@PRD34

My opinion:

250 rmb per hour adults/300 rmb kids.
It may take time to find the people willing to pay that, so start with 200 adults and 250 for kids. Then, after you have a base of students, up it.

Obviously, you should make it so that anyone interested in your classes is already VERY aware of your qualifications before they ask how much your fee is.

Your former employers should be exiled to the moon.

This is what I do

(and I haven't been ripped off since, very happy now actually).

I have rules (in writing) re: advanced payment, missed classes, late for classes, schedule issues etc. I don't require the students to sign anything, but they must read the document and give oral agreement.

The core principle is that the instruction is free-it is my time that I am charging you for. If you call me on the morning of that evening's class and you can't come, you still must pay-as it is simply too late for me to fill that slot, and you have also blocked other students who may have wanted it. I make exceptions for emergencies, food poisoning, car wrecks etc.

I don't do any full free trial classes, and I don't think you should either.
I send a form email that is an FAQ explaining my teaching style, answers the typical questions, and includes the aforementioned rules. Then I make appointments with prospective students, at my usual location, lasting about 15 minutes, scheduled between, before, or after my usual classes. This also gives me the chance to evaluate their English, and understand their needs, goals and schedule.
They may also watch my classes for the same length of time.

The rules that I give the students include my responsibilities also.
You better believe that if I am late or (very rarely) miss a class, the students get more than an apology.
I don't do refunds unless I am unable to teach, called out of Kunming,
etc. After all, the student had their preview, their questions were answered, they met me in the flesh, they can talk to my other students -all before the first class.
Nobody rushed or pushed them into choosing me.

The one point I would like to drive home here is this:

If you are a friendly native speaker and a certified teacher,
PROBABLY 1 IN 10 PEOPLE IN KUNMING WOULD TAKE YOUR CLASS IF THEY KNEW YOU EXISTED. That number sounds crazy, but at this point I believe it to be true. So we shouldn't see each other as competitors.

I am at a friend's house using an ancient computer with the "s' key half ripped off, so please excuse if an s is occasionally missing from any given word (:

@ Seahorse, you have a master's in ESL you should be getting 300 per hour.

It is unfortunate that you will be lucky to get 200. But keep demanding it anyway, people will eventually come around. The normal rate these days in Kunming is 150-200 per hour for 1 on 1. It should be a bit higher, but it is better than the archaic and terrible salaries paid at most schools here.

And many of us ARE actually qualified, as in TEFL/CELTA certified, years of experience with different populations. often in combination with a relevant major, such as English.