The cost of assembling my new gear.

[skytramp2 0]

I just recently bought a new rig from a gear store and paid to have it assembled. I just spent over$5000 on my new rig plus over $100 to have it put together. I took it in to have the reserve repacked for the first time and noticed on their price list that they charge much less for assembling a rig. I went back to the store and asked them why they charge more and the person in the store got pissed off at me for finding out that information (thats how it seemed to me) and gave me no answer, even after reminding them how much I just gave them for my rig. I also discovered they dont do the work there, they have someone else do it. So, my point is look and ask around before you pay for having your rig put toghether.

[billvon 2,403]

Or learn to do it yourself. It's not hard, and can be quite instructive.

[superwoman8433 0]

I'll put your rig together for that. Next time, just ask a more experienced jumper to help and bring beer and treats and you will find that many people will be willing to help you. Sorry you had to find out the hard way!!

[peregrinerose 0]

I'm not sure why you are so surprised that different riggers charge different amounts for the same service.

If you're going to have work done on your house, you may get 10 estimates from 10 contractors and get 10 different dollar amounts. If you had them all do the same work, you'd find 10 different skill levels and workmanship too (not always better service at higher price levels either).

What makes you think riggers are any different than any other service industry? Price will vary, included services will vary, quality will vary.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[stratostar 5]

That's because were all family and how dare you try to make a living, the nerve of charging money to a skydiver for services rendered..........

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[NewGuy2005 51]

Did that include packing the reserve?

[peregrinerose 0]

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That's because were all family and how dare you try to make a living, the nerve of charging money to a skydiver for services rendered..........

The OP didn't have a problem with paying, just a problem with varied price structures.

It makes me crazy that most new jumpers don't get to know their riggers or their gear, as the OP obviously didn't.

For crying out loud... new jumpers, interview riggers, find out EXACTLY what is done during a repack... ask questions, watch the repack if you can, always pull your own handles on the ground just prior to the repack so you know how it feels to cut away and pull a reserve on your own rig. Learn your gear and know your rigger well.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[relyon 0]

I find it objectionable that the cost of assembling and packing new gear is not included in the puchase price. While I agree that it is a service for which compensation is due, the manner in which the customer pays for it is somewhat unique.

I've bought new automobiles on several occasions. Not once did I buy a pile of parts and incur the assembly of those parts as a separate charge. It was included in the purchase price for sure, just not listed as a separate line item. There are numerous other examples.

Bob

[billvon 2,403]

>I've bought new automobiles on several occasions.

I've bought cars, trailers and hitches. None of the three dealers (Toyota, U-Haul-It, San Diego Trailer Supply) offer to integrate all three for free, although U-Haul-It was happy to bolt the hitch on for some extra $$.

Most people, when they buy a rig, buy a separate main, reserve and container. Sometimes they buy them at different times. Sometimes they buy them all at once - but they still specify it as three different pieces. Rarely they buy an all-in-one rig. "The Cheap Rig" from Ralph comes to mind, and if memory serves, he does have the option of buying it packed and ready to go. I don't know if he still sells it.

[peregrinerose 0]

I disagree. When you order a car, it comes pre-assembled. If you order a part for your car, the dealer or mechanic charges you two fees... one for the part, and one for labor to have it installed. If you want to install the part yourself, you can save the money and just order the part.

I just ordered all new gear through a dealer. It didn't come pre-assembled, it came in separate parts. Parts and labor are two separate fees. Because I'm a rigger, I saved on labor fees by assembling myself. It took me a couple of hours to inspect and assemble. Why should someone not charge for a couple hours of work that they spent a lot of time and effort (and often money) to learn how to do?

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[JustChuteMeNow 0]

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I'm not sure why you are so surprised that different riggers charge different amounts for the same service.

I'm not sure but I got the impression that the gear store tacked on a charge to assemble his rig and that the charge was larger than what they normally charge to assemble a rig for someone coming in off the street. If that is the case I would also be a little ticked.

Think of how stupid the average person is and realize that statistically half of them are stupider than that.

[peregrinerose 0]

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I'm not sure but I got the impression that the gear store tacked on a charge to assemble his rig and that the charge was larger than what they normally charge to assemble a rig for someone coming in off the street. If that is the case I would also be a little ticked.

I got the impression that it was a different rigger charging a different price and that ticked her off. If it is the same place it would depend on the assembly... they would charge more for assembling a full rig (main, reserve, AAD) than just adding a main, or just installing a cypres, etc, so she may have been comparing two different things?

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[stratostar 5]

If you only knew how many times I have heard people bitch about buying gear from the DZ store and then come into the loft pissed off because the cost of the rig didn't cover the 90 bucks for assy. & pack and act like we riggers are ripping them off.

As for the gear store tacking on a "fee" to be a middle man in the transaction, well they have phone bills like everyone else and if your to lazy to find your own rigging services and then find after the fact that you could have saved a few bucks by calling the same rigger the store uses, thats is your problem for not doing your homework in the first place!

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[packerboy 3]

If I order new gear, I would rather it came unassembled. That makes it alot easier for myself or my rigger to have a good look at each piece and make sure everything is OK. I prefer not to trust some nameless face at some factory with my life.

