# Pricing a mini job



## sir1 (May 20, 2016)

This is a first. Need to cut and remove a 30 ft?, dead birch trunk. Its just half a tree. Its one dead trunk attached to another live tree. Both in a clump. Both trees stem from ground. The dead one is leaning towards a fence. Would hit if not dropped carefully. Tree is in very poor shape. Then clean up.

This should be a very simple quick job. But as I pretty much never come across really quick jobs how much do I charge? Do you have a min price for any tree felling and without it the saws dont run, like $75 $100, $150?

Thanks


----------



## Pelorus (May 20, 2016)

I've do lotsa $75-$150 treework. Usually stuff like just felling a tree (that is sometimes even leaning the right way), that the owner can't do themself. Make a mess, and drive away.
Sometimes translates into repeat customers and referrals.
And you can rattle off a bunch of these little jobs in a day, and go home not beat up and worn out.


----------



## no tree to big (May 20, 2016)

Is it somewhere u do a lot of other work? Stop by real quick n hit it for 80 bucks? Or is it far out of the way? 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


----------



## treebilly (May 20, 2016)

I've got a hundred dollar minimum. For that it's me and a saw and less than 30 minutes


----------



## jefflovstrom (May 20, 2016)

Well, I would give it away,,
$1000 dollar minimum.
Jeff


----------



## treebilly (May 20, 2016)

But you don't do residential Jeff


----------



## mauldinoutdoor (May 21, 2016)

We have a $400 minimum, if less I refer it out. But if I already on the property then I'll tell the customer about the minimum and then evaluate the property and find other items, majority of the time this works out into full size jobs with inspection finding a major item that the customer wasn't aware of - ie. cracked limb, dead top rotted bases, etc. If there's no other work then we'll give them the choice of waiting til we are on another job close by or calling the referral out. The referral I use is an older guy that'll tell them to call me first if they need anything in the future


----------



## sir1 (May 21, 2016)

That all kind of makes sense. We service this property for just about everything else. We are there at least once per week.


----------



## mauldinoutdoor (May 21, 2016)

With customer like that it only makes sense to get over there when they call, maybe just to tackle the "emergency" stuff right then but to start a list to take care of on Friday or once or twice a month. But bringing equipment everytime might be costing as a much as your making if the job is too small


----------



## mckeetree (May 21, 2016)

treebilly said:


> I've got a hundred dollar minimum. For that it's me and a saw and less than 30 minutes



Unbelievable.


----------



## no tree to big (May 21, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> Unbelievable.


To cheap?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


----------



## jefflovstrom (May 21, 2016)

treebilly said:


> But you don't do residential Jeff



The few residential jobs we do are jobs are certain people that pay very well. Sometimes we will take on a residential if it is in an HOA that we are working in if we can fit it in during our time frame. Most HOA jobs we do take 2 weeks or more.
Jeff


----------



## sir1 (May 21, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> Unbelievable.


Ambiguous

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk


----------



## jefflovstrom (May 21, 2016)

no tree to big said:


> To cheap?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk



Up to you,,we can not say,,,,
Jeff


----------



## mckeetree (May 22, 2016)

no tree to big said:


> To cheap?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk



Absolutely. These guys that are actually in business and paying all the overhead a legitimate business does and maintaining minimums of $50 or $100 are just making the industry appear a cheap unprofessional joke. We technically have a minimum of $250 stated in our policies but I very rarely fool with anything under $600.


----------



## Pelorus (May 22, 2016)

I've paid, and continue to pay my dues, and reckon I run every bit as legit an operation as you do, mckeetree.
A tree company's high business overhead and Caribbean retirement villa dreams are not a valid excuse to be extortionists ripping customers off. 
Treework got my mortgage paid off, and the kids have never gone to bed hungry.


----------



## GrassGuerilla (May 22, 2016)

As with any other job large or small, bidding should go the same. Know your costs and bid accordingly. Know your costs, know your costs, know your costs. It ain't rocket science, just a matter of knowing where your money is coming from and going to.


----------



## fordf150 (May 22, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> Absolutely. These guys that are actually in business and paying all the overhead a legitimate business does and maintaining minimums of $50 or $100 are just making the industry appear a cheap unprofessional joke. We technically have a minimum of $250 stated in our policies but I very rarely fool with anything under $600.



No offense but locally to me....$600 minimum would mean you would only work a few days a month. Local school district bid out getting 50-60 trees trimmed and couple completely removed. $3200 won the contract and there was a bid of $3000 but they took the higher bid because that guy was located inside the district. Local guy that won the contract was tickled to win... 3 man crew, 4 days working 5 minutes from the house, picked up another dozen jobs from parents that saw them doing the school trees. 

