With the new rules regarding extra holes not being allowed in the near future, I'm wondering what is a typical price to have a PSO plug a single weight hole in a ball?  The local PSO here is charging $20 plus tax, so almost $22 out the door.  I thought that was high, but maybe that is the going rate for all I know.  Is this about right?

$20 seems absurd to me. If this is your primary pro shop, then the dude is literally doing you no favors. I've spent over a thousand dollars this year at my shop and he recently did a full plug and redrill for me for $45. So $20 for just one plug is ridiculous, find a new shop.

Yeah, kind of what I thought.  I was expecting around $10, so now I'll take my business elsewhere unless it's an emergency or not cost-effective to drive elsewhere.  This particular shop is generally higher priced except on closeout balls.   

Prep, mix and pour, cut down and refinish, 10 minutes or so for somebody efficient, 15 minutes for most (most pro shop guys are not exactly efficient). And then at least 5 minutes each on drop off and pick up that no one ever thinks about. 

Do you guys seriously think this is something that should be done for $10?  That is what we would have charged 30 years ago. 

Maybe $10 each if somebody brought 10 in, told the shop they would pick them up next week and were going to pay cash.  Charging $10 to do onesies is a business owner not knowing the true cost to run their business. 

I wouldn't think of the price as "just plugging" the hole.  You have the "cost" of cutting it down and then also surfacing the ball to the desired grit level.  All of those things cost money.  Plug cutter blade needs to be sharpened eventually, abralon pads need to be replaced, and you have to also pay whoever is doing the work. 


I don't think $20 a hole is a bad deal and most shops (if you're loyal) will take care of you anyways as plugging material is a high profit item when managed properly.

I had it plugged because most of the balls I use have an extra hole, and this was an experiment.  This particular ball doesn't get used that much, and I wanted to see what the reaction change would be by plugging the hole.  It actually seems to roll better now (Storm Sync with the hole on the VAL 2 1/2 below ML).  Based on some of the later comments, maybe the $20 wasn't so bad after all, considering the hole was 3/4" x  3" deep, and if he had to pour the filler 2x or more. All the PSO did then was cut it down and maybe hit only the plug area with a pad.  The ball had the same surface lines on it from when I surfaced it on my spinner.  Overall, since it rolled good, I'm happy with it and understand a little better about the costs.  Thanks all.

I had it plugged because most of the balls I use have an extra hole, and this was an experiment.  This particular ball doesn't get used that much, and I wanted to see what the reaction change would be by plugging the hole.  It actually seems to roll better now (Storm Sync with the hole on the VAL 2 1/2 below ML).  Based on some of the later comments, maybe the $20 wasn't so bad after all, considering the hole was 3/4" x  3" deep, and if he had to pour the filler 2x or more. All the PSO did then was cut it down and maybe hit only the plug area with a pad.  The ball had the same surface lines on it from when I surfaced it on my spinner.  Overall, since it rolled good, I'm happy with it and understand a little better about the costs.  Thanks all.

+1 on plugging holes usually having no difference or even improving slightly as been my experience also.  TL;DR in my case double thumb on max leverage stronger ball may mean moar flare but often doesn't mean moar hook or higher scores.   So plugging early before the rush or just bringing a ball to get plugged every time go to PSO makes sense.

10 minutes to plug a hole? The quickest setting plug on the market takes 1 hour to cure. It may take 10 minutes to mix and pour the plug. Then after the 1 hour cure, another 10-15 to cut and refinish the ball. It's an hour and a half process if you use quick plug.