Do you lower your board foot price for "big" jobs

[woeboy]

hi all, cheers from down here on the oily gulf coast :( >:( the smell today was horrible!!! i dont know how the people to in La. and Miss. breathe. It cannot be healthy :(

So does anyone lower their prices for big jobs? What is considered a big job to you?

Me? I have an all manual mill, sometime help sometimes not (as a suppose many of you deal with also), I charge 0.25 for 1000 bf or more. To me a job that has more than 4000 bf is considered a "big job", though I do not lower my price any big jobs. Having said this the biggest job I've done so far was 4700 bf.  I have had a few calls for qoutes on jobs between 3000-8000 bf, but they seem stuned that I dont offer a discount for bigger jobs and off they go, I guess to someone else  ;) :D

thanks for the responses,
Jason

[malcolmtent]

I'm no expert on this at all, but I bid on a job at a golf course with a few hundred logs just the other day, and no, I didn't lower my price. I actually quoted 5c/ft more than my base price.

Why? Because I wanted to leave room for the client to talk me down, which he hasn't (so far.) And also, I don'g want to spend a month at a site regretting my fee structure.

Especially the latter.

[DR Buck]

So does anyone lower their prices for big jobs? What is considered a big job to you?

Why would I want to lower my price?   The first board foot is the same as the last no matter if it's 10 bf or 10,000 bf.  And, my price is non-negotiable.   35¢ a board foot.  Take it or leave it.   It don't matter to me.  I always wish them luck if they think they can get it milled cheaper somewhere else.   My minimum is $350 if I go portable.  So anything up to 1000 bf is the same cost unless they bring the logs to me.

[Tim/South]

My price does not change.  Sawing is sawing and the last log milled in no easier than the first one.

[carykong]

Nearly any job that requires that I trailer my mill,manual LT25, is charged by the hour rather than the board foot. My jobs are normally under 2000bdft. Too many variables lurk about with an unknown worksite. Charging by the hour encourages the buyer to make the operation efficient. More efficiency means more value for the buyer. I do tell the potential buyer that my mill can expect to produce about 200bdft per hour if the logs are sufficient quality,arranged  close to the mill site,clean. A front end loader on site is a big help with efficiency and I encourage the owner to participate with his loader if he has one.  I will bring my loader if the buyer is prepared to pay for trailer milage. If the job is under 800bdft,my loader on a remote site is not really worth the cost benefit of higher efficiency.

[Brucer]

When I saw the customers' logs, there's no discount for volume. The quality of the first cut is the same as the quality of the last cut, no matter the size of the job.

When I sell custom timbers cut from my own logs, I have two price structures: a retail price for civilians and a wholesale price for selected contractors. This reflects the amount of hassle (and time-wasting) I have to put up with.

To qualify for the lower price, a contractor has to have

• done at least $1000 worth of business with me,
• given me a precise list of what he/she wants, and
• a record of paying bills promptly.

I've been known to give the contractor price to civilians if they meet the above criteria.

I do not, under any circumstances, dicker with the customer. It makes the customer feel you were trying to take advantage of him/her.

[sigidi]

I do a discount for volume, but I charge by the volume of log not hourly or by the output of the mill.

I understand where everyone is coming from with the notion the timber quality doesn't change from 1st board to 1000th board, but to lose the hassle of moving site, fuel/wear an tear on the ute etc. I'm looking at dropping my 'normal' volume rate if a substantial amount of logs can be guaranteed, but it needs to be more than 3 days worth of cutting, logs in one pile, no moving the mill around etc. You see my volume rate takes into account all of my expenses, I don't have 'extra' charges, so if I don't incur those other charges then to save my customer $'s I charge a bit less

[Chuck White]

Around this area we sawyers don't get the $$$ that most of you guys are talking about so, NO, I don't reduce my fee on large jobs.

