Is $300 to much for mowing 20 acres?

[johnk]

He's too tight with the buck. That's why he owns 3 Cadillacs, Giant house and a big ol' John Deere. He uses everyone. Tell him to buy a mower and do it himself. Sounds like an ungrateful bast*** to me....Just my opinion. I hate when people try to scalp the last penny out of you..Tell him take a hike and let your tractor idle with PTO spinning on your mower on his property line. Worth 4 hours fuel....

 

[Henro]

Let's see...

Find a tractor with rotary cutter to rent: Maybe $150 per day if you are real lucky. Add something for delivery...

20 gallons of fuel...$60...prices are coming down...

2 days of time at minimum wage...about $80

That's $440 without adding wear and tear on your equipment, or adding value for yourself as a skilled tractor operator!

Seems like being a nice guy wanting to help you should charge $500 minimum...

 

[RobertN]

No way. Minimum $35/hr, up to the $45/hr another poster mentioned.

The other thing is, you are probably not insured. If you fin a rock, stick, piece of metal, and that mower throws it into his house, or you break something, you are hosed.

Even if he did it himself, it would cost $200/day to rent a CUT with a mower. There's $400, plus fuel and time.

Walk away. It aint worth it.

 

[Birdhunter1]

$70 per hour minimum if I'm running my tractor on your property. Though I do have a few neighbors I mow for cheap to nothing but I also borrow from them time to time, basically I cover my fuel when I work for them, if that.

 

[Nissan197]

I paid a neighbor to mow my 10 acres and he asked for 50 bucks an hour. It took him almost 2 hours and I happily gave him 100 bucks. IMHO I got off cheap.

 

[SWB]

The lots in my neighborhood are three to three and one half acres and the going rate seems to be around $75/lot. That works out to be $375 to around $450 for 20 acres and I think that is cheap.

 

[ovrszd]

My buddy knows a guy who has a field that is between 20-22 acres. He asked me if I wanted to mow it last year. I did mow it and when the guy asked how much I told him $250. He got all bent out and asked if I was going to bail it also. So, I said o.k., $200. He reluctantly paid me the $200.

Now, this year he called me and asked if I wanted to mow it again , I told him that since the price of diesel has went up so much I would have to get atleast $300 to mow it this year. He said no way.

It took me 2 full days to mow this field and about 20 gallons of fuel. It is on the side of a pretty good hill also. That is less than $15 an acre not to mention trailering my equipment up to his place and the wear and tear. Now, If he was not " Well Off " I would have probably just done for what he could pay me ( I have done that before for people) But this guy has 3 Cadillacs, Giant house and a big ol' John Deere. I guess he is just too lazy to mow it his self.
Am I being unreasonable or is he just one of those guys that wants something for nothing ? What would you guys charge to brush hog this field?

I guess I don't understand why this is a discussion for you?? You are the seller of a service. It's you who decides what your equipment and time is worth. It's him who decides if he wants to pay it. Why would you even give this a second thought once he turned down your price?? It really doesn't matter what I or anyone else in this post says. You determined your price and he isn't going to pay it. Seems very simple to me.

 

[scesnick]

I usually have only ever mowed my fields. The first time I ever even thought of mowing someone elses was when this job came up last year. I guess that was why I was asking if $300 was unreasonable. ( I figured i was low ) I really haven't looked into the going rate.

My buddy told me that this guy asked him last night for his Brother in laws phone number to see if he wants to mow it. His B.I.L. told him he would not even think of doing it for less than $750 .

SO, I'm betting this guy will be calling me back here soon. I think after reading this thread and his attitude from the previous call the price might have to go up a little !!!! ( just kidding, I told him $300 I will honor that )
Thanks for the responses !!

 

[RonR]

I suppose you are right to honor your bid.

Me, I'd have a little fun with him: "That $300 bid I gave you was my lowest rate, based on when I didn't have ANYTHING else to do, and I'm really busy for the next several weeks with more than break-even jobs. In fact, I might not be able to get to it til next spring, but it's still only $300, if and when I can get to it. Now, if you want my 'this week Get R Done' price, I can offer you a bid of $XXX......"

 

[roxynoodle]

I have a neighbor with a good sized backhoe. I pay him $45 per hour for any work he does for me. To be honest, for me, it's cheaper than renting one. To rent one for half a day is $200. His backhoe can do the work twice as fast. So if it takes him 2 hours to dig a hole for me, that is $90 compared to the $200 I'd pay to rent a small one. I think $45 per hour is more than fair.