Pricing aeration

[jajwrigh]

What formula do you guys use for pricing aerating? I was thinking twice what you charge per application round or something. Let me know what you think!

[James Cormier]

Up to this season my min was $90.00 ( under 5k ) this season I raised it to $125 then 5-10k is $195, 11-15k $245, 16-20k $325 20 and over $450

All these numbers are subject to change, I may have a 15k lawn thats a square with nothing in the way, they may be less than a 10k lawn thats hills, beds, trees, So I really need to look over the lawn first. But use those prices as a ruler

[Green Dreams]

...my former employer would charge triple app price and put a nice coat of milorganite over it after it was done. Charged double w/out the milorganite.

[turf hokie]

I figure about a $1.50 per thousand with a minimum of $125

[jajwrigh]

I figure about a $1.50 per thousand with a minimum of $125

$1.50 per thousand? Isn't that a little cheap?

[jajwrigh]

Up to this season my min was $90.00 ( under 5k ) this season I raised it to $125 then 5-10k is $195, 11-15k $245, 16-20k $325 20 and over $450

All these numbers are subject to change, I may have a 15k lawn thats a square with nothing in the way, they may be less than a 10k lawn thats hills, beds, trees, So I really need to look over the lawn first. But use those prices as a ruler

James-

Thanks a lot this information is very helpful!

[DUSTYCEDAR]

.02 cents a square foot

[turf hokie]

Sorry, my head was thinking one thing and my fingers another. $15.00 pers thousand. I am in the same ballpark as James he just broke it down a little more.

[DUSTYCEDAR]

i am at 20 bucks per 1000 and still swamped

[turf hokie]

I'm thinking I need to find a new market. I knew my county was real competitive but this is silly. I knew I was looking at expanding my area for a reason.

[DUSTYCEDAR]

go 4 it make the bucks :D

[Lux Lawn]

I charge around what there monthly maintenance fee is for grass cutting when I can or I try to go around $10 per 1000.

[trying 2b organic]

I charge the high end for my area at $60.00 for an average sized lawn. (my average 3-5k)

[mikesturf]

Chicago surburan area, every fall I receive 5-7 flyers from different landscapers for core aeration. Prices for under 10,000 sf between $42-$55.

[James Cormier]

I charge around what there monthly maintenance fee is for grass cutting when I can or I try to go around $10 per 1000.


Lux, So a 12k lawn you would charge $120.00 right, then that means your monthly fee to mow that 12k lawn would also be $120 or $30.00 per cut.?
Seems low to me. Raise your prices, dont worry about the customers you may lose, youll make up for that in the increased income.

[BoHog1634]

Hi Guys,

The prices you are all quoting, are they just for 1 pass or 2 passes with the aerator? Also, do these prices include seed and/or fertilizer, or are they extra?

Thanks,
BoHog

[James Cormier]

My prices are based on using my 50" pull behind, Ive posted photos of it on this site, When I use that I usually do half passes, also where I turn gets run over time and time again so those areas get aerated really good.

No seed or fert are listed in my prices on the above post. Seed I charge $3.00 a pound for general overseeding. Special mixes I charge more, but its always by the pound.

[Geoffrey]

Gentleman,
Do you sell each service separately or make professional suggestions based on their needs? I read all over the place here, other web sites, and even hear from other owners that they only do core aerations with over seeding. I'm a little lost about when or if this is always necessary.

Geoff

[turfsurfer]

Guys, I've just about given up on the aeration market here. The day I can charge even close to $125 for 5k lawn I will sell all my other equipment and just aerate. I try to get $60-80 for a 10k lawn and get undercut by guys doing it for $30-$40. It's not worth it here. I've decided to do the few that will pay a reasonable rate but I'm not getting into the lowest bid game.

[James Cormier]

Geoff, core aeration is a add on service I sell to my existing fert & squirt customers, Heres how I recommend it to people.

