Websites that find contractors - do they cost more?

When seeking a contractor there are a number of websites that makes it simpler. Key a few details and several contractors contact you. These websites include Hi pages, Service Seeking, One Flare, Word of mouth and others. It was suggested to me that companies listed on these websites pay to be listed or pay the website a percentage of the cost, thus making the job cost more for the person looking for a contractor. If correct, it may cost less to go direct to the contractor, and perhaps look for contractors that are not listed on the websites. Can anyone shed light on this? TIA

 

It's cheaper than advertising, they pay a fee for each lead that they follow up. On worse than being on google adwords or other pay per click.

How much is it going to add to the job?

 

I think it depends on the plan they offer.

 

Air tasker takes 20% of the total from memory, service seeking is a yearly subscription somewhere between $300-$1000 depending on how you negotiate, hi pages is the worst imo , they sell 3 companies the chance to quote a job typically $5-$30ish
My experience is most trades use these sites when they start there business to find work but quickly stop using them as 80% of the customers are time wasters.

At least Hi pages and service seeking check your credentials, air tasker is full of unlicensed and uninsured people quoting electrical work

 

Thanks. Might not a website for a plumber or builder cost less than paying for Hi pages and the like? One of the first things I check is if a tradie has a licence, with plumbers and sparkies given particular attention. I ask them if they have licences, then check with the issuing agency, and check on Product Review, ProductReview.com.au. I give the potential contractors a short description of the job and ask for a sight unseen estimate. Some cannot do the job, some are far too high (price, not drugs) and some decline to estimate. From the short list so generated it gets serious. The preceding aims to keep their costs down.

In general the above works, although I've had some near misses (a contractor wanted over $15,000 for a job that ended up costing about $3000), one that was constantly late (paid for what he did and then sacked him), a plumber that did a woeful job (did not pay him anything, paid the second plumber who had to fix the mess) and others. Among other things the first plumber put a water meter on upside down and did not put a base under the toilet pan. The waste pipe went up to the wall exit, and the pan would not flush. This maniac was registered. He also more than doubled the cost of consumables; I checked.

Most tradies I have engaged do a good job.

 

From memory, Hi Pages has a couple of models - tradies can sign up for an extended time, or pay per lead (used to be around $30 per lead).

My brickie friend would get emails from Hi pages and decide whether to accept the lead or not based on location and if he thought they were just tyre kicking.

Accepting the lead meant he was charged $30 - but might get not get the work. He then moved to a subscription model.

All advertising has to be paid for from jobs, whether it’s the plumber’s website costs, letterbox drop, or a Hi Pages subscription.

I don’t think a tradie using a service like Hi Pages changes their charging rate (that’s more likely affected by the actual cost, the location, whether the tradie wants the job, whether they think you will be hard to work with etc).