What should chess lessons cost?

Thank you for your responses.

A player rated 1400 is charging anything for lessons?  What is the world coming to?

If an OTB rated 1400 player charges something respectable, and is good at teaching BEGINNERS, there is nothing wrong with it.

I know, right? This is the post ideological world. What matters now isn't objective reality, it's what people feel is right. 

You probably suck at chess

Im now distracted....the Dodgers are on.

If he's the only teacher available, then I guess it is kind of irrelevant to ask for what others think of his rate because whether we think he's charging too much or too little, you have no other options.

Actually, $105 for 1.5hrs for semi-private isn't too expensive if the coach travels to your house.  No experience w/ in-home chess teachers, but piano teachers charges ~$75/hr for in-home, and that's living within 5-10 miles.  Since you're rural, there may be significant travel time/costs.

Anyway, if you've already interviewed him and like him, it doesn't hurt to give it a try at his ask rate for a few weeks and then re-evaluate.  Perhaps you and him can work out a mutually agreeable rate once the everybody have gotten to know the situation better.

We have a Lifetime National Master at our chess club. Lifetime means he had to play 300 consecutive games at a performance rating over 2200. He peaked at 2350. 

So, this super strong LNM gives free tips to us at the club, and teaches for a fee to 1800’s, and also teaches beginners. We have a few kids in the club, and he has given them free mini lessons. I played him once and got a few mini lessons, and I am nowhere near 1800. 

I am a retired band teacher, and nothing fixes problems faster than private lessons. This NM saw immediately a few things I was not seeing, and opened my eyes. A book or video will not see into your mind and fix your thinking. Sure, tactics puzzles, checkmate puzzles are good, necessary. But nothing replaces a good teacher. I plan on taking lessons soon. It’s the fastest way to improve in anything, whether it be learning golf, a musical instrument, or even chess.

Golf, arg! I bought books and videos and never got that much better. My wife bought me five lessons with a PGA professional golfer. He saw what I was doing wrong after the first swing. Now I can hit the ball much straighter and much further. So, if you really want to get better at chess and can afford a few lessons, you will save time any money in the long run.

That LNM has already changed the way I see the game of chess after just a few mini lessons, simply because he can instantly see what I don’t understand about the game, and what I need to work on first, second, etc.

This is hilarious and poor advice, considering the thread. 

To the OP, a membership here is definitely a good idea, many helpful tools. 

$105 for a 90 min group lesson from a 1400 coach seems outrageous. I would offer him $75/lesson. Good Luck. 

Someone who is teaching the basics to kids need not be a strong player, but rather a good paedopsychologist, and having a strong rapport with students.

The price seems quite inflated to me, but after all it's up to the O.P. to accept it, or not.

That seems like a lot to ask of ANY chess player, but a good point nonetheless. 

At my club kids can come every Thursday for 1 hour for teaching at 66 dollars PER YEAR. The teacher is estimated 1600-1700 OTB rated. And that in a country which things cost up to 6 times more than in USA. You pay 0.5 dollar for a can of coke, we pay at average 3 dollars. And up to 4 dollars. 

It`s a robbery to charge that much. 

Get a diamond membership.  Let the kids learn basic tactics. Then let them beat the shit out of each other. Get lessons for the one who is strongest. Let that one teach the others. Great way to learn is to have a stronger player teach a weaker player no matter what level.

No one is forcing you to spend that much for sugar water.

This is precisely why i quit going to Dodgers games.  I got tired of being forced to pay $30 to park...$12 for a hot dog...$10 for nachos...$8 for a soda...And try getting a parking space when you arrive in the 2nd inning?????  At least its easy to leave in the 7th.

Sprite is sugar water. Coke has caffeine.

My coach charges $50 per hour if you want to become an IM in one year and $100 if you want to become an IM in six months.

Just to add on, he's really good. He shows me a lot of attacking games and tactics, so far my rating hasn't improved but I can feel myself getting stronger!