Last Friday night I get a call from a guy who says he would like a price for shredding 10 acres near a little town about 60 miles from me. I think about it for a few minutes and say I will do it for $33/acre plus $60 for transport. We hang up and I don't hear any more from him. I called him back this morning just for grins to see if he had found anyone to mow his 10 acres.
Turns out he actually lives in a completely different town about 160 miles away. He is calling people who advertise on Craigslist to get price comparisons on shredding for a buddy of his who has retired. Apparently his buddy bought a new "tractor package" and wants to earn some extra income shredding. It seems that the buddy had been using a little Chinese tractor and shredder that he couldn't keep together so he went his tractor dealer and bought a package that included a tractor, FEL, shredder and a trailer to haul it on. He said his buddy was mowing for a neighbor for $5/acre. He told his buddy that he probably wasn't even paying for his fuel at that.
He did share with me that he found 3 guys in the surrounding area that advertised on Craigslist to do shredding. None of which were from his town. Distances ranged from 45-160 miles. Prices ranged from $10/acre - $33/acre plus some travel. I was the highest of the bunch. The cheapest guy said he would do it for $35/hr and it would take 3 hrs.
I suggested that If his buddy hoped to make any money at shredding, he needed to figure out what it really cost to buy and operate his equipment. I told him that this forum was a great place to read about others experiences in the tractor mowing business.
Anyway, how many of you guys that mow/shred for profit get these calls from competitors just trying too feel out the market? How many of you have done this (I must admit that I did when I got started)?
Tim
Turns out he actually lives in a completely different town about 160 miles away. He is calling people who advertise on Craigslist to get price comparisons on shredding for a buddy of his who has retired. Apparently his buddy bought a new "tractor package" and wants to earn some extra income shredding. It seems that the buddy had been using a little Chinese tractor and shredder that he couldn't keep together so he went his tractor dealer and bought a package that included a tractor, FEL, shredder and a trailer to haul it on. He said his buddy was mowing for a neighbor for $5/acre. He told his buddy that he probably wasn't even paying for his fuel at that.
He did share with me that he found 3 guys in the surrounding area that advertised on Craigslist to do shredding. None of which were from his town. Distances ranged from 45-160 miles. Prices ranged from $10/acre - $33/acre plus some travel. I was the highest of the bunch. The cheapest guy said he would do it for $35/hr and it would take 3 hrs.
I suggested that If his buddy hoped to make any money at shredding, he needed to figure out what it really cost to buy and operate his equipment. I told him that this forum was a great place to read about others experiences in the tractor mowing business.
Anyway, how many of you guys that mow/shred for profit get these calls from competitors just trying too feel out the market? How many of you have done this (I must admit that I did when I got started)?
Tim