re: The price of things.

This is a subject that should be addressed and thought about by folks in the business,even when you’re not in business. As a contractor and furniture shop owner I have in years gone by lost work that I sorely needed in a tough economy by a well-meaning friend of my prospective customer by doing the work I bid on for free,a very impossible price to compete with. Does this mean I think you shouldn’t help folks out,that need it ? No but perhaps you should at least consider that someone is trying to make a living that has bid on the work your offering to do, and examine why your offering your work for free,is it because the people you’re helping can’t afford the work to be done? or is it that it’s just fun for you to do what ever kind of woodworking that the job requires. If it’s the latter then you might at least ask the folks that need the work done if a professional has bid on the work to be done and consider that someone’s livelihood might be at stake. I’m heard folks talking in public places about a bid they received from a contractor and how outrageous the bid was,but in my experience I’m many folks whom have not had work done by a contractor expect the work to be done for less than material cost.
Fair prices are relative when you take into account as to the expertise of the person offering the work to be done and the finished product’s quality.
Sorry to say this but folks that charge just the cost of material or nothing doing woodworking are the folks that cheapen the value of the woodworking in general, having the public thinking wood products should cost next to nothing and hurting the woodworking professionals that are already in a very competitive market.