[fcsoldier]

I go on a estimate the other day..Lady wants her whole house painted.. 10 room total some of the rooms are pretty big. She wanted primer and then 2 coats, Thats not a problem i would have done that anyways. Then she tells me she wants all the rooms a differant color. That tells me i cant spray now, I would take to long doing it. So i figure I will have to roll all the walls then paint the trim..Not a big deal at al...Now i start writing up my estimate I told her 2250.00..I leave it with her she is talking to me all happy. I do a follow up email to her. She tells me she has someone that is going to do it all for 650.00...

Are you kidding me? 650.00 to paint the whole inside of a house..This is geting insane. Every time i got to a estimate someone is bidding way under making it so hard to get the jiob..

You all have these problems?

 

[timhag]

http://www.painttalk.com/showthread.php?t=2239 :whistling2:

 

[GMack]

I go on a estimate the other day..Lady wants her whole house painted.. 10 room total some of the rooms are pretty big. She wanted primer and then 2 coats, Thats not a problem i would have done that anyways. Then she tells me she wants all the rooms a differant color. That tells me i cant spray now, I would take to long doing it. So i figure I will have to roll all the walls then paint the trim..Not a big deal at al...Now i start writing up my estimate I told her 2250.00..I leave it with her she is talking to me all happy. I do a follow up email to her. She tells me she has someone that is going to do it all for 650.00...

Are you kidding me? 650.00 to paint the whole inside of a house..This is geting insane. Every time i got to a estimate someone is bidding way under making it so hard to get the jiob..

You all have these problems?

The $650 is a joke. If I had bid against you, I would have been complaining about your $2,250 being a lowball number. That's primer and two coats for $225 per room! Subtract at least half gallon of primer and one gallon of paint for each room, now you're at about $175 per room. I would concentrate less on the $650 and worry about the $2250 . . . just trying to help.

 

[MAK-Deco]

The $650 is a joke. If I had bid against you, I would have been complaining about your $2,250 being a lowball number. That's primer and two coats for $225 per room! Subtract at least half gallon of primer and one gallon of paint for each room, now you're at about $175 per room. I would concentrate less on the $650 and worry about the $2250 . . . just trying to help.

I kind of thought the same thing not sure were you are but $2250 sounds way low. Walls, ceilings and trim?? doesn't sound right.

 

[vermontpainter]

At $225/room, we might be able to prime and two coat the walls...that would be $75/coat. Probably not. Would I throw in the ceilings and trim for free if I was losing on the walls? not

 

[DeanV]

If it was two coats on the walls, 2250 would probably be doable, as long as none of the rooms are large (walls only though).

 

[dincao]

I dont know what your talking about but $2250.00 is low-ball and the guy who said that he would do it for $650.00 would be working for free....Materials alone on that job are atleast 650.00 if not more!!!! The lady had to be pulling your leg and you really dont want a job like that anyway...I know that everyone is trying to make a living but if you have to do work for those prices it's not worth the stress of being your own boss, you may want to go work for someone...ten rooms, ten different set-ups is a lot of work for 1 guy, and if you have workers there is no room for any profit..................

 

[NEPS.US]

I dont know what your talking about but $2250.00 is low-ball and the guy who said that he would do it for $650.00 would be working for free....Materials alone on that job are atleast 650.00 if not more!!!! The lady had to be pulling your leg and you really dont want a job like that anyway...I know that everyone is trying to make a living but if you have to do work for those prices it's not worth the stress of being your own boss, you may want to go work for someone...ten rooms, ten different set-ups is a lot of work for 1 guy, and if you have workers there is no room for any profit..................

I charge $275.00 per color change ...no work ..just the change

 

[CApainter]

This HO is probably hiring illegal immigrants, or a contractor who hires II's. She deserves a *hitty job.

 

[dincao]

I dont know NEPS, I agree 100% I charge different prices depending on colors too, and i'm completly in shock @ how some painters will do anything to secure a job, even if it means working for FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I blame the american HO, the same people who complain that the illegals are ruining our country but are keeping them here because they would rather pay for cheap labor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tsunamicontract]

Yah I usually come in at the lower end of the bidders but even I saw the $2250 and went like this
maybe that price if all walls and ceiling were same color . . .
I bid on staining the large side of a large home on a lake and came in at 7k for whole thing (repair, lots and lots of cleaning, 3 decks, and 2 coats of stain) and I called the HO back like a week later and said that some mexicans were going to do it for $2500. He asked me what I thought of that and I just said well if they can do it for that and be happy and he would be happy with that quality of a stain job I told him to go for it.
Not really looking to be his customer.

