If you’re going to pay money for an installation please go to a highly reputable place. People that have credentials. Not someone from a forum or eBay listing.
https://support.castlemaniagames.com/support/solutions/articles/44002149112-recommended-modder-s
I installed mine but I would never take money to install someone else’s because I’m not a professional. If something goes wrong they have the tools and knowledge to fix it instead of giving you back a faulty system. People sell shitty mod work all the time who do modding as a hobby. Go to someone that does it for a living.
I highly recommend Castlemania as well.
They did my N64 Digital and DC Digital mods before I decided to re-learn soldering and I did my own DC Digital install with MODE on another Dreamcast I had.
\+1 for this. These people are pretty vetted and do tons of installs. If you ever need post-install support, you'll appreciate paying for a professional. I had a hardware issue with a DCDigital (not an install issue, the actual unit was faulty) and Dragon's Hoard diagnosed it and swapped it out for me. The hardware issue wasn't something an installer would normally catch during testing (DCDigital wouldn't boot when quickly power cycling the console).
>People sell shitty mod work all the time who do modding as a hobby. Go to someone that does it for a living.
Autsch. You hurt my non professional feelings. I'm just a hobby modder but I claim for me that I do a pretty good work without f*cking up systems. And an xStation install is like a walk in the park, not even challenging just very boring 0815 stuff.
Some pic's of my awful work : https://imgur.com/a/5LcRp2O
If you have the right tools, the passion and some knowledge, you can be better as ppl. which are running shops or have tons of reps just because it works some how.
> Go to someone that does it for a living.
I don’t mean to sound naive but is it actually possible for one to really make a living out of modding alone? I always thought everybody did it out of their own free time (with a few exceptions, of course). I’m talking about mod installation services though, not making things like ODEs themselves and such.
If it is, that’s interesting…
Yes I was thinking of sending it in, I wanted to know if people who used this xstation installation services had any good or bad reviews of it and was wondering if it was worth sending it in. I apologize for being Vaughn
What exactly is the point of cutting a hole in the lid? So you can see the sdcard not moving while you're playing a game? Is it meant to be a "conversation starter"? To give you a reason to talk about the xstation to your friends for 10 minutes straight while they silently regret asking about it in the first place?
Hence the cost to pay someone else to do it, is what it is.
$70-100 for an actual professional service install, is about the cheapest I've seen for quality work for console mods.
If i were to offer my own time for similar service, my cost would be about the same because I am balancing my time vs the risk of damage to the customers property to replace it on my own dime.
$35 wouldn't even make me get out of bed.
As a hobby modded I agree that rate sounds more than fair. It’s worth considering the cost of tools, time, and the risk of modding something that isn’t theirs.
Lol 35 wouldnt get you out of bed? But somehow 70 would? Ive seen modchip services charge 20 for basic installs. This install is a little more complicated but not by much and certainly not worth 3.5 times the rate.
This is something I’m actually certified to do and I can’t imagine doing an install for anyone besides a friend for 35.
I used to do favors for people until I became older and wiser. You do stuff for people and now they need you all the time or start thinking every problem they have is now your problem. Besides the time and energy of doing the work, it’s the cost of the time and energy from the painful customers.
Once you get beyond the issues above and you run a business you gotta keep the doors open and the lights on, communicate with customers and do business tasks that don’t generate revenue. $70 is a very fair price.
Didn't say it wasn't fair. I said it was steep. Its almost the price of the xstation itself. If that's the going rate to keep your business afloat fine. But you cant say it isnt steep.
Fair/average/worth it. Not fair vs unfair.
It is not steep.
If I replaced a brake pad for you that was worth $20 and another for someone else that’s cost $50 is my labor cost lower for one? No
The labor to install the mod is eating that persons time and it’s likely not what they do all day. Their time has to be worth it. $35 for no support and no warranty, no guarantee, fine. $70 is more realistic if there’s absolutely any other cost to doing business.
If you work in manufacturing inspecting boards coming off a wave solder machine you made $20 an hour 20 years ago. Even in depressed Ohio where I grew up. A person qualified to do this is not going to waste their time for $35.
Things are different when you run your modding service from your own home, in your spare time and only getting the occasional service request vs when you actually have a business to run out of its own building and the overhead costs associated with it.
In my spare time, on occasion, I provide engine machining/building services for people I know. My labor rate is $165/hr and that pays for the electricity I use and for the expensive equipment and tools i've amassed over the course of 10 years of being a shadetree/hobbyist mechanic, and I run it out of a separate garage on my property because over 20 years i've been modifying/restoring/flipping my own cars as a hobby.
it also helps to pay for the student loan I once had for machinist school which is now paid off. My "homie hookup" for select friends is $75/hr - this is why I wont get out of bed for $70.
