Bidding from photos

NickfromWI

King of Splices
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
4,992
Location
Snowless California
This is from a convo in the How'd It Go thread, but I think it warrants it's own thread...

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Have you done it?

I've had lots of clients try to weasel out of scheduling consults by offering to send pics to get ballpark figures. For the first couple years I've been extremely opposed and also slightly offended by the implication that the intricacies of bidding a job can be summarized in a few photos.

However, a month or two ago I decided to give it a shot. We've secured over $5,000 in work bud from photos in the past 60 days. Haven't been bit yet. I bid high when bidding by pics.

Yesterday was a good example. Thin an oak and skin some giant birds of paradise. I was thinking it's about $500 in work. I told them $900. They hired us.

When we arrived on site the tree was a little smaller/easier than I expected, but the route from tree to truck was more complicated than I could tell via google maps.

Those two ended up balancing eachother out and the client added a couple hundred in other work. All in all a good second half of the day for us!

Has anyone else tried it yet?

love
nick


love
nick
 
Our Google street view is limited and years old if we even have it for certain streets. Hell... My address shows me 1/2 mile up the hill from where I live :lol:
So No... LOL
My Google street view of our place is before the WC GTG and the SAT is maybe a year after that... If that gives you reference.
We also deal with acreage. If a house is on 12-80 + acres of land.. street view does not even show most of them.
 
Technology these days! I do it too Nick, it's pretty neat, if it's tough to bid, charging them by the hour is a sure thing. Are we allowed to post pics of jobs on here and discuss it? It's probably illegal here in CA!
 
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Heck yeah! Let's do some price fixing!

Actually we should show some pics we've been sent and let everyone hash them out...


love
nick
 
Here's one I looked at today, 6 Pines and 1 Cedar removed. One pine is really small. Looks like log loader can take the logs. I can fit the rest of the material in one load.



Pic 2 (taken from front driveway)


Pic 3 (taken from pathway along house)


Pic 4 (opposite side of home) Cedar leaning towards house.


What's the magic number?
 
With my current setup and in my region Bix that job would fish for around 5-7K depending on a number of factors. If I could get rid of the wood easily I might bid it for less; looks like a 2 day job from here....

If you can do it in one day (I haven't seen the trees so hard to tell the real size) I would throw 3500 at it and be stoked to get that in a day.


jp:D
 
I used to freelance to a guy who would regularly price work through google earth or street view. This is all ok if you are not desperate for work and can add a bit of contingency into the price, but never try and bid competitively this way.....we are stitched up on numerous occassions!
 
Up here Bix, that might go for 2800. Two days, 3 guys, leave wood in lengths for loader (assuming loader hauls for free), chip all brush, cleanup, out.
 
I used to freelance to a guy who would regularly price work through google earth or street view. This is all ok if you are not desperate for work and can add a bit of contingency into the price, but never try and bid competitively this way.....we are stitched up on numerous occassions!

Haha, remember that big conifer hedge he put an afternoon on and took 3 days.......

Actually his pricing was just shite all round, even if he went to look at the job in person.

I will price via pics or google under certain circumstances, ie if its a long way to site to look, but again I always build extra in. A couple of trees have been bigger than expected, but never anything I couldnt handle, and some have been really easy and well paid. It does balance out if you are sensible.
 
Up here Bix, that might go for 2800. Two days, 3 guys, leave wood in lengths for loader (assuming loader hauls for free), chip all brush, cleanup, out.

Sounds pretty close to our pricing here too. Might be able to squeeze maybe 3500.00 out of it.. But more likely sell it towards Butch's and your pricing if the wood disappears and the chips stay on site.
 
I gotta get this bid off today, thanks guys. This is a non-client, probably a phonebook call, so for the most part the low guy wins. I want the job, looks like only the cedar needs to be climbed, everything else felled. We would have to make it a one day job, chips hauled, log loader can pick up at no charge (the following morning). I would think anything above $2,500 doesn't stand a chance.

Tough way to make a living! :drink:
 
That's a nice thought, sounds like he wants the cedar chips in a pile, that helps a little... pine chips gotta go!

We'll probably have to haul the cedar wood, it should be pieced down, the log loader won't take that.
 
True Dat! Plus I gotta bring the dump truck anyway. Trees look pretty small, $2100 would get it for sure.

Wise man once told me it really about 'how bad you want to work'
 
$2100 for floppers sounds pretty good for a day job and some coordination behind the scenes. With a couple ground guys, you got that!
 
That's what I'm leaning towards, four guys total, small chipper bogs but we can get it done in a day. Just don't put a tree through the house and were good! Cool THANKS!
 
Don't send a binding contract out based on pictures.

Do you have measurements of the trees (DBH)?

Seems like an easy machine job.

Cedar could have a retainer line and flopped.?
 
That would be in the 5-7k here as well. I recently have a lot of competition, so I'd go toward the low side. I can still get rid of logs and chips for nothing, so good day and a half.
 
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