de-tree-flation

[Daniel]

A couple comments from piers I've heard recently..
"the price of removals is in the toilet"

"20 years ago if a tree was $2,600 (to remove)... it's $2,500 today"

Seems like the price of treework kept going up through the 90's, but has taken a radical downturn over the past year. I'd say 20-35% around here. there are a lot of companies today that have big equipment, buckets, cranes, log trucks, skid loaders etc.. All dressed up with nowhere to go.. With demand so far off due to the economy, some companies, especially the newer ones are doing big removals for next to nothing.

I looked at a backyard sycamore, big tree, though nothing too complicated, $1.5 million neighborhood... Put $1,795 on it. Lady said she had one price of $1,800 and three others between 975-1,000.. I could go on with the list.. I used to never walk away from jobs. People wanted me to do the work if I could match another price, I would. Now I just ask who's doing the job and wish them luck.

It seems as though the newer companies are the ones that are doing the most severe low-balling.. I wonder how long it will take before some compies fold. Glad all my equipment is paid for. Also knowledge and skill cannot be replaced with big equipemnt on certain jobs, where access is an issue. That's my nitch..

 

[Rocks_and_Trees]

Tell me about it. Removal prices have dropped over here too. I bid a $1200 Olive tree removal a few months back. Backyard, thick crown, 32"dbh. One company bid it for $300!! And they are supposedly legit. Hmmm

 

[familytree]

We are seeing it pretty bad here as well (cam, you know who the main culpret is)

What is nice is that it isn't "legit" companies doing it and customers are finding out the hard way that cheaper isn't better.

We have had a few customers go another route with other companies just to call us back saying that the other company completely botched the job and they even apologized.

One customer told us to slap him the next time he thinks about going else where. The company that did the job before leaked hydro oil all over the concrete and rutted up his precious lawn. They even told him to pound sand when he asked that they fix the rutts.

Hold fast guys. It will pick up again and those customers might even be back begging.

 

[Grais]

you talking to the docks again Murph...lol, sorry, hate English teachers but... could hardly resist.. I know you meant peers.
Onto the subject matter.
Hate em, bloody low ballers.
Yes everyone has a right to charge what they want, but you should have enough respect for yourself and the other arbos around you, to charge what the work demands, HO's be damned.
We got a hack in town where I live, and this guy is just a outright butcher, but he has been operating here for over 20 years, because people are ignorant. I don't blame them, the HO's for it, they don't realize that while his 250$ 'topping' job might be a great deal right now, the tree he 'topped' will be dead inside of 10-15 yrs. If not th next year knowing this guys work habits. In my mind, its HIS job as an 'arborist' to inform them of the effect the work has, or will have on the trees.
Ahhhh in a perfect world right!
I know this isn't really the threads direction, but I just hate em, low balling hacks.
Cheers,
-Grais.

 

[Cameron]

I'm lucky that we have been pushing hard since February. But had I not had three municipal contracts I'm sure I'd be in the same position. I do see a lot of residental work going cheap. I grab what I can simply because I know I can get in and out of there. I seem to have become more production based which inturn I'm gobbling up work quick. I am also one of those guys matching prices, I called clients in late winter telling them I would help them out with the price, worked most of the time. Even have no interest payments for some clients we had done work for. Still doing six days a week, just wonder how long it will last. It is going to be survival of the fittest for sure. I still had my best week last week so far this year but even that was off $7000 from what I made in a week from a year before.

 

[poetmk]

Here's one of our local (and new) "price deflators". I'm small and so far my niche is holding out - but these guys are everywhere (at least their yard signs are). And I've been under bid by them - drat-ically

http://www.careformytree.com/index.html

 

[jerseygirl]

I had some work done there several months ago, got two bids. one 1000$ - the other 750$ -

Cut and drop 8 pines nothing large -

SURE the 750 got the job - NOT due to price.

1000$ - cut and push over with a bobcat, cut and leave (BACKYARD COMPANY)
750$ - LOCAL Arborist - cut or climb when need, drop chip and rake.

The person offering the best service won the bid.

 

[1bigtree]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's one of our local (and new) "price deflators". I'm small and so far my niche is holding out - but these guys are everywhere (at least their yard signs are). And I've been under bid by them - drat-ically

http://www.careformytree.com/index.html

[/ QUOTE ]


You took the words out of my mouth. Before I even said them!
It's too bad the low ball hurts us ALL! Wish they could see that.
Next time I go to the doctor I'm going to ask for a free estimate; then if he can't beat or match his competitor,s pricing? Ha, what am I talking about. You get what you pay for, and we reap what we sow, so keep up the good work.

 

[poetmk]

Thanks! And keep up the good work, too How's the weather on the North side

 

[Blinky]

I've been getting more of my higher bids lately. The guys I use for ground operations have been going up on their prices lately so my bids have been higher. I've gotten several jobs I expected to lose because the cleanup costs were so high.

Business is really good for me right now. I'm out to almost 3 weeks of backlog and I'm getting 2 to 6 calls a day for quotes.

Bid to book ratio hasn't been as good as usual but it's still translating to a lot of work.

 

[treehumper]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's one of our local (and new) "price deflators". I'm small and so far my niche is holding out - but these guys are everywhere (at least their yard signs are). And I've been under bid by them - drat-ically

http://www.careformytree.com/index.html

[/ QUOTE ]


I guess they don't mention the rutting of the lawn with the heavy equipment they have to bring in to the backyard to "fly" that tree away. I wonder what their pitch is when they can't access it?

 

[poetmk]

I'm not sure what they do - but there are those around here that will raise/remove limbs from allot of trees just to get a bucket to the desired tree

oh well...

 

[classictruckman]

I figure I shouldn't worry about low ballers, our price shouldn't be too high but if their's is too low then let them figure it out when their equipment is being repoed and I'm doing their work.