Also, 7’ x 3’ is pretty big. The clients probably don’t realize that. I charge
a bit of “hassle money” for big, hard to move around stuff.
Build your value in the clients eyes, quote the price and if they want to
pay less, take value away. Never reduce your price without taking
something out of the project or rolling it into a larger job for the
same client. You can say “if you wanted to do the deck and the
bookcase at one time I could find some ways to control the costs
on the bookcase because I’ll be over here doing the deck anyway.”
... or whatever.
I never tell clients what I pay for materials beyond a general figure
if material costs are high and the work itself is clearly simple. I wouldn’t
quote materials costs for a book case, and I don’t quote my hourly
rate either. What I do is quote for the build, quote for the finish
if it seems relevant to make it separarate, and quote for the delivery
and installation because in some cases clients may want to pick it up
and screw it to the wall themselves.
When you make the deliver/install fees reasonable, but professional,
you establish the idea that you are running the job in a professional
way that is fair to your client but also to you.
When you’re starting out, it is very, very tempting to “buy work” to
build your portfolio and client base. I don’t recommend getting jobs
by underbidding. Instead, market more aggressively.
