Joined up to see what it is like, looks like a bit of a cattle market. The customer posts a job, you express an interest and then if they shortlist you, you pay a fee even if you don't get the job. Can't get my head around it but quite compulsive viewing
Okay after a very short play with my builder I have now asked them to take my details off the site. It is to my view a complete waste of time and money, if I can give anyone advice please think twice about getting involved with mybuilder.com. Due to the business model it will end up costing you vast amounts of money even if you don't get jobs, the amount you get charged is driven by customers clicks and your prices will be driven down by other local trades. The only people who profit are mybuilder.
all these lead charging organisations are in it for the money. customer posts a job. no specific details of what's involved, the parasite charges you for the lead, you call the customer to quote over the phone without knowing how much work is involved, some chancer undercuts you and gets the work for peanuts, you're out of pocket . i tried rated people for a bit. pay a fiver for a lead to a fault. it's 40 miles away and the customer gripes at ÂŁ40 for going all the way there and fixing it. better off buying some beer and staying in bed.
I've used My Builder for three years and have completed 110 jobs through the site earning 100% positive feedback in the process. Using My Builder been a very profitable exercise indeed.
When a Google search is done using the search criteria of "electricians Glasgow", My Builder is second-ranked in the listings. Clicking on the link to the My Builder website will reveal Glasgow-based electricians who are registered on My Builder. Yours truly is third-ranked. Potential customers are then able to read the positive feedback that previous customers have posted. This means that I receive a lot of invitations to quote for jobs, most of which I decline as I'm very selective indeed about the jobs that I take on.
I get a lot of EICR and smoke alarm installation work via My Builder, but for the same reason that GJH mentioned in his post, I decline all rewires that I'm invited to quote for as I just can't compete with the stupid prices that the "we've rewired thousands of houses and we can rewire your house in a day even though we can't find the wet leaves that are causing your RCD to trip" firm and the rest of the college boys on My Builder are banging in.
The fee to get shortlisted for a rewire on My Builder is usually around ÂŁ30 plus VAT. So at ÂŁ36 a pop, I'm just not interested. It is amusing, though, to see the same seven or eight guys slicing each other's throats to try and secure the rewiring jobs when they come up. They have more money than sense. They are to My Builder what mug-punters are to Ladbrokes.
Ditto consumer unit changeovers. I very rarely touch these jobs either as there will always be some smart-arse college boy who will quote the customer ÂŁ200 over the phone and not bother to do any pre-changeover testing. The chances are the customer won't get an EIC either. I'm only interested in local jobs where I can get my quotation in quick before the bottom-feeders can get a look-in. Overall, I decline more jobs than I accept as I have other sources of work and am not dependent on My Builder. Indeed, I've only done four jobs from My Builder so far this year and don't envisage doing any more in the foreseeable future.
I have actually despite my last post still been using it selectively over the last few weeks and you very quickly learn what to bid on and what to steer clear of. I have had a few results where a ÂŁ3.30 job has turned into a few days work so the cost of leads has been far outstripped by what I have earned. The same happens around here with the same old local sparkys going after every job, a definite race to the bottom. I think it is useful to fill in a few days here and there if work goes a bit lean once you build up a bit of feedback.
I have actually despite my last post still been using it selectively over the last few weeks and you very quickly learn what to bid on and what to steer clear of. I have had a few results where a ÂŁ3.30 job has turned into a few days work so the cost of leads has been far outstripped by what I have earned. The same happens around here with the same old local sparkys going after every job, a definite race to the bottom. I think it is useful to fill in a few days here and there if work goes a bit lean once you build up a bit of feedback.
I haven't used it too much myself of late. As @JK-Electrical and @rolyberkin noticed it really is a race to the bottom and the same handful of people chase the same types of jobs all the time, sometimes paying ÂŁ30+ to be shortlisted and quote, some will charge peanuts and may do a okay job, others suddenly up the quote like cowboys.
I Had a quiet week, so sorted out all the paperwork, van etc and saw a lead pop up, paid ÂŁ3.30 for it and got a nice days work taking power out to a shed for couple of sockets and a LED batten light. So am in profit by quite a margin.
The customer told me what people quoted, One who was shortlisted didnt turn up, one quoted ÂŁ280 without even seeing the house or site... on visit when just the wife was there the price suddenly went upto ÂŁ600... I went out, few quick tests on CU, RFC for the FCU to go on a few other checks and even changed a lightbulb for free whilst there and got the job which I did this week.
the mybuilder site gives a good online exposure though so cant fault it for that alone. I have only been out on my own rather than working for somebody else for just over a year.So still early days.
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