 

[bikerboy]

I was worried. Just won a bid today. Small townhouse everything the same color. One coat, one ceiling, no doors, no closets. Trim goes the same color as the walls for about the same as fcsoldier's whole job. We were the lowbidder by a thousand dollars and the homeowner was worried about me making money!

 

[vermontpainter]

I charge $275.00 per color change ...no work ..just the change

This is one of the best ideas in the business. I started doing it years ago at $200. Its amazing how much more you can get homeowners to focus on taking the time for initial color selection, which is when we are trying to get some paint spread, if they know that changes will be costly. Ultimately, its for their own good. We are able to work more efficiently and it ends up making the job more cost effective for them.

 

[Brian]

Some simple math demonstrates just how silly $650 is. If the rooms are 10' x 10', the wall area would be 3200 sf. That would require about 20 gallons of paint and 10 gallons of primer. At $15 a gallon (which would be low quality products) materials would cost $450. This leaves for $200 labor. And I haven't even addressed the trim.

If we assume that the painter wants to make $15 an hour, he would need to paint the walls in 13.3 hours, or 240 sf per hour-- prime and 2 coats. Which means he would need to do 720 sf per hour just to make $15 an hour.

When you add in the trim, this "painter" is going to actually be paying to do this job.

The HO is either a liar or an idiot. Either she did not get such a price, or she is a fool to think it is legitmate and she won't have issues with the job. In either case, she will get what she deserves.

If this had happened to me, I would have pointed out the above with the hope that she would say something like, "I don't care if he makes any money." I could then tell her how pathetic she is and hang up.

Brian Phillips

 

[tsunamicontract]

When you add in the trim, this "painter" is going to actually be paying to do this job.

The HO is either a liar or an idiot. Either she did not get such a price, or she is a fool to think it is legitmate and she won't have issues with the job. In either case, she will get what she deserves.

That was my thought too. The HO is testing you with that fake $650 bid. Either way you don't want that HO for a customer.

 

[JNLP]

Going by the average sized rooms in a house & the average materials used, my material cost alone would've been about $600. Then you have labor & overhead easily totaling around 4k+. She's blowing smoke up your ass. If she hired a crackhead he might do it for that price so long as she's supplying the material. Gonna look real real nice.

 

[crow]

Well,, he got what he needed,

 

[HomeGuardPaints]

Its sounds to me that "IF" their is another painter coming in at $650 on that job, then you have one of two scenarios

1. Its labor only for a scope of work that is less than you have proposed.


2. its labor only for same scope but he's hungrier than a fat kid at fat camp.



the customer may be lying to you also, when they tell you the price that is obviously much lower than yours, its a good indication that they are trying to neogotiate but are poor at it. Ask to see the proposal and sit down to compare to see where the differences are, it will be plainly obvious.


I have had many customers call and say" you were a little higher than xyz but I want to work with you instead, if you can match their price its yours." I like to thank them for feeling that we are the superior painter but If I lowered my price that I wouldn't be able to provide what they wanted. So I would be happy to take the job at my original bid but not lower.

thats like going to a lexus dealer and saying Ford is cheaper but i like your car better so match their price and you've got a deal. probably won't work either

 

[vermontpainter]

Its sounds to me that "IF" their is another painter coming in at $650 on that job, then you have one of two scenarios

1. Its labor only for a scope of work that is less than you have proposed.

2. its labor only for same scope but he's hungrier than a fat kid at fat camp.

It wouldnt even make sense if it was materials only for the same scope of work.

the customer may be lying to you also, when they tell you the price that is obviously much lower than yours, its a good indication that they are trying to neogotiate but are poor at it. Ask to see the proposal and sit down to compare to see where the differences are, it will be plainly obvious.

If there is another price, I would be shocked if there was any type of written proposal other than a number on a piece of scrap paper. I wouldnt waste the time unless I really really wanted the job, and I dont think I would with a customer this silly.

I have had many customers call and say" you were a little higher than xyz but I want to work with you instead, if you can match their price its yours." I like to thank them for feeling that we are the superior painter but If I lowered my price that I wouldn't be able to provide what they wanted. So I would be happy to take the job at my original bid but not lower.

This is the best way to go. Sometimes they will try to negotiate...if you hold your line, you end up with the job if you have done your work on the sales and proposal end to demonstrate your professionalism and value. If they just plain cant afford you, they dont deserve you.

 

[HomeGuardPaints]

Its sounds to me that "IF" their is another painter coming in at $650 on that job, then you have one of two scenarios

1. Its labor only for a scope of work that is less than you have proposed.

2. its labor only for same scope but he's hungrier than a fat kid at fat camp.

It wouldnt even make sense if it was materials only for the same scope of work.

I know I wouldn't do it for that price but if you haven't paid the rent in 2 months $650 can look like a lot, especially if you don't understand profit and markup. I don't think its completely out of the realm of possiblility.