Reupholster Quote

J

Jeff_757

New Member
Oct 18, 2022
29
Hampton Roads, VA
Boat Info
'98 Sundancer 250
Engines
Single 5.7L Merc w/ Brave III Drive
I cant be this out of touch. I was just quoted $3k to reupholster my backrest. Just the backrest! Please tell me this isnt the new normal.
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Phil S said:
Tough to say ... could be they are busy and don't want the job. Did you get other estimates?
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This was my first quote. Im sure their prices are probably higher since they're literally right next to a storage and dry dock marina.
 
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Jeff_757 said:
I cant be this out of touch. I was just quoted $3k to reupholster my backrest. Just the backrest! Please tell me this isnt the new normal.View attachment 136684
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Without knowing all the details of the quote it would be hard to say. What I will say is if you look around you will certainly find a wide range of prices when you request quotes. Some will be very cheap and some will be expensive. I will say from experience that these jobs will take a lot of time to do well which results in these fees. I will joke about this saying that vinyl is cheap - upholstery is expensive. There are a lot of unseen things that we put into a job to make it look good.

So this is the typical price-quality tradeoff - when ever you focus on one the other will suffer. Ben Franklin put it the best: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

If you have any specific questions about the job I will be happy to try to answer.

-Kevin
 
Just the backrest in the pic? Way too high in my opinion.
 
I'll come out and say it... that is way high for that one piece!
(Quint4 beat me to it)
 
JimG said:
I'll come out and say it... that is way high for that one piece!
(Quint4 beat me to it)
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I would have to agree. I had the 4 bottoms of the seats shown in the picture done in the spring for $1400. I really don't know what to compare that to but just offering up a reference.

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Yes. Absolutely crazy. Looks like 800 to me with all new foam and top grade vinyl. I would research highly regarded shops, take it off myself, and take it to them.

And I have learned over the years that there is very little correlation between cost and quality of work. In fact, many of the best guys I have seen are very reasonable.

Quotes for upholstery are like quotes for residential construction... For the same work you will get X, you will get 5X, and everything in between.
 
keokie said:
Yes. Absolutely crazy. Looks like 800 to me with all new foam and top grade vinyl. I would research highly regarded shops, take it off myself, and take it to them.

And I have learned over the years that there is very little correlation between cost and quality of work. In fact, many of the best guys I have seen are very reasonable.

Quotes for upholstery are like quotes for residential construction... For the same work you will get X, you will get 5X, and everything in between.
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Oiy. I've seen first hand the difference between a $4k and $8k canvas replacement job, similar sized boat. It was painfully obvious...
 
Stee6043 said:
Oiy. I've seen first hand the difference between a $4k and $8k canvas replacement job, similar sized boat. It was painfully obvious...
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Sometimes more money gets you better results. But with canvas, upholstery, and contracting, there is commonly no connection between the bid and workmanship. One of the reasons is the guy who is willing to rip your face off on pricing is not usually overly concerned about your satisfaction.

When it comes to projects like this, I prefer the guy bidding the work to be the same guy actually doing the work. When the guy bidding the work is expensive, but is not actually doing the work... for me, that is a big red flag.

There are some exceptions like Great Lakes Boat Top. They do make a great product. They are also very expensive (didn't use to be). But they have a very unique business model where they make the exact same products from patterns over and over and have strong nationwide name ID.
 
Every market has different depth of resources and competitiveness of pricing.

What is higher in one location might be lower in another market for same quality.

As I said earlier the price seems really high to me, but then my reference point is Florida where there are a lot of options.
 
I’m impressed you got a quote. I’ve been trying to get a ski boat sunpad redone for a year. The one quote I actually got was $4k per panel (3). The boat was $16k. Pass….. I’ve called 12 other upholstery shops within 200 miles of me (Chicagoland) and can’t even get them to respond. Clearly this boat isn’t worth dumping $10k into the vinyl, but I’d be willing to spend half that for some of it in a simple design. We’ll see. I may take up sewing and attempt it myself.
 
WAY TOO HIGH... Around here that would be $500-$1000 tops.
 
This may be worth your drive. He has moved to new Athens, which is the next town over from Freeburg.

He did my complete 380 less than 2 years ago, for $3500

Nick 55 said:
I’m impressed you got a quote. I’ve been trying to get a ski boat sunpad redone for a year. The one quote I actually got was $4k per panel (3). The boat was $16k. Pass….. I’ve called 12 other upholstery shops within 200 miles of me (Chicagoland) and can’t even get them to respond. Clearly this boat isn’t worth dumping $10k into the vinyl, but I’d be willing to spend half that for some of it in a simple design. We’ll see. I may take up sewing and attempt it myself.
Click to expand...
 

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We wanted to get the interior done 6 foot bench and 3 foot bench 7,000. All new foam. Took them out of boat took them to upholstery shop 2,500. Same fabric
 
Thanks Chris. I’ll probably reach out. Boat is tucked away now for the winter but I’d be willing to put a heater up in it and take the interior out.
 
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