How to price your services in credits

The short answer: price in credits exactly what you'd charge in cash. One credit is $1 of purchasing power with members, so a $150 job is 150 credits. The rest of this post is about how to show that price in a listing so members know what they're buying.

Your prices, in credits

You set your own prices on Red Rock Trade. Nobody sets a rate card for you, and there are no transaction fees taken out of a sale.

Members look at your listed price, decide it's worth it, and pay in credits. The credits you earn then buy the same amount from any other member, at that member's own prices.

Why price the same as cash

It's tempting to mark up a little for trade. Don't. A few reasons:

• Members notice. They know what things cost in town. A trade price higher than your cash price makes you the business they skip.
• Credits are only as useful as everyone's prices are honest. When every member prices like cash, your credits buy what you'd expect. Mark-ups mean everyone's credits buy less.
• It keeps your books simple. The IRS treats income from trade like cash income. One price for both makes record keeping straightforward. See taxes on trade and talk to your CPA about your situation.
• Sales tax works the same. In Utah, a taxable sale is generally taxable whether the buyer pays in cash or in credits. Ask your accountant how to collect and remit it on trade sales.

If you want to limit how much trade you take, don't do it with price. Do it by choosing which offers take trade and when. You can keep trade to certain services or slower hours, and one switch pauses new trade customers anytime.

Three ways to list a service

When you add a service, you choose how it's priced: Set price, Range or Quote. Products always have one set price.

Set price

The easiest for members: they can see exactly what it costs and pay without asking. Use it for anything with a standard menu price, like a haircut, an oil change, a lunch, a class or a 500-card print run.

Tip: name the unit. "Per hour," "per visit" or "per 1,000 flyers" saves a lot of back and forth.

Range

Use a range when the price moves with size or condition but stays within limits you know. Give the low and high end, and say in the description what pushes a job toward either end.

Keep ranges honest. A spread so wide it says nothing ("50 to 5,000 credits") is really a quote.

Quote

Use a quote for work you have to see first: remodels, landscaping projects, custom printing, legal or accounting work. Members contact you from the listing, you agree on the price, and then they pay you in the app like any other trade.

Tip: describe what a typical job includes and how fast you'll reply. Members are more likely to ask when they know what to expect.

Write listings members can say yes to

• Lead with the outcome. "Full interior detail, seats shampooed, ready same day" beats "Detailing services."
• Say what's included and what isn't.
• Match the price to your cash menu. Update both when your prices change.
• Split off off-peak services. If you have slow hours to fill, a separate listing for "weekday morning appointments" at your regular price makes it easy to keep trade there.
• Add a photo of the real work, not a stock image.

A quick example

A fictional mobile detailing business sets up three listings:

• Exterior wash: set price, 60 credits. Same as the cash menu.
• Full interior detail: range, 150 to 250 credits. The description says sedans are at the low end and large SUVs at the high end.
• Fleet service for business vehicles: quote. The description says they'll reply within a day with a price per vehicle.

Members can pay the first right away, see a fair spread on the second, and start a conversation on the third. Nothing is priced differently than it would be for cash.

Next steps

New to the app? Start with your first trade. Have slow weeks to fill? Read filling your slow season with trade. For the basics, see how credits work.