Blanket statements about what someone charges misses a few key factors..... Local conditions dictate prices more than anything else because based on your $600 minimum I would guess your locality has a average income above $50k vs my local market of $17k a year average.


----------



## DR. P. Proteus (May 22, 2016)

sir1 said:


> This is a first. Need to cut and remove a 30 ft?, dead birch trunk. Its just half a tree. Its one dead trunk attached to another live tree. Both in a clump. Both trees stem from ground. The dead one is leaning towards a fence. Would hit if not dropped carefully. Tree is in very poor shape. Then clean up.
> 
> This should be a very simple quick job. But as I pretty much never come across really quick jobs how much do I charge? Do you have a min price for any tree felling and without it the saws dont run, like $75 $100, $150?
> 
> Thanks



Maybe learn the business before you go into business? What? Do you want me to smoke it for you too?


----------



## mckeetree (May 22, 2016)

fordf150 said:


> No offense but locally to me....$600 minimum would mean you would only work a few days a month. Local school district bid out getting 50-60 trees trimmed and couple completely removed. $3200 won the contract and there was a bid of $3000 but they took the higher bid because that guy was located inside the district. Local guy that won the contract was tickled to win... 3 man crew, 4 days working 5 minutes from the house, picked up another dozen jobs from parents that saw them doing the school trees.
> 
> Blanket statements about what someone charges misses a few key factors..... Local conditions dictate prices more than anything else because based on your $600 minimum I would guess your locality has a average income above $50k vs my local market of $17k a year average.



Ok. This thread has gone ridiculous now. Most of that didn't really make any sense to me but that $17k a year got my attention...that is below the damned poverty level. No, no I'm not working for people below the poverty level. My average client has an income of around $250k a year. Some more...much, much more. Like I posted somewhere else...in ten years as a member here this place has taught me at least one thing, that at least 75% of us are basically working for peanuts. A guy that I bought some stump grinder teeth from emailed me a photo about five years ago of some dude in New Jersey holding a sign at an intersection that read "will do tree work for food". Now, I wrote that off as a joke but the one that sent it to me swears it was 100% real. He claimed at the time the photo was a couple of years old but he knew the guy and the guy was actually a decent climber and wasn't known to be a bum. I still didn't believe him at the time...but now...now I actually do. After the sh!t I have read in this place the last five years I do. $17k a year for an average client's income is plenty pitiful but someone, I can't remember who it may have been ropensaddle but I'm not sure, said their average client's income was $15k a year.


----------



## treebilly (May 22, 2016)

Ok mckeetree, I should've been a little more clear. That's when I'm out to give the estimate. I always carry a felling saw with me. Basically for those flop and drops or small limb laying on the ground calls. You really can't justify charging mobilization or a crews wages for something that takes me 30 minutes. Last week I had a customer that walked down the street while I was working and asked if I would plant two potted shrubs. Took ten minutes while the other guy finished cleanup. Hundred bucks. He knows the minimum. Handed it to me while asking. I make a lot of money on that stupid stuff. Didn't mean to sound "unbelievable"


----------



## fordf150 (May 22, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> Ok. This thread has gone ridiculous now. Most of that didn't really make any sense to me but that $17k a year got my attention...that is below the damned poverty level. No, no I'm not working for people below the poverty level. My average client has an income of around $250k a year. Some more...much, much more. Like I posted somewhere else...in ten years as a member here this place has taught me at least one thing, that at least 75% of us are basically working for peanuts. A guy that I bought some stump grinder teeth from emailed me a photo about five years ago of some dude in New Jersey holding a sign at an intersection that read "will do tree work for food". Now, I wrote that off as a joke but the one that sent it to me swears it was 100% real. He claimed at the time the photo was a couple of years old but he knew the guy and the guy was actually a decent climber and wasn't known to be a bum. I still didn't believe him at the time...but now...now I actually do. After the sh!t I have read in this place the last five years I do. $17k a year for an average client's income is plenty pitiful but someone, I can't remember who it may have been ropensaddle but I'm not sure, said their average client's income was $15k a year.


I'm on the corner of 3 counties.... 7,8,9% unemployment. One of my regular customers (tree service/lawn care) contract climbs for $12 hr plus $50 per tree. One of these days I will go out on a job and take pictures of trees these guys do and what they charge.

One plus to living where I do, a 3 bedroom, 2 story house on a 1/4 acre lot can be bought for well under 50k and with patience you can find one for under 20k.


