ebay irrigation

[koster_irrigation]

I pulled this from ebay, never seen a sales tactic like this one!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2961837580&category=317

Need a Sprinkler System? Installed?! MGP Landscaping Inc. guarantees all work and workmanship for one full year. Get your Sprinkler System installed before Winter comes.

You are bidding on a (3) zone Sprinkler System Installed in your yard which will cover approximately 7500 sq. ft. lot.

Final bid price includes installation of a (3) zone sprinkler system with a maximum of 10 sprinkler heads per zone and installation of one automatic clock.

All work is guaranteed for one full year.

We work in Colorado Springs, Co. and surrounding areas ONLY.

Colorado Springs

Falcon

Monument

Palmer Lake

Black Forest

Castle Rock

Larkspur

Manitou Springs

If your town is not listed above and you live less then 30 miles from Colorado Springs then you are within our work area.

Questions? Please E-Mail us

Our company has over 6 years experiance in all phases of landscaping in the Colorado Springs area.

Referrences and photos of our work are available for you to check into upon request.

This offer is good for new Homes only and excludes replacement of an existing Sprinkler System.

Winning Bidder must contact MGP Landscaping Inc. at end of Auction to set up an appointment.

A contract must be signed between Winning Bidder and MGP Landscaping Inc. for warranty purposes.

[DanaMac]

That is funny.

I live and work in the C. Springs area but am not sure who that company is. I would love to find a job where the soil is hard as hell, maybe Manitou or the Peregrine area, and sub that out to him. But most homes here are above 3 zones. Most of the homes would be 4-6 for just the tract homes. But $1400 (minimum bid) should still make you some good money.

[DanaMac]

He also has 2 spelling errors in his description. Sorry, I'm now being too technical.

It doesn't list if the home must be stubbed out first or not. Will they include it? Is he licensed for cross-connection in both El Paso County AND Douglas County (which is where Castle Rock is)?

It just seems too weird to try and sell on EBAY.

[koster_irrigation]

yeh i dont think he'll be getting many bids

[greenworldh20]

he is trying new things...

you never know how far one can go until somebody goes too far and something bad happens...

hey, maybe he is a forward thinker...don't bash him, give the guy some credit...

brian

[Mark B]

Well that is funny and pretty smart I think. You never know. After I looked at it I would somin like dat fer some maintance. Like offer a bid on a spring startup or winterizing. It is cheap advertizing.

[Ground Master]

Dana- I've never heard of that company either..........

[koster_irrigation]

i am not bashing him-

It just seems too weird to try and sell on EBAY.

[greenworldh20]

people thought columbus was 'weird' b/c he stated the world is round.

have an open mind...try something new everyday....you never know what might catch on...like the 'internet'.

brian

[Green in Idaho]

Check out the sellers other items! lol-- cosmetics.

I can picture this....

"Honey, I'm selling a lot of perfume here on e-bay and I think you should try to sell a sprinkler system on it...."

"Yeah, okay. (pops the top on a cold one) Whatever...."


She has the good idea! Sell it wherever possible.

And if people are buying homes, cars, and yachts on e-bay there's certainly opportunity to sell sprinkler systems.

[Ground Master]

just thinking here of a "3 zone" system:

tap and pvb......................$100.00
trencher or puller cost..........85.00
500' of 1" poly......................50.00
3 valves with valve box........75.00
controller and wire..............100.00
max 30 spray heads 150.00

OR

max of 18 rotors...................270.00

system cost range......$560 to $680

profit range............$720 to $840

Can this guy make it at $1400?........I know I could not......

[koster_irrigation]

for most of my residential work-


im charging around 135 a rotor installed and 65 a spray installed

this includes everything pipe, wire, controller, but does not include backflow work or meter.

[Rotor-Man]

Wow where do you live and I,m moving there to compete against you! Here in my area quoting irrigation at $135 per rotor on a complete system install will leave you broke and collecting "Cobwebs" for the season!

[koster_irrigation]

our soil is nice and sandy here, so trenching is a breeze. 135 a rotor and 65 a spray is pretty average, i know some companies near where i live have a flat charge of 600 a zone for residentials

[Ground Master]

I've never understood that type of "flat rate" bidding........

[greenworldh20]

we use flat rate bidding as a guide...but all residential and commerical projects are not the same! in my area, 4 rotors/zone or 7 mist/zone averages about $250/zone for a 'basic' system and up to $500/zone for a 'very good' system.

brian

[DanaMac]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2357594721&category=29522

Found another one along this line. He is putting up his design services to bid. no bids on this either. I don't know if these ways will ever catch on for a service, but it is a new way of thinking.

