What do Y'all charge ?

[RjCorazza]

We, my son and I charge a per stump charge depending on the size of the stump and species.

My $200 per hour is very roughly equivalent to $3 per stump inch. I got tired of justifying how I measure a stump.

 

[RjCorazza]

Curious what kind of stump grinders are you guys using? I've thought about adding that to my side hustle offering in a few years.

I use a Baumalight 1P24. It's easy enough to use, and the price was right.
While great for occasional use, it's not really the tool of choice if you're doing a lot of stump work.

 

[Yander]

Oh, so your running it off the tractor PTO.

 

[Hay Dude]

Always charge by the job, not by the hour or acre. If you underbid and get asked to do the job again, you can raise your price. If they ask “why higher than last time?” you can simply say you underbid it.
If it’s by the hour, you are kinda stuck, unless you want to “slow walk” the work, which makes you look lazy/stupid. If it’s mowing by the acre, I think you are really screwed. Look at how much less time a flat acre of grass takes to mow compared to an acre with 50 trees on it.

 

[RjCorazza]

Oh, so your running it off the tractor PTO.

Yes, plus it requires moving the tractor rather than swinging back and forth via hydraulics.

 

[two_bit_score]

I would also be interested in hearing opinions of the demographics and who is the cheapest. I did a job for my neighbor (90 years old) in the summer and he thought $140 was a lot when it was probably a $250+ job. I don't like to work for cheap people but I also understand someone that old has no concept of what things cost now.

He was also telling me his furnace guy charged him $75 for a service call and he told the guy he wouldn't be calling him back. My dad is 82 and also a cheapskate but he will pay it.

My neighbor was loaded BTW. He has since passed away.

Im not 90 and I can't beleive the current replacement costs for some of the things I bought in the past.

 

[Yander]

I think we are all in that boat with the inflation

But that also means everyone who comes to do a job at your house has those inflationary input costs in their business.
Expecting prices for service to stay in the 80s rates isn't ok.

They want to give you a $50 or even $100 and think that is plenty when you just spent 3 hours, on your equipment, on your Saturday.

It doesn't matter how old you are, I don't want that job.

 

[oosik]

I don't do ANY off property work with my tractor or any of my equipment. I'm RETIRED - don't want the hassle - don't want the extra insurance. Besides - as we all know - implement costs are just out of sight.

Couple years ago - plowed snow off my neighbors driveway - for free. He complained - didn't like the way I did it. I hope he likes paying $300 to $400 for getting it plowed by a commercial fellow now.

 

[lman]

My neighbor asked me if I could snowplow their driveway last year since their tractor was down and I refused any payment. They later gave me a box of ribeye steaks. I worked on those steaks well into the summer.

 

[RjCorazza]

Years ago I helped a couple of neighbors with plowing over several years. It got totally out of hand with more people asking for help, and becoming almost demanding. I was forced to start charging a seasonal rate.