Oh my handyman and landscapers!

[ClimbingTN]

I don’t have to depend on tree work to get by. This is irritating. I’ll bet you folks that do run into this issue everyday. I looked at a job yesterday of a dead oak about 25ft tall. It had been topped by a tree guy and of course it died from the 2ft branches dead headed. It was leaning over fence and outbuilding. I bid 1k because of the targets. Owner says no way, I got a $600 bid from handyman Joe. I said ok but, protect yourself and make sure you call his insurance. I’ll bet they tell you he isn’t insured for tree removal. Well she went with him saying he said he’s insured. Well, I’m insured too health, auto, and home. She had good luck, nothing damaged “this” time. I pay a lot for my 2 million in removal insurance. I can’t do it that cheap. Oh well, just complaining.

 

[Mick Dempsey!]

Well yes and no.
Low grade work that CAN be done by gardeners or the like is vulnerable to being lost.
Where you (or me) will always win out is
A. Real climbing work, ie something more than a ladder and a prayer.
B. The logistics of tree work, getting the stuff away, chipping, trucks etc.

 

[ClimbingTN]

Well yes and no.
Low grade work that CAN be done by gardeners or the like is vulnerable to being lost.
Where you (or me) will always win out is
A. Real climbing work, ie something more than a ladder and a prayer.
B. The logistics of tree work, getting the stuff away, chipping, trucks etc.

I hear what you’re saying but, a lot of people don’t understand or care. It’s all about the money, then when they or their neighbors get involved in that situation, they say “maybe I should have checked their insurance or called a professional. I really want to say I told you so, but, I don’t. Okay done complaining for now until the next reply.

 

[ATH]

Maybe he does have insurance...maybe he's happy to bill $35 an hour because the only other job he can find pays $27/ hour and he thinks billing $35 means that's more than getting paid $27 at a factory job??? Or maybe he was really slow and thought $600 is better than nothing.

But I wouldn't be surprised if his insurance didn't cover tree work. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets paid under the table. Not because I know this guy...but because...well "handyman".

 

[MA Arborist]

My dad used to say that most people remember what they paid, not how good of a job was done.
As professionals we don’t prefer to work for “most people.”

 

[southsoundtree]

How did you guess/ estimate that $1000 was correct?

 

[Boomslang]

That's not a huge spread. I've even been the guy bidding $600 when others have put in higher. There's always going to be guys who are cheaper; just stay in your lane and know your worth.

 

[ATH]

That's not a huge spread. I've even been the guy bidding $600 when others have put in higher. There's always going to be guys who are cheaper; just stay in your lane and know your worth.

Certainly true. I was mostly negatively sarcastic with my "maybe" statements above (besides being slow). Maybe he has appropriate insurance and 2 guys had it done in 2 hours...so $600 is a good price.

 

[islandarb]

Honestly 25ft of tree is small. And a quick job. I can certainly rig that out in swift time. That being said, if you are worth 1K and lose the job just move quietly along. I do that. No biggie. After all these years, I don't need work outside my bids that I land. I just have too much work. I just stick to my price. Take it or leave it. Who comes along and gets it so be it. We all have to eat.

 

[Serf Life]

That's not a huge spread. I've even been the guy bidding $600 when others have put in higher. There's always going to be guys who are cheaper; just stay in your lane and know your worth.

Well put! With changing overhead the cost changes too, somethings get cheaper for clients but most don’t. What I’ve been noticing is clients’ surprise when an added on tree is much cheaper (as we are already there with bigger gear). Rewind a while back and the first tree would be cheaper but added on would be more expensive than now.
“How much to take this one out while you’re here?”
Points to 10” spruce with space to fell
“Quote won’t change, takes 5 min”

 

[evo]

Being insured for liability is one thing, and workers comp is entirely different let alone osha which leans on ansi..
Saying all that do the quotes compare with cleanup? Oak is freakin heavy and you didn’t mention the diameter of the tree.
I’d have a 25’ oak done and literally erased in a few short hours for around the same price if it wasn’t topped and in reasonable 8-10” diameter.

No a 36” diameter stob 25’ long humped out of a back yard and hauled off with no equipment access would be 3-4k

 

[flushcut]

I’ve been the cheap guy but some people put big money on it and were going to take a day but I had it done in 45 minutes.
As a side note I’d much rather take on a big tree in a shit spot than a little easy tree out in the open. The easy stuff the HO’s and landscapers can do.

 

[southsoundtree]

I’ve been the cheap guy but some people put big money on it and were going to take a day but I had it done in 45 minutes.
As a side note I’d much rather take on a big tree in a shit spot than a little easy tree out in the open. The easy stuff the HO’s and landscapers can do.

The market value is what a homeowner accepts (can and will pay ) for a specific service.

 

[ClimbingTN]

How did you guess/ estimate that $1000 was correct?

5ft chunks have to be wheeled through small gate. I’m not sure I was looking forward to that anyway. Risk factor for falling on 2 fences and building.

 

[southsoundtree]

Hard to say what the tree is like.

I get that there is work involved.

What is the dbh?

Does it need hauling and disposal?



Why is $1000 right not $600 or $1400?

 

[27RMT0N]

There will always be low-bidders and high-price grifters. Don't waste your energy fighting either one of them, it's not worth it.

 

[ClimbingTN]

I agree and I’m just the duck letting the water roll off my back. I was just venting and NOT doing a deep dive. I bid 1k because of the work and time and small risk to complete. It’s really no fun carting big stuff through a small gate. She got it done for $600 without damage…good for her. I usually compete in the 3k under market because I’m simply a one man show. I have my tractor, grapple, dump trailer and stump grinder. Occasionally I’ll get help for bigger jobs. I’ve found my lane bro

 

[southsoundtree]

You're better off in that 3k range than fighting for easier/ smaller jobs against lower-overhead, lower capability operations.



Prices are very variable for all number of reasons. Everyone underbids at times, as much as I can tell.



If all a person has is a hand-cart, they aren't breaking their back on equipment-accessible/ equipment-inaccessible jobs any differently.

When you have equipment, who wants to bust their backs?

 

[Stumpsprouts]

I agree and I’m just the duck letting the water roll off my back. I was just venting and NOT doing a deep dive. I bid 1k because of the work and time and small risk to complete. It’s really no fun carting big stuff through a small gate. She got it done for $600 without damage…good for her. I usually compete in the 3k under market because I’m simply a one man show. I have my tractor, grapple, dump trailer and stump grinder. Occasionally I’ll get help for bigger jobs. I’ve found my lane bro

One thing to think about is that the person who did it for $600 may hear from the client that someone bid $1000, and so he might look at the next job that’s similar and say
I’ll try to bid $750, etc, and slowly the collective bidding increases.

Prices in my service area were pitiful up until just a few years ago and while we are still flooded with upstarts, we are getting closer to charging what we would need to charge for our workers to be able to afford a life in this economy. And you have to lose a lot of bids along the way to make that happen. I still go by the general target of 50% approval, that tells me prices are high enough but not too high.

 

[The Green One]

"Chuck in a Truck"
They are here too and often more harm to Trees, than good.