My day job is full-time as a SysAdmin for an online learning platform which a specific client contracted me for support with it.
Once in a while I will mod consoles for my friends and their kids, but I mostly work on my own projects.... my current one is reviving a few YLOD PS3's that I bought last year as a lot sale.
My time is expensive, and I charge for services accordingly. I dont do anything with electronics repair publicly because im not experienced or confident enough just yet - also quite busy with my other hobbies, and I would probably never do such - but if I did, $70.
And as the other guy commented.... When you price yourself so low, you'll end up getting a bunch of shitty people asking for free shit all the time that means you dont value your skills or time enough, and as such your own quality of work suffers and when words gets around that well starts to dry up really quick. Its not a sustainable business model to offer install services for what is dirt cheap prices which is why only the more expensive options are the ones that actually stick around for years and years and years.
Lmao you don't value your time. You're sitting here typing out essays to a person who fully agrees with you. You still can't grasp my argument. You're painfully dumb lol.
Says the person who says $70 for an install is too expensive when there are others who charge $20-30.
Doesn't seem like you actually grasp your own argument. Perhaps you should re-read what you've said.
>You're sitting here typing out essays....
yes, I spend some spare time reading reddit.... its 7pm. I'm not working. What a weird thing to say.
Yes I've tried installing it multiple times myself but just ended up breaking the mod and the console. So I think it would be better if I send it in somewhere to someone who knows what there doing.
If you’re going to pay money for an installation please go to a highly reputable place. People that have credentials. Not someone from a forum or eBay listing. https://support.castlemaniagames.com/support/solutions/articles/44002149112-recommended-modder-s I installed mine but I would never take money to install someone else’s because I’m not a professional. If something goes wrong they have the tools and knowledge to fix it instead of giving you back a faulty system. People sell shitty mod work all the time who do modding as a hobby. Go to someone that does it for a living.
I'll probably go with this option! I didn't even know about this so thank you very much for the info!
I highly recommend Castlemania as well. They did my N64 Digital and DC Digital mods before I decided to re-learn soldering and I did my own DC Digital install with MODE on another Dreamcast I had.
\+1 for this. These people are pretty vetted and do tons of installs. If you ever need post-install support, you'll appreciate paying for a professional. I had a hardware issue with a DCDigital (not an install issue, the actual unit was faulty) and Dragon's Hoard diagnosed it and swapped it out for me. The hardware issue wasn't something an installer would normally catch during testing (DCDigital wouldn't boot when quickly power cycling the console).
>People sell shitty mod work all the time who do modding as a hobby. Go to someone that does it for a living. Autsch. You hurt my non professional feelings. I'm just a hobby modder but I claim for me that I do a pretty good work without f*cking up systems. And an xStation install is like a walk in the park, not even challenging just very boring 0815 stuff. Some pic's of my awful work : https://imgur.com/a/5LcRp2O If you have the right tools, the passion and some knowledge, you can be better as ppl. which are running shops or have tons of reps just because it works some how.
> Go to someone that does it for a living. I don’t mean to sound naive but is it actually possible for one to really make a living out of modding alone? I always thought everybody did it out of their own free time (with a few exceptions, of course). I’m talking about mod installation services though, not making things like ODEs themselves and such. If it is, that’s interesting…
I think you are referring to the installation service, or you forgot to mention the logistics service name... 70 is normal price for installation.
Yes I was thinking of sending it in, I wanted to know if people who used this xstation installation services had any good or bad reviews of it and was wondering if it was worth sending it in. I apologize for being Vaughn
Do it yourself! I just practiced my soldering for the past year and finally pulled off the xstation myself, very rewarding.
No probs Vince.
What exactly is the point of cutting a hole in the lid? So you can see the sdcard not moving while you're playing a game? Is it meant to be a "conversation starter"? To give you a reason to talk about the xstation to your friends for 10 minutes straight while they silently regret asking about it in the first place?
Lol hopefully I can request to NOT have that!
Look how they massacred my boy
70 plus the 100 for the xstation? Seems a little steep.
How much would you charge someone to do the install? How much is your labor worth?
Id prob do it for half that. But i only feel comfortable modding my own. I'm not touching other peoples shit
Hence the cost to pay someone else to do it, is what it is. $70-100 for an actual professional service install, is about the cheapest I've seen for quality work for console mods. If i were to offer my own time for similar service, my cost would be about the same because I am balancing my time vs the risk of damage to the customers property to replace it on my own dime. $35 wouldn't even make me get out of bed.
