Quoting a job?

[D2Cat]

I agree with bdog when it comes to setting on a price.

I lived 5 years in the Far East as a teenager. Getting a job was not available unless it was provided by one of the military bases, and even then it was "invented" for the youth. There were plenty of "workers" available!!

There were pawn shops everywhere, many times several next to each other. Soldiers would pawn just about anything from their guitar to their combat boots. I would focus on transistor radios. This was about 1966 and they were just becoming something everyone had to have. When the store owner would take an item in they were checked out and in excellent condition or they wouldn't accept them. With transistor radios the pawn brokers would leave the batteries in the radio while in storage. If the radio was not redeemed within about 3 months often times corrosion would begin and the radios would eventually not operate very well.

I would go into each shop and see what they had for sale, then ask if they had any radios that weren't working. They always had at least one! I learned at 15-16 years old you negotiated on price. Those guys expected it and enjoyed it. Many times I'd haggle and not come to an agreement, then turn and walk to the front door. By the time my hands were touching the door they come back with a better offer. I'd come back towards the counter and "go again". Almost always ending up buying the radio.

I would then clean the contacts, put in new batteries and sell them (sometimes back to soldiers).

Now days, I find out all I can about an item through pictures, phone calls, etc. Sometimes it's not clear exactly the condition, but I say something like: "I'm coming from xxxxx (to show I'm ready to go to their location, and they can see the distance involved), what would be your best price?" Very, very, very seldom is there not a reduction the the original price.

It's just something I do, and I offend no one that I'm aware of. (And if they're offended, they can sell to someone else by saying "No")

 

[Silvic]

Agree with the others; your quote is on the low side of what one would expect.
Every area is priced differently and most/many areas that would have been a steal of a deal.
I would have jumped on that price if I was those folks.
DO NOT DEAL with them again. You will regret it if you do.

 

[crashz]

Even though it would be ridiculous to expect customers to know, they really have no idea what the cost of maintenance is on these machines. A bottom end for your dozer is going to be $6-8K in parts alone! Never mind daily costs to move, operate and insure these beasts!

We did a job last year for an old school buddy. He asked me to come by and look at a couple of stumps to remove with my Bobcat. It was actually about 30 stumps, mostly large, and grading (with topsoil) an acre of lawn. And a drainage swale. I told him it was beyond a Bobcat and i could do it if we brought in my father and his excavator and dozer. We agreed on a price, got it done, and got paid without any haggling. I spent some time really looking at our costs on that job and was surprised at how high the price was to make even a mild profit.

That being said, I've been aggressive with my tractor business this year and have been pleasantly surprised by my customers on CL. I have been paid upfront with no hassle or haggle. But I have set things straight up front, and have had some people looking for more than what I can do for much less money. Those folk get a polite email saying thank you for contacting me and here is my rate. If they want me, they respond. If not, no hassle. Truthfully I've been busier than I expected and right at the sweet spot on what I can accomplish without straining my equipment and myself. As a side benefit, I've met some really cool people.

 

[TomIre]

What sort of insurance do you have on your equipment? My homeowners only covers of I'm on my property.

 

[bdog]

I have an inland marine policy which covers my equipment and then I have a commercial General liability, workers comp, and a commercial auto policy. All together the Insurance is around 20k a year. Sucks but is the only way to be adequately covered for what I do.

You will find your normal personal policies don稚 cover anything if for hire. This includes if you get in a crash hauling your equipment to a job. People who do side jobs with their equipment without proper insurance are mighty brave or ignorant. The odds of something bad happening when working for others is orders of magnitude higher than when just doing work on your own property.