Here's two ways of looking at pricing your FCZ.
Labs can buy Bruxzir disk to mill/ buy Bruxzir's from milling labs and follow Glidewells lead of selling by volume to make a profit...... and try to sell the better $99.00 Bruxzir than the other Bruxzir labs in you area & labs using UPS .... Remember, Glidewell. etc- other large labs will always be your competition whether you sell at $99.00 or slightly higher. Just try explaining to a new account or older account why you charge ? when Glidewell is charging $99.00 for the same material they make and sell to other labs and doctors.. I personally think its stupid to sell fcz at $99.00. A lab selling fcz at $99.00 is one phone call away from losing work to another $99.00/$89.00 lab, and other large labs like that with even lower prices..
If your selling FCZ at $99.00 , aren't you saying your work is just as good as Glidewell's... if you charge less than $99.00,,,, what does that say about your work.. it comes from China ? or you use a very cheap zirconia..
Second way of looking at it. Labs can use other brands of zirconia that look better, and distinguish yourself as a lab that sells a higher end monolithic zirconia. This may mean you need to use a higher end milling lab like CAP and a few other milling labs to receive superior looking FCZ. Another thought is sintering your own crowns to get more consistent shading inhouse.
I'm not trying to knock Bruxzir, its a good material, and its only as good as the lab that mills/sinters/colors it, and the way its adjusted and stained in the lab. The same holds true for other brands of zirconia.
Another option to think about is the use of pre-colored zirconia which doesn't turn white when adjusted.
To add to what John said about the fcz haters and the
Line brush lovers, you better be damn good at using your brush and start looking for more higher end accounts, or learn how to make mono crowns look the best they can while zirconia keeps improving, and other monolithic materials evolve and take over pfms..
Someone like me grew up in this business when doctors were afraid to use all ceramic materials because of higher rates of breakage. Now those same doctors like the idea of material that are very unlikely to break or chip. This business has evolved into the digital revolution /cad/cam all ceramics, low wear, stronger materials, (emax-fcz) lava ulitimate, at a lower cost to produce. We now have a choice of becoming the higher end pfm lab or the middle to higher end mono lab that does it all. The $99.00 FCZ lab can have a price war until Glidewell and other labs run you out of business.. Its going to happen.
I saw the monolithic crown being the lab of the immediate future in 2008. For those of you fighting the losing battle over FCZ, zirconia layered, and emax in your lab, your losing valuable time, and possibly losing accounts as you hide your head in the sand. The hand-writing was on the wall in 2008 if your eyes were open, and now is the time to choose what road to follow as many old timers close their doors......... Choose wisely, it could cost you your business just as fast as FCZ has taken over the dropping percentages of pfms being done in the last 3 years.