Price Check NJ North again

[Jerseydaze]

So Ive been in bussiness about a year and a half I price the same way as my old boss and am starting to question things do to not getting jobs.Here is his price list tell me if im high low and if you think bath and kitchen recepts/gfis are priced ligit this way

15A plain duplex $50
20A Duplex $65
SP toggles $50
3ways Toggle $90 each
4 ways toggle $110
CTV Jack $90
Phone Jack $70
Surface fixture boxes mount customer supplyed fixture $90
Fan Brace mount customer fan $145
6"Halo H7 ICAT cheep trim $120
1 door bell cheep chim kit 225
110v smokes $120
110V CO/Smokes $165
Nutone basic bath fan no venting $160
Cheep Bath Fan light no vent $235
200amp service upgrade $1900 Al cable 42 space main
20A dedicated (dish washer refrdgerator ect) $190
240V appliance circuit dryer,oven ect $295
20A general circuit $125
15A General Cir $95
15A weather proof GFIs $120
boiler circuit plus zone wiring $295
Bath counter GFI 20 amp $145 ?????
Kitchen counter gfi/recepts $90???
Centeral air 1 AH,1Con $680
2'Florecent ucab fixtures supplyed and installed $170

Prices are for builders.

 

[Brad Baxter]

Don't change your system.

Don't change your system.

In NJ it seems that every licensed electrical contractor will bite and burn. It only ruins the trade and everything you worked hard for trying to obtain the license. Why do you think NJ wants you to be licensed and take a test as an electrical contractor? It's not like your a tile guy or a carpenter who can jug his numbers up and down per sq ft. You are a trained professional that everyone cannot be unless proper training and licensing is met. GC'S have no respect for your trade and do not no what you had to go through to obtain your qualifications. I was at a building siminar and the instructor was telling the gc's that the ec's are weak and you can talk and argue them down nickle and dime because they are willing to just get the job. People say electrical contractors don't make enough money. Well it's because they are afraid to and want to work for painters prices. Your prices look reasonable to me but may not to hacks and lowballers who just need a job. These are the ones you are loosing your bids to. Joe blow or bob the builder who gets a permit signed by a friendly electrical contractor for a small fee to do the work under his permit. Yes most of the time the work is showty but the person who pays for it is willing to take the risk. The trade is what you make it. Plumbers charge what they are worth and have to get licensed as well. Plumbing contractors make more than electrical contractors because 99% of them charge what they are suppose to charge. Only about 40%EC charge what they are suppose to charge. Mainly just to keep work because of the situations described earlier.

 

[CopperTone]

recently had a house catch on fire that we wired over 2 years ago. It was the cheap masons that built the fireplace wrong - it burned a hole in the back of the chimney and up and into the walls of the house. $350,000 of damage to this house. Insurance investigators called us as part of their investigation - cleared us of any wrong doing. (the masons went out of business 9 months ago).
My point is - you work too hard to cut corners, lend out your license number to HO's or friends, or work cheap. If you do quality work, charge quality prices. You may have to sell yourself a bit more in some cases, but you'll be glad in the end if someone ever tries to sue you. You will lose work as a result but most of the time they are PITA's anyway. Your reputation will get around that you do great work and are responsible - if you are.
You can sharpen your pencil a bit if you need a job but you shouldn't be lowering your prices by more than 10%.
That fire was a huge reminder/wake up call for me to be on the ball about contracts, pricing, quality work, the way I run my business, and the way I negotiate my contracts.
We just gave a price of almost 20K to repair the burnt wiring - we already have the job.
My wife asked me the other day "why don't you lower your price by 35% - work is work - if you are slow" - I'd rather not work at all than for that price.

 

[satcom]

I was at a building siminar and the instructor was telling the gc's that the ec's are weak and you can talk and argue them down nickle and dime because they are willing to just get the job. People say electrical contractors don't make enough money. Well it's because they are afraid to and want to work for painters prices. Your prices look reasonable to me but may not to hacks and lowballers who just need a job. The trade is what you make it.

I was at a GC annual dinner meeting, with a builder friend, they din't know I was a EC, and the table talk, turned to subs, when it came to electrical, they said they are easy, most of them, have no self worth, and will cave easy, when it comes to prices, so the comment "The trade is what you make it." is so true. I sure hope in the future, the younger guys will have that self worth and bring the trade back to a well respected craft.

 

[celtic]

How did you arrive at those numbers?

Let's talk about:


15A plain duplex $50

My price from '07 ...obviously, that has gone up...$68 and change now.


6"Halo H7 ICAT cheep trim $120

Old price, about $175 now


200amp service upgrade $1900 Al cable 42 space main
PM me....I have something for you :smile:


15A weather proof GFIs $120
Bath counter GFI 20 amp $145 ?????
Kitchen counter gfi/recepts $90???

You can see how I am arriving at my numbers....breakdown of material, tax, etc....time for rough/finish....total selling price...

How are you arriving at these very round numbers

 

[frank_n]

Your prices are right around where mine are. Needless to say that I haven't done much work for builders lately. I'm being underbid by a "big guy" who sends a few trucks in roughs the house in one day. I can't compete with that. If I lower my prices I won't make what I want.

I'm working in central NJ.

Frank

 

[emahler]

Your prices are right around where mine are. Needless to say that I haven't done much work for builders lately. I'm being underbid by a "big guy" who sends a few trucks in roughs the house in one day. I can't compete with that. If I lower my prices I won't make what I want.

I'm working in central NJ.

Frank

big guy out of Linden?

 

[frank_n]

big guy out of Linden?

No Edison. I do this part time. I have one helper. The last house I did took me a week. One day's profit for him vs. one week's profit for me. He wins! Oh well, I've moved to the smaller jobs.

 

[ceb58]

recently had a house catch on fire that we wired over 2 years ago. It was the cheap masons that built the fireplace wrong - it burned a hole in the back of the chimney and up and into the walls of the house. $350,000 of damage to this house.

That fire was a huge reminder/wake up call for me to be on the ball about contracts, pricing, quality work, the way I run my business, and the way I negotiate my contracts.

I have a contractor that I have been doing work for for several years now. When I first started with him I gave a price on a house and his reply was "that's more than what the painters are charging". I calmly looked him in the eye and ask " how many damn houses do you know of burned from a bad paint job?" He has never questioned the price again.