[ROBERT HASS]

DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I HAVE OVERHEAD THAT HAS TO BE FIGURED INTO MY BIDS. TRUCKS, INSURANCE, WAGES, NOT TO MENTION LABOR TO MEET THE CUSTOMER AND FLAG OUT THE PROPERTY. IF YOU CAN DO 3 ZONES AT THAT PRICE AND MAKE A PROFIT, AND STAY IN BUSINESS; MAYBE I NEED TO MOVE.

[CO Springs Homeowner]

I know this guy. It's Glen Price out of Palmer Lake. I hired MGP Landscaping to do a job... fired him when he was a month overdue on the project. He left the cedar posts and took everything else. He ran off with the money I paid him for materials... won't answer my calls. I have two neighbors that had to hire outside agencies to come in and fix his work... his 1-year guarantee is non-existent! This is really making landscapers here in Colorado Springs look bad... the second one I have dealt with.

[SprinklerGuy]

Not all of us are bad :)

[sprinkler guy]

This reminded me of a guy I dealt with a few years ago.

He was one of the biggest landscapers in his area and marketed like crazy - door hangers, flyers, local radio and newspaper ads, door-to-door salespeople, the works. Most of his marketing pieces detailed a "front-yard package" for something like $1450.00. A 15 gal., some 5 gals., hydroseed, and an automated sprinkler system. I was a manufacturers rep at the time and he boasted to me in the ten years he had been using the ad campaign, he had never sold the front-yard package. He always up-sold the package, but people always called him for "that package". The local supplier he used said the same thing about him and he was extremely successful.

I don't know a thing about the Colorado Springs market, but I know here in SoCal, $1400.00 doesn't make any money on a 3 valve landscape job.

[bicmudpuppy]

Dang, I'd read this thread, but not followed the actual ebay link. It is dead now. Ebay removed it for whatever reason. Maybe because of a negative feedback? I don't know if selling this type of product on Ebay is a good idea or not, but the description sounds to me like a "hook". There isn't a realistic way to install only what is being sold and have a full system. So, it is just another way of generating a lead. Best of all, it is a lead the customer paid for, not you. They have already agreed to pay for the base package at the bid price. Simple upgrades are then necessary to make this functional. The computer sellers do this all the time. Look at some of thier "systems". And then follow the links to the "upgrade" pages. You bid on the base and then add what you need to make that base model work for your situation.

[AceSprinkleRx]

Someone say, "Marketing"???

Generally speaking, the biggest decision a consumer will make is the initial decision - the decision to take "action". And believe it or not - price isn't the initial determining factor of their choice either.

It's the pain and inconvenience of having to move sprinklers, hoses, etc. around, over parting with a few GR to have that pain and inconvenience alleviated.

My partner in my current business just finished paying $3,000.00 to have a system installed. The reason??? Not wanting to be moving hoses around after work or in the late evening while he was wearing boxer shorts and relaxing in the house after a hard days work. It wasn't the "money" for him.

A "Loss Leader" such as offering a front yard system for $1450 when you know it can't be done for that isn't a problem. As long as you don't have a consumer whom wants it. Chances are he won't. So once the buyer commits to $1450 it's a simple matter to offer a step-up controller for only a "few dollars more". Then upgrade the heads to a better quality. Or offer a side zone or drip irrigation for the shrubs. Pretty soon the consumer is probably spending more than what they originally felt comfortable with. But by now, they see the pain of having to caretake a yard is gone, so what's another GR or two?

Consumers, as a rule, never want the cheapest. They can see three products hanging in Wal-Mart, all visually identical except for the packaging and price. And the higher percentage will pick the middle one. They don't want "cheap", but then again they don't want "expensive" when something else could work.

McDonalds is the king of this. When you stand in line listen to the other customers. When undecided and only asking for a cheeseburger and drink, the cashier will automatically ask if they want the Meal Deal. The customer gets a bit rattled as he tries to figure out what the cost is over the "Deal" and buying things separately. Of course, the majority of time he'll say the meal deal. Then he gets hit with the "Would you like that Biggie Sized?" question!

I've never heard someone initially ask for a Biggie Size but I always hear them say "Yes" or "Yeah I guess so" when they are asked.

Next lesson will be about "Free Brake Inspections" and the $39.95 brake install which includes the brake pads or maybe it could be the "Looks like you need an air filter" at the Quik Lube joint sale! :D

[sps2868]

this boob was offering to put in up to 30 sprayheads for $1400.

Since I bid $90 a sprayhead on a full install I would be bidding $2700, what you are telling me is I should be hiring him as my installer and pocketing $1300 for just playing phone tag with the homeowner, and for having him do the work. HOW DO I CONTACT HIM.