Just figured I'd throw it out there. Whats the going rate for carpet install? Glue down too if you charged seperate. Also, how much are you guys getting for rip up? Glue down too. Thanks.
:no: Depends on the customer you go after. Tract house builders and big box stores, yes to the above. High end remodel and custom work....uh no. There are up and down sides to all of them though.This entire industry is driven off of volume, forget the notion of making a million dollars on every job
I got a bunch of bids going on right now for major companies, i could have the best references, unbelievable credit, and a beautiful resume, but if these G.C's get a handleful of bids at roughly the same price and mine is outlandishly higher, guess what, no work for me.
McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys all have a burger for a dollar. So I guess the going rate is a dollar. Adding tomatos, lettuce, etc would be an up grade. Same thing in flooring. Basic install one price, add ons equal more money. When someone on this site is asking for a ONE PRICE FITS ALL, they are most likley looking for a place to start with their pricing. They ARE NOT asking you how to run their business, or how you run yours.Let me rephrase that...
There is no such thing as "the going rate" for a contractor.
An employee, yes, but not an independent business.
There is a place here that sells hamburgers, called short stop. No dining in, just drive thru, and a real cheap price and a very small burger, similar to Mickey D's $1 cheeseburger. Fries, .50¢, no onion rings, no Shakes or Malts.
They always have someone at the drive thru window, at lunch, but not so much evening dinner.
Now, we have Dan's Hamburgers. A Dan's Hamburgers, is to die for. There French Fries and Onion Rings melt in your mouth, Homemade shakes and malts.:clap: It is so good, you could eat there everyday and you would not get tired of it.
Their burgers are $3.50 add cheese and it is $4.50, an order of fries is $2, and onion rings $2.75. A Med. shake is $2.50.
When they open the lunch menu(they serve breakfast too) The place starts to get packed. Standing room only. It is like that till 9:00 at night.
Now if someone asked, what is the "going rate" for a hamburger in this town, what do I tell them, $1 or tell them $3.50????
Going rates, and one price fits all installations, are for Employees, who have no clue what it is to really and truthfully be a legit business. That's how everyone else does it, is short sighted!!! Meaning you have not seen much.
You prove my point. Your first anolgy, minimal prep, minimal work equals less money. The second has more work, soooooo, more money. Funny how that works.Perry some of these guys will never get it regardless of how you show it to em in simple terms.
A better analogy might have been other service work. What is the going rate of getting a car painted? Lets say you have a '69 Chevelle SS. Some could and would argue that it can be considered an investment as it has the potential to increase in value. Just like a homeowner should consider their home an investment, right?
So.
Do you take your investment to Earl Schieb and get a $199 special, complete with orange peel, minimal prep work, and overspray on the chrome? Or, do you take it to a well respected auto body shop that will soda blast it down to bare metal, pull every piece of chrome, align all the panels, paint the jambs, shoot 3 coats of clear, wet sand, and buff it out before handing you back the keys. I bet the invoice won't be $199.
Which type of business are you trying to be? If its Earl Schieb then I guess a one price fits all mentality will work for you and you can just pick up a phone book to find out what the "going rate" is. Hint: Its $20 less than the cheapest guy you called That should get you ALL the work eh.
Are you saying the "next guy" will be charging less than "the guy with the '08 Sprinter"?Your philosphy is basically this.... Since you might drive a 2008 dodge sprinter filled with the latest flooring tools followed by a trailer filled with the best flooring prep machines, you may have 100k invested in that set up. Then you might have a secretary, a storage unit to house your extra material. etc. So your overhead is high. Now the next guy has a 5 yr old used truck, used tools, no secretary and uses his garage. Now you both have insurance, licenses, references, and experience. You saying your price should be higher than his? Well your wrong, just because you decided to invest more in your business does not make you worth more in the marketplace.
HOLY $H|T...there's another Angus out there!!!The original post ask what the going rates are. I'm sure he would take all the pricing into account, and formulate a price based on his area, economy, and what he needs to make a profit.