Originally Posted by alienator
It all depends on the skill of the person do the fitting. Your friend should ask if the cost of the fitting comes off the price of a new bike if we buys one from a given shop. It's fairly typical for a shop to take whatever they charge for a fitting off the cost of a bike.
There are fittings and there are
fittings. $75 is usually for a basic, which is seeing that the rider is basically comfortable, in balance, able to control the bike, able to put out reasonable power, and generally not going to cause injury. Many shops offer the basic at no charge to any customer who buys a new bike, or a new road bike, or some other qualification.
Beyond that gets into adaptations for physical anomalies (foot and knee alignment, scoliosis, old ski injuries, fused vertebra, etc.) and performance tuning for wattage, aerodynamics, and sustainability.
I generally tell customers to stick with the basic for at least the period of getting comfortable on the bike. Then when the anomalies show up or performance becomes a concern, shop around--talk with fitters about their experience, methodologies and priorities.
And, as alienator says, the skill of the fitter is paramount.