To high? you opinion

[green_with_envy]

I was asked to bid some shrub and tree trimming on a home. I dropped off the estimate and recieved a call within 2 hours to start the job as soon as I could. 2 days later the woman calls me back and says her husband says it sounds too high and they would be seeking another bid.

The home is probably $800.000 and all fairly easy to haul away and get at clippings. My guess is that they found someone cheaper....probably a scrub. I am licensed and insured and refuse to compete in pricing against those who are not.

So is this price really that high? I thought it was a great price.

Trim and shape approx. 33 small shrubs (2ft)
Trim and shape approx. 26 medium shrubs (4ft)
Trim and shape approx. 7 large shrubs (6-7ft)
Trim and prune approx. (12) 12ft.pines as needed
Remove 2 dead shrubs
Cut back all day lilies and select perennials at garage corner (approx 30)
Clean and rake cuttings, haul away and assume all dumping fees

$675

[steve-o]

i would say you were too low if anything. i would think between $800 and $1000 for that much stuff plus cleanup and disposal. hard to say without seeing it.

steve

[jrservices]

I was asked to bid some shrub and tree trimming on a home. I dropped off the estimate and recieved a call within 2 hours to start the job as soon as I could. 2 days later the woman calls me back and says her husband says it sounds too high and they would be seeking another bid.

The home is probably $800.000 and all fairly easy to haul away and get at clippings. My guess is that they found someone cheaper....probably a scrub. I am licensed and insured and refuse to compete in pricing against those who are not.

So is this price really that high? I thought it was a great price.

Trim and shape approx. 33 small shrubs (2ft)
Trim and shape approx. 26 medium shrubs (4ft)
Trim and shape approx. 7 large shrubs (6-7ft)
Trim and prune approx. (12) 12ft.pines as needed
Remove 2 dead shrubs
Cut back all day lilies and select perennials at garage corner (approx 30)
Clean and rake cuttings, haul away and assume all dumping fees

$675

You're definately not too high.

[MASTERMOWER]

What kind of equipment did you plan to use? Most of those are small shrubs......did they need much taken off? Why did the pines need trimming and pruning for??

[Scaper-S2k]

I actually think your price could be too high. We don't know how bad the shrubs were. Assuming the house is pretty nice, I figure they are fairly under control.

While it may be the $$$ you need, and I'm not down playing that you should charge that much, but other larger companies could actually bid less.


I would think one guy could easily do that job in less than a day. So a large company could charge $400 and still easily make their profit %. Their profit percent is likely much lower than what you need but they make it up with more bodies out working.



I'm not sure what I would charge because shrubs can vary quite a bit.

[green_with_envy]

Thanks, shrubs are not too out of control. Plan on using a combo of tools, gas trimmer and some hand tools and pole pruners. The pines just need a bit of shaping. I was planning on 6-8 hours max. Dumping fees will run me $55. Thanks for your opinions.

[MASTERMOWER]

I was thinking on the lines of Scaper, but I asked those questions to confirm my beliefs. One guy should be able to knock all the said above out within one work day. The shrubs sound like they needed shaping and not thinning - just do a barber buzz job- time saved there. The perennials shouldn't take too long either. I still question the pine trimming -- simply because late spring is the preferred time to perform maintanence pruning to a pine -- therefore I'd assume the pines have been left alone for many years (though most pines don't need attention)? I dunno, you saw the site, not me.

Anyhow, from what was described, I tend to think you submitted a somewhat high bid. I'm sure another professional company would jump on the $500 (or slightly lower) bandwagon.

[green_with_envy]

Thanks for the help guys. I was thinking I might have be a bit high...not crazy high. The pines were never touched. Some of the med and large shrubs needed a good cut back but yes, the smalls (like boxwoods) just needed a trim around the ears. Thanks again.