Chat with a plumber at the supply shop changed how I bid jobs

He told me he adds 15 percent to every quote for the things that go wrong, and I realized I've been eating too many small costs myself. Has anyone else adjusted how you price work after talking to another contractor?

3 comments

3 Comments

max4151mo ago

Flip that thing around on him and ask how many jobs he's lost cause his quotes were too high... Seems like that 15 percent is just pricing yourself out of work more often than it saves you.

william_henderson1mo ago

Gotta push back on that one though. Charging more actually filters out the cheap clients who nickel and dime you over every little change. Those are the same people who drag payments out and complain about quality. Landing one solid job that pays 15% more can easily replace two or three lowball jobs that eat up the same amount of your time. Plus the work you do at that higher rate usually has way more room for profit if you know your costs.

emery_young131mo ago

Honestly, I think you're both missing a bigger thing here. The real problem isn't the price itself, it's that most contractors have no idea what their actual costs are. Like, you can charge 15% more all day, but if you're still guessing on materials, labor hours, and overhead, that "profit" disappears fast. I've seen guys lose money on a $5,000 job because they forgot to account for the two extra trips to the hardware store and the three hours of free consulting they gave the client. The sweet spot isn't about pricing higher or lower, it's about knowing your numbers cold so when you do charge that premium, it's actually making you money instead of just making you look expensive.