1. If you have a unlimited budget and you want the perfect lawn then core aeration is done 2x's a year with at least one of them with overseeding, out of my 350 customers i service maybe 20 are like that.

2. Plan on budgeting aeration into your lawn plan everyother year, most customers go with that, over seeding is just offered at the time of sale, If i feel they need it I stress it, if lawn is in good shape I dont push it.

some years I pushed hard for aerations, back in 2001 we aerated 221 lawns, and last season we only did 50. So it depends on how my seasons going and how the lawns look.

Turfsurfer, thats a problem you got there, I find more and more lawn mowing guys are buying aerators and selling really cheap aerations, Im guessing thats whats driving down your prices. I dont blame you for feeling that way, Me personaly I hate doing aerations, even with my pull behind, It just sucks. Before I sold my mowing business I would pull one of the mowing guys off a truck to do the aerations ( thats the year we did 221 ) Now that Im solo again, i dont like to do it, so this season I didnt even adv or push for it.

Turf, hows your fert prices compared to other areas? You can email me from my website and I will send you some price per k from my area.

[TSM]

personally i have always felt that the cost of aeration was to high even though i keep our prices inline with our competitors.

Aeration is the most benificial service anyone can perform on a lawn. wouldnt it help all our businesses if the price dropped a bit, not to mention the benefit to our customer's lawn.

now, $30-$40 for 10k is very cheap...and most likely the company that charges so little doesnt pay for liability or maybe not even workers comp and i'd be willing to guess uncle sam never heard of them either.

Like James aeration is something i loath. i'm just not built for the job and i'm getting older. But what if I went to a much lower price...say $5-$8 per 1000sf.... a 10k lawn would be charged $50-$80 and could be done in 30 minutes (max) by one man making...say $12-$15 per hour.

I see some profit there. Probably sell much more aerations per season (much easier sell as well) Lawns would be benefiting which would most likely add years onto that customers loyalty to our company.

Kinda the Wal-Mart way.....sell for less, just sell much more.

Just some thoughts. We currently charge $150 for 10k and we only perform this service to out active lawncare customers.

[Drew Gemma]

$3.00 per thousand plugged $2.00 per pound of grass seed plus a stop charge of $10.00 on the dinks. I am at the average reange in my area except on the seed I am alittle high but I use good stuff.

[KLR]

this thread has got me thinking.

I also believe that aeration has been an overpriced service here in new england (probably the whole northeast) ( my quick survey from this thread is definately higher prices in the northeast than in anyother part of the country from the responses)

Discounted aeration prices...if they're getting $40 in Ohio and you're getting $150 in the northeast, I believe you can expect to see a trend of lower prices every year till the price gets down to around $60-75.

So, get on the bandwagon early? Start discounting those aerations now (call it lowballing if you want, i dont care) Doing $65 aerations is gonna get the phone ringing. All the guys getting that $150 will be seeing less revenue because their customers will be calling for the discountd price?

Sell 2000 aerations at $65 each.(thats $130000 if you dont have your calculator handy) Overhead cost (labor, insurances, truck, payroll taxes...all overhead...I'd say $50000.

Not to mention that the calls coming in from competitor's customers...well that just opens the door to selling them a full program.

Is that lowballing?? Maybe, to some. I see it as providing a very beneficial service at an afordable price.

Of course, personally I feel for me to get something like this going we would have to sell 2000 aerations per season...thats a lot...for us. And if that guy who was hired for this service decides to quit...well that would leave me out there... to do 2000 aerations :(

[James Cormier]

Well, each year i market aerations I sell more then I can do, even at my high prices, then why in the world would i reduce my prices??

That being said, I believe core aeration is not overpriced, I believe that more part time landscapers are just selling this service, people that dont know the true cost of doing business. I know, I know their are plenty of landscapers that are legit business, but year after year, I see far too many " joes' lawn mowing " with a aerator on the back of their trailer.

One of the reasons I sold my mowing business is because I was sick of competing with a part time guy that thinks making 30 bucks a hour was killer. And there are far too many of them out there.

