MARK UP?

[DELTA]

I HAVE READ A LOT ABOUT MULCH PRICING AND EVEN GOT SOME CALCULATIONS. I DIDN'T INTEND TO GET INTO THIS TOO MUCH BUT WITH THE DRAUGHT AND REQUEST I DID IT BEFORE THE KNOWLEDGE. THIS SEASON ALMOST ALL MY PROPERTIES ARE RENTALS NEAR COLLEGE CAMPUS AND ARE LOW END AND VERY SMALL. THE ONLY REASON I TOOK THEM IS I GET ABOUT 65 IN A FEW SHORT BLOCKS.
ONE I'VE BEEN BUYING CLOTH AT HD BUT NOT COST EFFECTIVE, WHERE DO LANDSCAPERS SHOP?
TWO, I PAY $13 FOR 2/3 OF A YARD BLACK PLAT. THEY SAYS IT IS THE SAME PRICE FOR BUSINESS AS WELL AS HOME OWNERS. OF COURSE I CHARGE THE TIME TO GO GET IT BUT I HAVEN'T BEEN UPCHARGING BECAUSE I FEAR THESE SLUM LORDS WILL JUST GO GET IT THEIRSELVES IF I HIT THEM TOO HARD WHICH WOULD BE OK BUT I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THEIR LAWNS.OBVIOSLY I CAN NOT DO THIS NEXT SEASON AND WILL BE ADDRESSING THE PRICING WITH THEM OVER THE WINTER. FOR THESE PROPERTIES I ONLY PURCHASE CLOTH, PINS, MULCH AND TOTAL VEG. KILLER. I HAVE FOUND A COMMMERCIAL SUPPLIER FOR THE LADDER WHICH MIXES TO $1.80 A GALLON AND I CHARGE $6.50 TO PUT DOWN A GALLON WHICH TAKES 10 MIN.
DO YOU UPCHARGE A % OR JUST DOUBLE IT OR WHAT? OBVIOUSLY I NEED TO GET THESE SUPPLIES CHEAPER AND NEED A SOURCE.

[qualitylandscaping]

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DELTA: I'll give you a few numbers to work with.

Mulch.. Say your load costs $100 including tax and delivery. I would upcharge 50% to that load. So that load would cost me $100 and I would bill the customer for $150. My dad and I got 4 yards of red ochre mulch in 3cu.ft. bags. $2.94 a bag. Came out to be something like $115 after tax. I billed the customer $50 for upcharge and $20 for delivery from the Home Depot (5 miles away).. So I made $70 off a $115 pickup.

On average I upcharge 25%-100% depending on the project location and how much I will likely bring in from the actual "work".

[Kidsweet]

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Myself I charge 55 dollars a yard installed for mulch. That is 22 dollars a yard to buy and 23 dollars to install. Never had a problem

[Phil Nilsson]

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It takes on average one hour per cubic yard to install mulch (from loadup, install, back to the shop etc.) doing it by hand the hard way so that markup of $23 should be more like $35 to $40 or a lessor price paid for the mulch? Costs of supplying an hour's worth of labor is around $20 to $22 an hour so where is the profit in that job?