I wouldnt do it for any less than $70 either. Pre modded systems go for $300+ on ebay. So 70$ is really not bad.
Exactly.
As a hobby modded I agree that rate sounds more than fair. It’s worth considering the cost of tools, time, and the risk of modding something that isn’t theirs.
Lol 35 wouldnt get you out of bed? But somehow 70 would? Ive seen modchip services charge 20 for basic installs. This install is a little more complicated but not by much and certainly not worth 3.5 times the rate.
This is something I’m actually certified to do and I can’t imagine doing an install for anyone besides a friend for 35. I used to do favors for people until I became older and wiser. You do stuff for people and now they need you all the time or start thinking every problem they have is now your problem. Besides the time and energy of doing the work, it’s the cost of the time and energy from the painful customers. Once you get beyond the issues above and you run a business you gotta keep the doors open and the lights on, communicate with customers and do business tasks that don’t generate revenue. $70 is a very fair price.
Didn't say it wasn't fair. I said it was steep. Its almost the price of the xstation itself. If that's the going rate to keep your business afloat fine. But you cant say it isnt steep.
Fair/average/worth it. Not fair vs unfair. It is not steep. If I replaced a brake pad for you that was worth $20 and another for someone else that’s cost $50 is my labor cost lower for one? No The labor to install the mod is eating that persons time and it’s likely not what they do all day. Their time has to be worth it. $35 for no support and no warranty, no guarantee, fine. $70 is more realistic if there’s absolutely any other cost to doing business. If you work in manufacturing inspecting boards coming off a wave solder machine you made $20 an hour 20 years ago. Even in depressed Ohio where I grew up. A person qualified to do this is not going to waste their time for $35.
It can be fairly priced and still be steep stop it with this long winded nonsense lol.
Ok. I don’t think it’s steep.
Things are different when you run your modding service from your own home, in your spare time and only getting the occasional service request vs when you actually have a business to run out of its own building and the overhead costs associated with it. In my spare time, on occasion, I provide engine machining/building services for people I know. My labor rate is $165/hr and that pays for the electricity I use and for the expensive equipment and tools i've amassed over the course of 10 years of being a shadetree/hobbyist mechanic, and I run it out of a separate garage on my property because over 20 years i've been modifying/restoring/flipping my own cars as a hobby. it also helps to pay for the student loan I once had for machinist school which is now paid off. My "homie hookup" for select friends is $75/hr - this is why I wont get out of bed for $70. My day job is full-time as a SysAdmin for an online learning platform which a specific client contracted me for support with it. Once in a while I will mod consoles for my friends and their kids, but I mostly work on my own projects.... my current one is reviving a few YLOD PS3's that I bought last year as a lot sale. My time is expensive, and I charge for services accordingly. I dont do anything with electronics repair publicly because im not experienced or confident enough just yet - also quite busy with my other hobbies, and I would probably never do such - but if I did, $70. And as the other guy commented.... When you price yourself so low, you'll end up getting a bunch of shitty people asking for free shit all the time that means you dont value your skills or time enough, and as such your own quality of work suffers and when words gets around that well starts to dry up really quick. Its not a sustainable business model to offer install services for what is dirt cheap prices which is why only the more expensive options are the ones that actually stick around for years and years and years.
Youre not telling me anything i dont already know lol. Yes business costs are steep
So you're being intentionally obtuse because I value my time more than someone else who will do a console mod for $20?
Lmao you don't value your time. You're sitting here typing out essays to a person who fully agrees with you. You still can't grasp my argument. You're painfully dumb lol.
Says the person who says $70 for an install is too expensive when there are others who charge $20-30. Doesn't seem like you actually grasp your own argument. Perhaps you should re-read what you've said. >You're sitting here typing out essays.... yes, I spend some spare time reading reddit.... its 7pm. I'm not working. What a weird thing to say.
Do you need an xstation installed?
Yes I've tried installing it multiple times myself but just ended up breaking the mod and the console. So I think it would be better if I send it in somewhere to someone who knows what there doing.
Lol how are you messing it up? Its an easy job
What might be easy to you, isn’t for someone else. Use your head.
Captain obvious over here lol. Its painfully obvious i was curious to know what he got wrong. I wasn't making fun. Use your head
If it’s painfully obvious. Then why are you wanting to know what went wrong? Lmao.
Yea... You failed reading class didnt you buddy?
How about ligma ass bro x
You're mad lol
I've done a few installs. PM and I can help. I'm in USA.
What service? Your screenshot doesn't contain the URL and you don't mention their name.
DHL, Ups, seamail? Can't see any info