----------



## mckeetree (May 23, 2016)

fordf150 said:


> I'm on the corner of 3 counties.... 7,8,9% unemployment. One of my regular customers (tree service/lawn care) contract climbs for $12 hr plus $50 per tree. One of these days I will go out on a job and take pictures of trees these guys do and what they charge.
> 
> One plus to living where I do, a 3 bedroom, 2 story house on a 1/4 acre lot can be bought for well under 50k and with patience you can find one for under 20k.



$20k here gets you a storage building.


----------



## no tree to big (May 23, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> $20k here gets you a storage building.


Does it come with land?

I just got done building a 10 by 30 shed for 10k not including concrete slab... 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


----------



## fordf150 (May 23, 2016)

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/579-Chestnut-St_Newcomerstown_OH_43832_M34224-99190



http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Newcomerstown_OH/sby-1

8 places under 50k and one of them is in the country with 3 1/2 acres


----------



## no tree to big (May 23, 2016)

**** buy a house cash for 25k n you would barely have to work to pay your bills. I'm moving to Ohio do one removal a month by yourself and pay your bills then sit on the front porch the other 29 days. 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


----------



## mckeetree (May 23, 2016)

no tree to big said:


> **** buy a house cash for 25k n you would barely have to work to pay your bills. I'm moving to Ohio do one removal a month by yourself and pay your bills then sit on the front porch the other 29 days.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk



Wow! I could move to Ohio and those hot Ohio milfs would think I was rich! Hot damn!


----------



## mckeetree (May 23, 2016)

no tree to big said:


> Does it come with land?
> 
> I just got done building a 10 by 30 shed for 10k not including concrete slab...
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk




Not usually.


----------



## fordf150 (May 23, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> Wow! I could move to Ohio and those hot Ohio milfs would think I was rich! Hot damn!


lifted diesel pickup, atv, and a case of busch beer will get you a long ways around here lol


----------



## jefflovstrom (May 23, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> $20k here gets you a storage building.



Here, 20k is a down payment,,,
Jeff


----------



## no tree to big (May 23, 2016)

fordf150 said:


> lifted diesel pickup, atv, and a case of busch beer will get you a long ways around here lol


Hah my dad drinks Busch and we're from the fancey burbs of Chicago! 


jefflovstrom said:


> Here, 20k is a down payment,,,
> Jeff


Yup we put 20 down on our place 205k for a small 2 bed cheapest house on the market at the time! 12 years later you can dig up a crap hole of a house for 150 k 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


----------



## BC WetCoast (May 24, 2016)

The real estate market in Vancouver right now is unbelievable. Up 27% in the past year. Virtually every house sold this year has gone over the asking price. The cheapest teardown shack in the City or inner burbs is $800K minimum. 

If you can find an apartment for under $400k you know the crackheads are living there.

Most of it appears to be Chinese money driving up the price.

I could sell my house and move to Ohio and never have to work again. But then I would have to live in Ohio.


----------



## mckeetree (May 24, 2016)

BC WetCoast said:


> I could sell my house and move to Ohio and never have to work again. But then I would have to live in Ohio.




Don't forget about the milf's. That's important.


----------



## sir1 (May 24, 2016)

Well this sure has been an interesting thread. Lol


----------



## BC WetCoast (May 24, 2016)

mckeetree said:


> Don't forget about the milf's. That's important.


I don't think my wife would agree.


----------



## BuckmasterStumpGrinding (Jun 8, 2016)

I have a $75 minimum for stumps and a $200 minimum for tree work. If I feel like it is too much I let them know what my minimums are and tell them that they are too much for the little thing they need. Then I tell them they can pay me what they think is fair. Sometimes I get the minimum, sometimes I get half, some old ladies give me a $20.


----------



## Magnus-treecare (Jun 9, 2016)

for small jobs i usually work at an hour-rate and try to agree with the owner to do it whenever i'm in the neighbourhood.
Those things are great to make a short day's work into a full day's work


----------



## OLD OAK (Jun 9, 2016)

Our min is $300 for tree work and $100 for stumps. If it is a repeat customer i might take 50 off the 30o if it is something small and quick ( like 30 min quick) just because they remembered us and hopeful they will remember us in the future. I Feel anything less is working for free.


----------



## MSgtBob66 (Jun 10, 2016)

I am transitioning from $75 min for stps to $100. Small/non-technical trees, $50/hr, 1 hr min. Saw work is cheap to do! Labor rate for everything is $50/hr, and I make a lot of money with stump clean ups and brush clean ups. $80/ load (3 pickups into my trailer ), take the brush to my buddy, and he charges a case of beer to dump, plus I have to help him drink the beer!


----------

