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Mulch Quality from Walmart

6K views 36 replies 12 participants last post by  hort101 
#1 ·
I'm trying to bid on a mulch job and I pretty much have it. Guy wants red mulch and needs 3 yds of mulch and the nursery I get it from will sell it to me for $2.25 per 2 cu ft bag which equates to $30/yd, this is wholesale cost and I do not tell him my cost. I bid $100/yd. Guy then calls me and says he will just buy his own mulch, so I gave him a new cost of $75/yd. He calls me back and ask if I have any wiggle room to negotiate lower cost, and that he is getting the mulch for $1.99 per 2 cu ft bag, his cost getting it at Walmart is $26/yd, and he is not concerned about quality because its only good for a year anyways.

So my question is, how is the quality of the mulch that Walmart sales?
 
#4 ·
I'm trying to bid on a mulch job and I pretty much have it. Guy wants red mulch and needs 3 yds of mulch and the nursery I get it from will sell it to me for $2.25 per 2 cu ft bag which equates to $30/yd, this is wholesale cost and I do not tell him my cost. I bid $100/yd. Guy then calls me and says he will just buy his own mulch, so I gave him a new cost of $75/yd. He calls me back and ask if I have any wiggle room to negotiate lower cost, and that he is getting the mulch for $1.99 per 2 cu ft bag, his cost getting it at Walmart is $26/yd, and he is not concerned about quality because its only good for a year anyways.

So my question is, how is the quality of the mulch that Walmart sales?
Pass.
 
#9 ·
The quality of the mulch isn't as good as you could buy at a mulch company. Since you are new and looking to make some money do the job. But as a long term customer it doesn't sound like this guy is. The first few years are hard dealing with cheap customer etc once you get established the good jobs Come in.
 
#13 ·
Red mulch is pretty popular down here. I'd say that's the most common color requested by my customers. My wholesaler has two different types.

Is this a regular lawn maintenance customer or just some guy that hired you for mulch? Lawn customer, try to find some happy ground. Joe Schmoe off the street, give him your price, installed, done.

Take it or leave it.

No line items.

No negotiations.

It's YOUR business, YOU make the rules, not the customer; especially ones you don't already have a relationship with and certainly not ones who try to change the rules constantly to their advantage. You let him take control of material acquisition, can you image what's he's going to try to pull during install? He says no to your price, you're probably better off.
 
#14 ·
Red mulch is pretty popular down here. I'd say that's the most common color requested by my customers. My wholesaler has two different types.

Is this a regular lawn maintenance customer or just some guy that hired you for mulch? Lawn customer, try to find some happy ground. Joe Schmoe off the street, give him your price, installed, done.

Take it or leave it.

No line items.

No negotiations.

It's YOUR business, YOU make the rules, not the customer; especially ones you don't already have a relationship with and certainly not ones who try to change the rules constantly to their advantage. You let him take control of material acquisition, can you image what's he's going to try to pull during install? He says no to your price, you're probably better off.
Yep. We've all had this guy before. And most of the time feel a whole lot better about letting it go, than how you feel after you complete it if you accept.
 
#15 ·
I was supposed to be mowing this guys yard weekly for about a month cause he messed up the deck on his mower when he hit a tree. Anyways, he got his mower back sooner than he thought, and at the time when I did mow his yard he was thinking of keeping me if the repair bill was going to be more than what it was worth.

He told me he wanted a mulch job so I gave him my price when he asked after I did the measuring. Being that we are as far as we are in the talks, I will go ahead and do this but hold firm at $75/yd. He started to try and figure out the cost of the install per bag, but I told him he needs to look at it as how much I'm doing and conditions such has how much cleaning, some area's are open and I can just dump and spread, while most area is around shrubs and plant's.

If he says "no," Oh well.
 
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#18 ·
When he realizes he is paying you $75/hr for the mulch he is getting he might as well just lay it himself. It sounds like the type of guy that is going to want to pay you $20/hr cash to do the work and it won't be worth it. For laying $75 a yard when he picks it up and it's ready to do I would offer to clean the beds and make an edge, sell him the fact you aren't just dumping the bags out and leaving
 
#19 ·
When he realizes he is paying you $75/hr for the mulch he is getting he might as well just lay it himself. It sounds like the type of guy that is going to want to pay you $20/hr cash to do the work and it won't be worth it. For laying $75 a yard when he picks it up and it's ready to do I would offer to clean the beds and make an edge, sell him the fact you aren't just dumping the bags out and leaving
Agreed proper prep workThumbs Up
 
#30 ·
Well keep posting your questions and experiences and we'll be glad to help as long as you continue to receive our input in a gracious manner :)
there's a difference between insulting and constructive criticism. The few insults I have shrugged off, the constructive criticism is welcomed :)
 
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