AARGH!! How Low do I have to bring my Quotes down to..

[Davesax]

I have been getting less than 50 percent of jobs quoted on .

I try and base my qute on what i would like for a day / how long it will take me then see if the rate per m2 looks reasonable . I Startted off 150 , brought it down to 140 , then recently did a job that worked out at just over 1 hundred . I'm happy to be working and would rather be earning that than doing jack .

Jobs that I think i can cover in a day are a bit more and sometimes will include materials and often I would have bought the customers number from rated people so try to cover that as well .

Went to price a job last week , 5 metres from bath to ceiling of 450 x 250 trav . Drill hole for shower pipe . materials supplied apart from silicone no prep needed , aqua boards installed . ( 25 min travelling )

What would you charge for this ?

 

[nybor62]

approx 175.00

 

[mikethetile]

tell me about it Dave, your lucky to be winning 50% at the moment especcially competing on the job auction sites. its ridiculous

I take it your charging 140 a day not 140 per m2. by the time you have sharpened your pencil and got your overhead down to a minimum your still struggling to make a living wage at that rate. theres comes a point where the competition is putting quotes in that are too low to do the job properly, one job I priced recently. I went in rock bottom and priced with a very sharp pencil. I explained the scope of the job and followed that up in writing with a full run down of exactly what they were paying for, my quote was just shy of £500 inc materials , the competition was £150 and £165. if one of them had priced correctly then the cheap quote would have been rejected but as it is I got the email telling me I was overcharging. if they had asked me to drop 50 sobs as I was too dear then fair enough but I cant drop below what it will cost me to do the job. she wanted me to do the job as I had impressed her but when my quote went in she called me a rogue trader LOL

in answer to your question I would have been around the £200 mark

 

[Davesax]

Yes 140 a day . I'm lucky enough to have another part time job as a musician/teacher and a wife thats a nurse . i'm leaving the country for Aus in 4 weeks - it's very frustrating here being undercut constantly . I feel like the same bloke is following me around beating my quotes lol!

As i wanted the job I said 150 - I explained this was my day rate and it would take a day ( this is not including petrol for the quote , for the job and the 10 pounds it cost to get her phone number! , I really expected to get the job . She text me saying someone was doing it for 120 , and as she was broke she was taking it .

It's not the only one either . If someone can sustain a business , support a family and can be arsed to work for that a day , you can keep it.