# What to charge for data recovery?



## Blade_Jones

How much are independent repair techs charging for data recovery? Apparently Best Buy charges $59 for an in-store "evaluation", then at least $260.00 if they ship the drive off to Kentucky to recover the data. Does anyone know if they still charge $260 if the drive is recognizable by Windows or by 3rd party software like SpinRite or GetDataBack? That's some EASY money and a long wait for customers!


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## Johnny Tremaine

I do this sometimes. First you have to define what kind of data recovery you are doing. Running "GetDataBack" on an accidentally-formatted HD is not the same thing as pulling the platters off in a clean room, and then getting something useful from them on another HD. For basic data recovery, I charge by the hour; however long it takes for me to mess with the software. I knock off most of the time the computer is actually doing the scanning, but not all as the machine is not usable for other purposes. Meaning the customer pays for my time, and some of my computer's time.

Also the quality of the recovery. If the HD is in the process of permanently failing, and there isn't much (or any) data to recover, I don't charge for the time it takes to find this out. But I probably should. I figure they are already going to have to pay for a new HD, they should have to pay in order to find out they've lost all their data also. Too nice, I guess.

The clean-room type of data recovery is something I'm very interested in.


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## Blade_Jones

Well Geek Squad is my competition, so if they're charging $260 to run SpinRite or GetDataBack then my price must seem like a bargain in heaven. I charge $60 for the first 10 GB, then $0.25 for each additional GB. So it appears as though I get the job done for the same price Geek Squad charges for the customer just to walk in the door. I was just wondering if they charge the full $260 if all it takes is software to recognize and copy the data. Anyone know? GS also makes NO guarantee that they will recover anything! I guarantee recovery or they don't pay. I allow them to even check out what I've recovered to decide if it's to their satisfaction. If so I transfer to their drive and they pay me. If not then they leave with no data and don't pay. NOTE: they always want their data even if it's compromised (example: scrape across the platter causes some files to be screwed up).

I don't repair drives that are physically damaged, but I have yet to encounter a one in the short life of my repair business. I know that when software can't repair it, statistically 50% of the time it's the circuit board that is the culprit, in which case you simply buy a duplicate drive and swap circuit boards.


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## Johnny Tremaine

I decided against charging by the Gigabyte because the time difference between a "small" recovery and a large one is neglible. I'm still doing all the set-up, running the scan, etc... no matter how much data is recovered. The main difference in time between a large recovery and a small one is the Computer's time, and not mine.

Also, if the quality of the data is poor, it creates a point of contention with the customer. The could adopt a position of "Why should I have to pay for data that is useless to me ?" in ADVANCE of the sale. Whereas, if you tie the price to the time, and give them a reasonable estimate, they will feel more comfortable with the transaction before it takes place.

Personally, I think the whole "price per Gbyte" idea is a real bad one; it's more honest and easier to understand if you simply bill for the time it takes to recover the data.


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## Blade_Jones

I charge $60 for the first 10 GB, then 0.25 for each additional GB. When I thought of the price per GB idea I was envisioning a filmmaker coming in with a 1 terra byte drive. Also unless they give me specific instructions, I simply recover the "documents & settings" (or "users") folder. Most customers have no clue where they've saved everything. If they want me to only copy a few folders I'll work with them as long as it doesn't get to the point where I'm spending all this time sifting through, and managing their data. 

Once you run software like GetDataBack you may be able to go off to have a bite for 1 hour or for 12 hours. The way I see it, the more data you recover the greater the responsibility you shoulder. Either way I'm $200 cheaper than GeekSquad. They can always go pay more elsewhere. 

BTW I don't do recovery off of drives that have internal damage that require opening up the shell. I recover off of drives that are recognizable, although about 50% of drives that aren't recognizable can be fixed by simply replacing the circuit board under the drive. If customers want to shoulder that cost of a duplicate drive (so that I can pull the circuit board off of it) then I proceed.


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