# bidding by the inch



## gage52 (Oct 4, 2014)

I recently received a call on bidding 29 trees for removal. this is phase one of a project to remove over 100 trees in total. some large some small but all are easily accessible with no obstructions. pretty much just bomb them down. heres my question they want a bid based on the diameter of the trees. ex. 18 inch ash and stump. they want a price by the inch. so I was thinking somewhere around $35-$40 dollars per inch. that would put that tree at $630-$720. everything has to be moved off sight. just wondering if anyone out there has came across bids like this and what is a good going rate per inch. any info would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## treecutterjr (Oct 5, 2014)

My city was looking for bids by the inch recently. I don't know what the bids were tho. Seems like it could get tricky quick though. 18" dbh or 18" at the bottom of the stump? And once you get bigger like 25" 30" 40" you could have some monster stumps as well as larger canopies depending on the typeof tree. By the inch just sounds questionable to me is all. alot of variables to take into account.


----------



## sac-climber (Oct 20, 2014)

Sliding scale if you have to....bidding by the inch sucks and is a money loser unless all trees are identical.


----------



## BuckmasterStumpGrinding (Oct 26, 2014)

Figure up your bid and divide by the number of inches that are there. Put a disclaimer that the price per inch is only good for those 29 trees.


----------



## Motorsen (Nov 3, 2014)

Give an estimate based on your considerations of the lot. How you do that is based on your experience. Then measure the trees DBH (the only valid measure) and divide by numbers. Do not bid low YOU could end up getting the job! Maybee some smart ass libby just wants to get some estimates from various companies to play low ball on you in the future. In this case do not spend too much time and sleepless nights over this. 
How do I know? Well i've got some experience from another business and another part of the world. But I know it all works out the same. They most probably just want to get a tool to sort in future bidding competitions.
Do not let this spin get to infect your brain. Just remember if you get the job you better not make a low bid.

Best of luck!

Motorsen


----------



## Maineiac (Dec 17, 2014)

gage52 said:


> I recently received a call on bidding 29 trees for removal. this is phase one of a project to remove over 100 trees in total. some large some small but all are easily accessible with no obstructions. pretty much just bomb them down. heres my question they want a bid based on the diameter of the trees. ex. 18 inch ash and stump. they want a price by the inch. so I was thinking somewhere around $35-$40 dollars per inch. that would put that tree at $630-$720. everything has to be moved off sight. just wondering if anyone out there has came across bids like this and what is a good going rate per inch. any info would be greatly appreciated!


Don't ever let anyone bully you into giving them a price based on anything other than the work involved. I don't believe there is a formula that exists where you could give an accurate bid based on the diameter of the tree, easy access or not. People try to ask me for a ballpark price all the time by describing the tree to me in terms of height, diameter, etc. I always tell them the same thing, every tree is different and it is impossible to give an accurate quote without seeing it. If they are absolutely insistent on getting a price by the inch both Bucketmaster and Motorsen have the right idea. Bid the job the way it SHOULD be bid, not the way someone who probably doesn't know **** about trees wants you to bid it. Remember, you're the expert. Every tree is so unique, thus requiring a specific quote for each individual situation.

Good Luck, Hope you get the job


----------



## mckeetree (Dec 17, 2014)

Some old clown at a little local municipality tried the "by the inch" deal on us last year. I told him we bid by the job, not by the inch.


----------



## treebilly (Dec 31, 2014)

The company I work for has an annual emergency contract that is by the inch. But it's so much per inch from 1"-6" , 6"-12",and so on. Anything over 30" increases exponentially. The boss loves the big trees. I'm guessing it's profitable because we respond to their calls in less than 24 hrs even driving four hours at times. What is really nice is when they have a small clearing that no one wants to mess with. They still pay by the inch. They do the measuring and we confirm on video. It's kind of a pain at first but as I said it must pay well.


----------