[John Bartley]

Nearly any job that requires that I trailer my mill,manual LT25, is charged by the hour rather than the board foot. My jobs are normally under 2000bdft. Too many variables lurk about with an unknown worksite. Charging by the hour encourages the buyer to make the operation efficient. More efficiency means more value for the buyer. I do tell the potential buyer that my mill can expect to produce about 200bdft per hour if the logs are sufficient quality,arranged  close to the mill site,clean. A front end loader on site is a big help with efficiency and I encourage the owner to participate with his loader if he has one.  I will bring my loader if the buyer is prepared to pay for trailer milage. If the job is under 800bdft,my loader on a remote site is not really worth the cost benefit of higher efficiency.

This (above) is a business-mans answer, and one with which I completely agree. I have never been able to understand why sawyers charge by the board foot when there are so many variables affecting your revenue stream. Charging by the hour is a huge incentive for the customer to be smart about job and to have everything ready and well organised. As far as discounts go (the original question), the only time a discount should apply to any sale is when the seller can apply efficiencies of scale so that the discount produces extra profits for the seller, not fewer!

cheers

John

[bull]

nope - don't bow down to the big guy or the big job !!! don't not discriminate the prices stays the same for everyone.....
cheaping out only hurts you- don't sell yourself short.... And if they customer want's it done cheaper let them find some other sucker...
You will loose more good paying small jobs by taking on the big lower paying job and loose your regular customer base because you don't have time for the regulars...
Been there done that !!!!

if you want the big job, shoot a higher price at that customer and come in at your normal rate, hope they are a sucker for that !!

[Mark Webb]

My rate is .35 cents a bf for 10/4 down to4/4. Anything above 10/4 I charge .30 cents a bf. or $55.00 per hour.

[woodmills1]

some customers, repeats or look like repeats I lowere my charge


first timers pay retail


I still have 3 customers I haven't raised prices for 12 or 14 years


you need customers

[malcolmtent]

I still have 3 customers I haven't raised prices for 12 or 14 years

And I haven't raised prices at my other business in 8 years. Was about to when the current financial mess hit, and now I feel it's the wrong time.

We're both making a mistake here, woodmills1, in my humble....

you need customers

And you also need to be profitable. Your customers will actually respect you more if you act professionally. Not raising prices in over a decade isn't acting professionally. I'm not going to make that mistake in this business.

[ErikC]

 I won't lower the rate. It's .35, seems pretty average from the above posts. I charge a setup and hauling fee. I have adjusted those occasionally for a big job, like something over 10,000 bd ft.

[wannasaw]

I charge by bf same for everyone but I'm new and small with LT28. The .32 price is non negotiable. I'm kinda like Tom though in that I seem to like people and talk as much as saw that would have to change if I was hourly.

[ljmathias]

Tom likes people? Our Tom?  Wow, we learn something everyday!   ;D

If it weren't for all the great people on this forum, most of whom seem to like people pretty much, I wouldn't use up so much of my time here...  easy to learn from teachers you like, but ones you don't, not so much.

Lj

[Magicman]

The very last thing that you as a businessman need is for two customers to talk to each other and one find out that you were cheaper/higher for different jobs.  Talk about the potential to lose customers.

Obviously, my saw price is the same for everyone and every job.

[sigidi]

I just give someone a job price, so they don't have any idea what 'potential difference' there may be between two jobs. Besides there is so much possible variation in a job, just can't be the same price

[petefrom bearswamp]

I charge the same for small jobs and big whether hourly, $50.00 per  clock hr. if I am alone and $40 if they tail and are good.
Or per bd ft. .30. alone or with help.
My neighbor charges .23 per ft and works all the time, I don't , I only work when someone is willing to pay.
For crying out loud, my machine cost $38,000 and why should I work on the cheap?
I ain't looking to get rich, only make a decent wage.
custom sawing makes me more $ than the lumber I saw when I buy logs in and mill, sticker it and sell it when dry.
I know Chuck white says he can't charge a good price due to cheap competition, but cheaper is not necessarily a good thing due to poor sawing etc.

[Buck]

I'm so tired of folks belly-aching over 250$ per thousand it doesnt matter if I custom cut.  250$per thousand with offbearing help.  No help?  extra 10-12$per hour.