re: Capitalist and ethics question

I'm not paying retail, I set the mark-up as MSRP = 15%

this whole thread was based off of a misunderstanding that is resolved.

I find it interesting that you will allow customers to provide their own parts. I've never heard of that for a residential customer, regardless of types of service. You want the repair, you get the part from the repairman at the price he sells it for.

However, I've never seen a specific markup like you specify. Granted, I work with a lot of mechanics. But they typically charge MSRP or list price for the parts to their customers, since they are buying the parts at a discount from their supplier. So, the "markup" is effectively included in the price of the item, as the difference between the list price and the supplier price.

Now, like you said, your service fee is less than the competition. So, at the end, customers are probably coming out close to the same.

I think as long as you are honest about your pricing, then you have no ethics issues to worry about. I will say that in a competative market, whenever a player uses a pricing structure different than the norm, that player tends to take a few arrows when it comes to understanding.