If this happens to aerations, well thats when I stop doing them, if you want to go out and make 60 bucks to aerate a 12k lawn KLR, then be my guest. Because those type of business come and go.

[KLR]

James, you said in another thread that you are paying lesco less money now than you did several years ago, same product, same quantity. Why?

I beleive, and yeah i've been known to be wrong before, that aeration prices will indeed begin to drop around here starting with the national companies and trickling down to us small companies. Its just a matter of time.

I was looking for a magazine article, I think from Lawn & Landscape or maybe it was Lawn Maintenance, I forget. It was last year, they had several pages on a company in the mid west (again, I'm not sure where) all they do are aerations. They have something like 10 guys out aerating everyday at discounted prices.

Hey, all I'm saying is that even at a discounted price and with volume one could do very well selling aerations.

I do know my numbers. Selling discounted service will help the economy (two ways...1-you'll get someone a job, he'll pay taxes and spend his earnings. 2-the customer will get a beneficial service for his lawn and still have money to take his family out for pizza and ice cream.)

Selling discounted aerations will bring in more lawncare customers.

Its ok to make less profit on one service and make up the difference with other services [well its ok with me anyway]

I'm just thinking outside the box. You may feel i belong tied up in a box! :)

The more I think of it......discounted aerations will definatley help grow a lawn care operation and one will still be turning a profit even with the discounted price.

[Field General]

my two cents...Call me crazy if you want but I tend to agree with KLR. At the end of the season I call every customer and offer aeration.I usually try to get a little more than I would charge for one application of fertilizer.....Commercial customers pay more. I have been very successful selling the service to about half of my customers each year.
Then I set a weekend aside and start aerating. I can usually get to all of my clients in this one weekend.Although I usually sleep for three days when I am done, I walk away with a tidy sum of money for basically two days work.This money comes in handy as my income season is ending.I am sure that I do not have as many clients as some of you but this works for me.

[trying 2b organic]

There is never a good reason to charge half the going rate. If you want to attract more customers be the lowest price. Thats slightly lower than the person currently the lowest. If the going rate is 120 charge $100 and have the same effect. Except as the others have indicated if the aerator breaks, you bust a sprinkler system, or your truck breaks down you will be able to cover it because you were billing more than just over cost.

[DUSTYCEDAR]

aeration is hard work so u should get payed to do it
the machines cost a big $ and they break down so u have to spend$ to fix
why run a machine for nothing once u do it for a customer at rock bottom prices they will always want it at that price and u will have a hard time makeing more

[turfsurfer]

Honestly guys, I wasn't trying to start a trend where everybody starts dropping their prices. I agree that aeration is a premium service and very beneficial to the lawn and I wish we were getting what it is worth here. Remember, aerating is WAY more labor intensive than mowing and fertilizing, that aerator is expensive, and it sits unused except for a very short period of the year. Point is, we SHOULD NOT be lowballing this service unless you all want to run into the situation we have around me.

[PR Fect]

Sure am glad I do not live in Ohio. Sounds like that area is the lowest cost aeration in the country. How much does a loft of bread cost there? I hope everything else is cheep. We are at $10 per K and that's just a little on the low end around here. Add $2 per K for over-seeding. And like James said that's just a start point. If its a flat open shot $9 per K. If it is full of trees and/or slopes $11 or $12 per K

[PR Fect]

Sure am glad I do not live in Ohio. Sounds like that area is the lowest cost aeration in the country. How much does a loft of bread cost there? I hope everything else is cheep. We are at $10 per K and that's just a little on the low end around here. Add $2 per K for over-seeding. And like James said that's just a start point. If its a flat open shot $9 per K. If it is full of trees and/or slopes $11 or $12 per K
Oops, that should be $10 per K for over-seeding. $2 per lb for seed, 5 lbs per K or $10 per K total

[Runner]

We come in at around 15 per K for just aeration around here.