the issue is. The fix is quick, the parts are cheap, but knowledge isn't

I would've told your friend that his friend is a dick and perhaps not send anyone your way for repairs. agreed 20 is way cheap for a pedal repair.

I received a text from my buddy that hooked the sh!tbag up with me. Apologies were made. Apparently said idiot is not his friend but a friend of a friend. Things happen.

The two fixes I've done for friends I said parts only and they brought beer and cash as well. I didn't complain. I worked on a couple of personal pedals for an employee at my local guitar shop - wah mod and fixing a Rat - nothing fancy, a few resistors, transistors, LED's, and a switch - I left with a dozen of my preferred strings and was also given a used Phaser that I liked the sound of when I brought them back.

You should have put the old parts and dirt back in, given back the pedal and told him "okay, send it to Zvex, good luck for your gig tomorrow" 

Like I said - he left with a $200 brick

Generally people are happy and even grateful to have their broken favorites restored to working order. Others are idiots.

A friend of of a friend contacts me, he has a gig tomorrow night and his ZVex SHO is busted could I look at it. Sure bring it on over, we'll look at it and see what can be done. What's it gonna cost - it's a $200 pedal... I told him I have almost every part in the pedal and it shouldn't be more than $15-$20. He gets here and the insides smelled of beer and had some dried crud on the PCB.. It needed cleaned up with some electronics cleaner, a new diode, two caps, and a tranny. I asked for $20 to repair it and suddenly I'm an jerk that's "trying to f*(< him over". He said he could just send it off to ZVEX who would fix it for free. I naturally sent him on his way with a $200 brick and don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out. Friend wants to know why I wouldn't just fix it for (this is the idiot) the cost of the parts.

I've repaired the occasional pedal for folks before. Price has always kinda depended on relationship. Now even if ZVEX would fix it for free (doubtful) the shipping and insurance there and back are likely to be at least $15 and you have a gig tomorrow. I don't think asking $20 for my time, knowledge, and parts is unreasonable is it? 

<edited for for clarity, edits in italics>

I have gone through about 2 dozen of the 3pdt taydas and quite a few dpdt stomps doing various fixes and upgrades. I have 2 of the momentary softs on my bench and both are working just fine,

it's the OLD ones that haven't been powered up in a long time you want to bring up slowly. Or NOS. The dielectric needs to be babied just like you're talking about so they don't blow. New Caps - they've been charged and have their shape and are all ready to go.

Is that a melted chocolate with a purple swirl on the PCB?

Nah.. it's one of Joe Gagen's devil inductors. That one is purple. I can see where it might look like a bad rolo. I have one of his smooth wah pots as well for it.

A madbean weener wah build:
It's been a longer time building this one. Work, school, and devoting what little free time I have to the wife have been getting in the way of tinkering. It's not done yet but will be over the next couple of weeks.
So this has some old and new parts in it. I think it's the right balance on old mojo and new mojo. Whack will be selectable between  6.8n, 10n, 15n, and 22n(ish). Volume for the boost and the whack switch have yet to be wired.

It's strange how you start in one direction


I found an old Tube TV - and had to rob it for parts.


And I got the idea for a relay for the boost feature


and needed a box for the trigger:


And then in the end you wind up moving into a different one all together.