Help... Bid in the morning.

[Gtotoy]

I need a little help on this bid, its simple job consisting of removing 13 6-7' hemlocks that have only been in the ground 2 yrs. They seem to be seriously wind damaged and the cust. wants removed, also should be noted that these are gonna have to be done by hand,, as cust wants no bobcat, truck etc... on his lawn.im not anticipating all that much difficulty in digging because the soil in that area in very sandy'ish. I was thinking in the neighborhood of $40 a piece for a total of like $520.00. and the estimate is at 9:00 tomorrow morn.(Sat).

[rodfather]

I woud bump it up to $845.

[Gtotoy]

Thanks for the quick reply rodfather,, i was thinking i was coming in low,, but $65 a pop 'ehh? would u include filling in the holes at that #?

[rodfather]

Probably...how much can u lose if u don't?

[PAPS]

Hold up... how long could it possibly take to rip out 13 dead little 6'-7' trees???? they should pop right out being only 2 years.. it should take 2 hrs the absolute most with 2 men...

MY BID:

Labor : $200.00
Dump fee: (8) yards = $160.00 (i would actually chip the brush/dump the stumps)

TOTAL : $360.00

PROFIT = ~~ $290.00 in about (2) hrs.

[Gtotoy]

Thanks for the quick reply rodfather,, i was thinking i was coming in low,, but $65 a pop 'ehh? would u include filling in the holes at that #?

[joshua]

paps, how do you figure it should take 2 hours with 2 men, if it would take you 2 men to do that job in 2 hours you need to come and work for me. 2 6'-7' hemlocks, the home owner probably bought them in a 5 gallon contanier or in b&b which would be about the same, but they would have been about 3'-4' heigh, now they're 7' so i would be safe to safe if that was the case they doubled in size above ground as well as below, meaning instead of having a 3' root ball they probably have a 6' root ball and when gtotoy starts to dig them up he will have to use loppers to cut the roots unless he wants to spend a lot of time getting roots that extend out 6' 360 degrees( 6' at the most) and what is he gunna do with these hemlocks take them back to his house and burn them, no i don't think so. he will have to pay most likely to dump them somewhere. i could go on but i won't.

30-40 mins each hemlock will be able the time it will take to remove them at most depending on how fast you work. plus add the fact of time included to take them to where he will dump them. i would say 2-3 loads on a standard pick-up truck. i would bid this at $750- $850

[PAPS]

Originally posted by joshua
paps, how do you figure it should take 2 hours with 2 men, if it would take you 2 men to do that job in 2 hours you need to come and work for me. 2 6'-7' hemlocks, the home owner probably bought them in a 5 gallon contanier or in b&b which would be about the same, but they would have been about 3'-4' heigh, now they're 7' so i would be safe to safe if that was the case they doubled in size above ground as well as below, meaning instead of having a 3' root ball they probably have a 6' root ball and when gtotoy starts to dig them up he will have to use loppers to cut the roots unless he wants to spend a lot of time getting roots that extend out 6' 360 degrees( 6' at the most) and what is he gunna do with these hemlocks take them back to his house and burn them, no i don't think so. he will have to pay most likely to dump them somewhere. i could go on but i won't.

30-40 mins each hemlock will be able the time it will take to remove them at most depending on how fast you work. plus add the fact of time included to take them to where he will dump them. i would say 2-3 loads on a standard pick-up truck. i would bid this at $750- $850

guy... first of all chances are after (2) years the roots are not 100% fully established and are NO where near 6 ft. all the way around the tree... a 6'-7' ft hemlock tree, (which he states are dead due to wind burn) are twigs!!! It would take all off 10 minutes to zip all (13) trees from stump at the bottoms... 2 HOURS MAX to do that job being that the trees are only (2) years planted... And i stand by my estimates... I have removed countless amounts of trees like this and am sure it can be done in 2 hrs... i would load all 13 trees in my 14 ft. 6500 and off we go.
I got news for you...if an experienced landscaper cannot remove 13 "twigs" in 2 hrs + - ... then your in the wrong profession...

