I was just thinking about the good ol' days when I worked for a big test-prep company, and I was curious to see what the going rate might be for GMAT tutoring purchased through similar companies. In case you're curious, here are GMAT private tutoring rates for the four biggest names in GMAT test-prep, presented in alphabetical order: Kaplan: rates range from about $133/hr (with purchase of a 35-hour GMAT tutoring package) to $163/hr (if you buy only 15 hours).
Manhattan GMAT: $185/hr if you purchase 25 hours, $215/hr if you only buy 10 hours of private tutoring
Princeton Review: prices range from $150-$450/hr, depending on whether you choose a "standard" GMAT tutor, a "master" GMAT tutor, or a "premier" GMAT tutor.
Veritas: about $164/hr with purchase of a 42-hour GMAT tutoring package, $175 if you go for 28 hours, $200/hr for 14 hours.
These rates were taken from each company's own website on July 15, 2009. If asked, I searched for GMAT tutors in New York City--it's possible that rates are different outside of NYC.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions on this. All I'm going to say is that I earned less than $20/hour in 2002 when I worked as a test-prep tutor and classroom instructor for one of these companies, and I was given very little training by the company. I'm not saying that it isn't worth the price--after all, these companies usually include a fat wad of books and materials in the tutoring package, and it's arguably worth the extra money to hire a familiar, "reliable" company. I'm not going to tell you that independent GMAT tutors are necessarily better for everybody, but if you go with one of the big GMAT test-prep behemoths, please shop carefully.