Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Should you pay trdadesmen for quotes 21May 06, 2011 12:08 am Should you pay trdadesmen for quotes? If you don't want to pay someone for a quote then use someone who doesn't charge for a quote. Personally I don't have a problem with paying for a quote, however I have only been asked once and I did pay. If I need something done I usually ask around and try and get a few names etc before contacting the supplier or tradesman. Once I have names I will then try and sound them out and see if they are suitable before asking for prices. In an environment where charging is not the norm I think suppliers and tradesman have to be confident to charge for the privilege. I wouldn't expect the less reputable to be charging. Re: Should you pay trdadesmen for quotes 22May 06, 2011 8:24 am Interesting topic. We are in the thick of remodelling an old house and aren't getting quotes at all. I also wouldn't dream of paying for a quote. We only get tradies via word of mouth. A friend of ours who has had extensive work done recommended their builder who came to see what we needed. We knew that his work was good having seen it, and that he didn't overcharge, and so we are putting our trust in him to do the job for a fair price. Sure we could get cheaper but then corners would be cut. It's his integrity, honesty and ability that we are going with. We are also using his network of plumbers and sparkies and landscapers to fix some serious issues. We won't be asking for quotes - they tell us in advance what the cost is and why and we will go with that. We don't get second or third opinions. None of these tradies have to advertise since they only do work via recommendations and have been working together for decades. In case it seems as if I'm naive remodeller about to get into serious trouble I'm actually an oldie who has been getting tradies in like this for years and years. It's the person who counts, not the price. And once you are hooked into a good network of tradies it's a respectful relationship which can last for years. Re: Should you pay trdadesmen for quotes 23May 06, 2011 8:58 am A quote must be free of any cost or obligation. There are several reasons for this: 1) Open to abuse. I can run around town doing quotes for $50 each and just look at the job and quote double what it costs. I have no intention of getting the job, just my $50 per quote. If I can do 20 of these a week I'm looking at a pretty good living - and I produce nothing! 2) If I'm running a business, I could spend a lot of money on advertisement. This is not very targeted and expensive. When I'm asked for a quote I can run a very targeted advertisement. This is a great opportunity. If anything, I should pay $20 for the privilege of providing a quote! 3) Our economy runs on competitive bidding. If there is no competition the consumer pays more. (Businesses also get inefficient as there is no need to innovate – so as consumers, we can help businesses improve by getting obligation free quotes). If you pay for a quote then competition is reduced. As a consumer, you want to increase completion, not decrease it. And don’t fall for the $50 quote which is then refunded from the cost of the job. You’ve just paid $50 for a quote and the $50 has been added to the quote price. Next time I go for a job interview I'm going to ask the employer for $50 to cover my expenses That should win me the job! So, get 3 quotes (more if it’s for something expensive like building a house), don’t pay anything for the quote and make sure you are under no obligations. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20410 i imagine you also have another contract with an architect? and yeah, whatever other's said about special conditions and appendices 16 16000 hey there! 😊 so, it’s kinda common for standard drawer depths to be around 500mm since most cabinets use this size to fit the usual runners… 3 20902 |