To charge $850.00 to remove (13) twigs is LARCENY.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

If they were B&B 2 hours at the most. $250 aprox

If they were potted maybe a 1/2 hour a tree, some will come out easier than others. 6 hours tops $650.

[Gtotoy]

Thanks for the replys guys. It should be noted that they are not dead yet, just not performing well from the wind damage, they are on the way out. I feel as though my original thought about pricing it at $520.00 seems like robbery to me, i am more in line with what PAPS is saying, but i think its gonna be more like 4 hrs with two guys. As far as dumping is concerned we run out of a shop that is on 6 acres. So i might bid this one at $300.00. Please share the thoughts!

[PAPS]

Originally posted by Gtotoy
Thanks for the replys guys. It should be noted that they are not dead yet, just not performing well from the wind damage, they are on the way out. I feel as though my original thought about pricing it at $520.00 seems like robbery to me, i am more in line with what PAPS is saying, but i think its gonna be more like 4 hrs with two guys. As far as dumping is concerned we run out of a shop that is on 6 acres. So i might bid this one at $300.00. Please share the thoughts!

Dead or Alive... them trees are out in (2) hrs... but smart on your part... even at (4) hours/2 men...$300.00 thats fine... BUT what customer in there right mind would pay $850.00??? just insane...

[Gtotoy]

lol PAPS, my thoughts exactly, even if it was like a Million dollar crib,this one is like 250,000 , no one is gonna pay $850.00 for this job..thankz for the help.

[Commander]

GTOTOY, the customer does not want a truck or skid steer there if I hear correctly. However are there any big trees nereby? A block with a long rope run out to your truck on the driveway / road will do that no problem whatsoever.

[LAWNS AND MOWER]

I assume you've already priced the job by now, but anyway, why don't you just cut the hemlocks with a chainsaw down to the ground and be done with it.

LAWNS AND MOWER

[Gtotoy]

Originally posted by Commander
GTOTOY, the customer does not want a truck or skid steer there if I hear correctly. However are there any big trees nereby? A block with a long rope run out to your truck on the driveway / road will do that no problem whatsoever.

Thankz commander but nah there are not any big trees nearby,, newer type development. But anyway i sold the job and then some,,, trees i got $400.00 on,, and some beds to be built for a total of $2170.00 . The cust. paid cash on the spot... which at this time of the year is nice..

And as for cutting them to the ground and leaving the stumps, i have one thing to say,,,,, LOL !!!!!

[LawnLad]

I know this may be a little off topic, but it comes to mind when I see this dialogue.

A good economic exchange is one that both the buyer and the seller agree to a price where both are satisfied they got good value for what they received, may it be product, service or money in the exchange. Therefore, you may only think you should bid the job at $400 (or whatever) since your cost of doing is business is XXX, but if you know the next would bid it at $650 (or whatever), than your challenge is to be right underneath the next guy's bid.

Pricing is a game. Don't undersell yourself and take a loss on the low side, but on the highside if someone is going to bid more than you... leave as little on the table as possible. Don't cheat yourself out of potential profit. Just because you can do things more efficiently due to knowledge/experience doesn't mean the customer shouldn't pay you the same price. Your experience cost you money over the years, and the customer should pay you for it.

I'm not saying take advantage of people, particularly if you know you're the only bidder... I'm just saying, don't leave money on the table. If you can get an extra $100 beyond what you would settle for otherwise, and the customer is very happy with the price/job... there is not harm.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by LawnLad
Pricing is a game. Don't undersell yourself and take a loss on the low side, but on the highside if someone is going to bid more than you... leave as little on the table as possible. Don't cheat yourself out of potential profit. Just because you can do things more efficiently due to knowledge/experience doesn't mean the customer shouldn't pay you the same price. Your experience cost you money over the years, and the customer should pay you for it.

I'm not saying take advantage of people, particularly if you know you're the only bidder... I'm just saying, don't leave money on the table. If you can get an extra $100 beyond what you would settle for otherwise, and the customer is very happy with the price/job... there is not harm.

I do tear out by T&M so no money is left on the table. You never know what you can encounter.

Installs I go in on the high side so there is room to play.