There have been instances where gear has been delivered assembled improperly. It would be the owners own stupid fault if it got jumped like that.

The majority of all parts to that system are manufactured by different companies. Why would there NOT be a charge to assemble? They could tack that onto the regular price of EVERY rig, but not everyone wants them assembled by some gear shop.

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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

[Glitch 0]

I agree with the gear coming un-assembled, as I would certainly prefer to pick the riggers I have work for me. I learned a long time ago that not everyone who carries a riggers ticket should be a rigger (and there are those who should be but don't btw).

This sentiment was re-inforced when I purchased all new gear a couple of years ago. The guy who assembled my rig and packed up the reserve gave me a "minimum" of a hard pull on the reserve if not a total. I'd rather pay the money to whom I trust than a faceless wonder somewhere.

Randomly f'n thingies up since before I was born...

[riggerrob 558]

That's odd!
When I rigged for Square One - if a customer bought an entire rig - the assemby and packing was free.
Rigger still got paid their regular piece rate.

Funniest thing was when a DZO (on the East Coast) sold a used rig and offered the customer a "free" assemble and pack. Then he tried to talk his two riggers into assembling and packing it for "free." I suddenly got very busy with other duties. After the other rigger struggled unsuccessfully (for a day) to stuff a US Navy Conical reserve into a medium-sized Vector, I took one look at the fiasco and declined to get involved!

If you brought a new rig to my loft in Pitt Meadows, I would charge:
$10 to install the AAD
$20 to assemble the reserve
$20 to assemble the main
$65 to inspect and pack the reserve
The boss likes to throw in a "free" main pack job ...

[JeffNo 0]

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For crying out loud... new jumpers, interview riggers, find out EXACTLY what is done during a repack... ask questions,

Easy. The OP said his point was “look and ask around before you pay."

[packerboy 3]

Caveat Emptor... Let the buyer beware.

Especially don't expect some to be free that is not explicitly explained in the original contract, it's just not going to happen in any business.

Again... Why you'd want your rig to come from the store assembled is beyond me.

Of course I've seen people buy rigs out of the trunk of a car from a rigger they don't know and then get on a plane. Then later get pissed off at their own rigger (who now happens to be a master rigger helping to design systems for PD) because something has gone wrong with the rig. Unbelievable.

Do people not think before they throw a rig on that their life is dependent on the person who put it together?

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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

[relyon 0]

I don't understand where anyone is getting the idea that assembly should be free. The OP didn't say that and I went to what I thought was sufficient length to state that it was a service that should be compensated for, only differing as to how the cost was accounted for. The first mention of the word free is in billvon's second reply. After that the concept of assembly being free took on a life of it's own.

What has become abundantly clear to me is that people (at least the majority responding here) want to receive their gear unassembled. That leads me to believe I should completely disassemble my packed and in-date rig when I sell it. That should save the buyer some time and money not having paying a rigger a disassembly charge in addition the assembly and I & R charges they will already incur. Perhaps I could help them understand their purchase better by letting them assist with the disassembly. I don't think I need to be certified to disassemble, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

My personal experience when buying a rig has been that assembly was included in the total purchase price. I watched and helped with the actual assembly of my first rig. Since then I've assembled a plethora of gear, so much so that riggers have come to me to show them some items relative to CRW gear.

Bob

[popsjumper 2]

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Or learn to do it yourself. It's not hard, and can be quite instructive.

Worth repeating.

For the life of me I can't understand why anyone would NOT do this. Simply watching the assembly is better than blindly jumping a rig you know nothing about. Who knows? *GASP* You might learn something!

Like packing...why in the world are there experienced jumpers out there who do not know how to pack? More dollars than sense?

For the record, I like the separate line item for assembly.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[flipper 0]

Dont see the difference between paying say $100 for assembly after you receive the new rig or you pay an extra 100 for assembly at the time you hand over the cash for the rig

Personally - I'd either do it myself or have a rigger of my choice do it for me

[relyon 0]

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Dont see the difference between paying say $100 for assembly after you receive the new rig or you pay an extra 100 for assembly at the time you hand over the cash for the rig

Personally - I'd either do it myself or have a rigger of my choice do it for me

I purchased my first rig directly from the container manufacturer in the fall of 1995. Not only was I able to take part in the rig assembly but I was also involved to a minor degree with the container being built. I had something like 35 jumps at the time and determined that assembling it myself was probably not a good idea. IIRC, it cost something like $3500 which included the price of assembly. The assembly charge was non-discountable and if I'd chosen to have it assembled elsewhere it would have cost me even more. I've since assembled dosens of rigs.

What am I missing?

Bob

[billvon 2,403]

>For the record, I like the separate line item for assembly.

Agreed. Publish the price and allow people to choose for themselves if they want to spend the money.

[shropshire 0]

I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. but every time that a trademan spends time doing something... it costs. They may choose to not pass that codet on or it may be included in the overall package, but time has been spent and work has been done.

I would have asked my friendly (they're all friendly ) neibourhood rigger to show me how to assembled the kit and paid what ever price we had agreed (could have been beer but barter is still payment).

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome