A few questions from a solo new guy on mulch beds.

[sjessen]

Greenhorn, I live in Knoxville and can answer most of your questions. Pm me, if you like and we can talk.

Steve

[Armsden&Son]

please please please no bagged mulch! you are paying double! And never believe it if anyone tells you that there are not two prices for mulch... If you are going to a place with only 1 price for contractors and home owners..... you are in the wrong place!

[jrs.landscaping]

Originally Posted by Armsden&Son

please please please no bagged mulch! you are paying double! And never believe it if anyone tells you that there are not two prices for mulch... If you are going to a place with only 1 price for contractors and home owners..... you are in the wrong place!

Usually you need to purchase mulch in volume to apply for a contractor rate. I think at the yard we use it is 50 CY's.

[weeze]

Originally Posted by Armsden&Son

please please please no bagged mulch! you are paying double! And never believe it if anyone tells you that there are not two prices for mulch... If you are going to a place with only 1 price for contractors and home owners..... you are in the wrong place!

new york and alabama are more opposite than anything else on earth dude.

just being honest about it. there is no contractor rate that i've ever heard of. if you look hard enough you can get mulch for free here. especially after a tornado hits and the city mulches up all of the debris and gives it away for free.

yes bagged mulch costs more but the time and labor to put it down is half. you can use truck load of mulch and it will take you 2 hrs or you can use bagged and be done in 1hr. i understand if it's a large job then truck loads are the only way to go. if it's a small job then bagged is 10x better.

[Smallaxe]

Originally Posted by greenhorn01

Thanks for the replies.

Bumping this for more answers to the other questions.

Still trying to figure out things like licensing, sales tax (if it's needed or not depending on how you obtain the mulch). And what time of year is best for lawn care companies. I say lawn care companies because I see neighbors etc doing them at all times of the year.

For WI Sales Tax you would give your tax number when buying any product that you want to get wholesale to AVOID paying sales tax to the supplier... When you RESALE this product at the higher price for your profit margin, you would charge the appropriate sales tax to the client...

To avoid the paperwork for that strategy I simply purchase the products at their face value, including sales tax and delivery, then list it as a separate item on the Invoice to the customer,,, to get my money back...
I pay myself for shopping around for the lowest cost and the customer learns that the cost they pay has nothing to do with my markup... they gladly pay me for my efforts of doing this excellent work...

That is the SIMPLEST way of doing it as far as I can tell...

[jones68]

Go with bulk mulch from a nursery or another place like that. I try to only use died mulch but i will put down what the client wants. died mulch keeps its color much much longer. just be careful to clean any off of sidewalks and driveways as it will stain. mulch in the trailer tools in the truck you should be able to put plywood sides on your trailer. stay away from the bags you wouldnt try to do a garage floor using bag concrete would you? they work for small very small jobs but it is way cheaper to get it in bulk