Average rates charged?

Varies by area, since this has to be based on what yields a fair living wage for you as well as on what the local market will bear.

My standard advice is to invest in a Flat Rate Manual -- I believe several are available from the usual locksmithing publishers -- which is essentially a spreadsheet in paper form to help you determine what your proper hourly rate and trip charge should be to cover running your business (salary, rental, inventory investment, vehicle wear, advertising...) and leave you a profit you can live on, and then multiply the hourly rate by reasonable estimates of how long various common jobs should take to obtain appropriate per-task fees. Then check that against your competition's posted prices to see if you're being unrealistic... while remembering that some folks do charge an unreasonably low price and should NOT be matched unless you too want to have your business fail.

Actually, the safest way to learn this skill may be to watch someone else do it for a while -- hire on as an employee for a few years rather than trying to immediately strike out on your own. That'll also teach you just how much of the business you do and don't know, which will help you decide whether you're really ready to attempt going solo.

Welcome to the joys of running a business. Many, if not most, new business ventures fail due to insufficient planning and unrealistic guesses; don't be one of them.

ok. I got a big city to my east.. over 180K population.. within the city Limits its $25 daytime.. SOME charge $35 evenings till 10 or so, and then $50 at night..

Others here on the group, are charging $60-75 daytime.. it TOTALLY depends on your location..and what the others are charging..

AGAIN, IMO, you will NOT make a living 'opening cars ONLY', unless there is NO ONE around you doing it.. I make more money in other lock related things than 'car opening only'. --Shiva--

Excellent! Keep plugging along!

As much as the suckers, er clients will pay. Remember when it comes to lockouts you have the fish on the line and there is nothing he can do. That's when you really soak em'.

On holidays, double your rates and make sure you take your time getting there so the sucker thinks you are very busy and that they aren't the only person stupid enough to lock their keys in the car.

BTW Holidays don't have to be major ones like Xmas and so forth. Anything, the founding of the girl scouts, May day, start of kwanzza, anything you can even remotely consider a holiday gets double rates.

Locksmithing is one profession where you can roll'em and clip'em all day long and go home with your pockets full!

Good luck and happy fleecing!

Smart home owners will compare your charges against the expense of replacing a broken window glass (he can always break one and climb up the window).

I charge a minimum of $60.00 for a lockout during normal business hours. If I have to re-schedule jobs I have already promised for the day (which is almost always the case), I charge $70.00 emergency trip and $50.00 for 1/2 hr labor.

After hours it is $70.00/trip and $100.00/hr. The same on the weekends. More on holidays or if I really don't feel like getting up at 3:00am.

I'm not in competition with Pop-a-lock or trunk slammers. Don't want to be. I'm the best and get paid accordingly.

Bob

Local opening-in-town 40.00 Out-of-town 55.00-100.00 depending on distance.

If I am already on a commercial job, add 20.00- or wait till I am done.

Tow truck drivers, mechanics and beerchasers around here do it for

I get more requests for rekeying and originating- or installing than anything else.

goma.

Smart homeowners will get spares made so they don't have to break glass in the first place.

well, the owner of pop-a-lock in my town is damn good at opening. wouldn't say he is the best because there is no best. there is always someone better..

my2¢