Lead Prices have gone sky high!

I received a home organization lead (not instant book) and I can not believe the price for this lead. It is the smallest size project (selected less than 500 feet-which is the smallest option) and the project is moderately disorganized (middle option). In the past, this might have been $12-$15 and it was $36! The customer reached out to 3 organizers so thumbtack made over $100. I can not even imagine the price for a large project and disorganized situation. YIKES! I can not wait to use up my money and be done with Thumbtack.

Comments

  • JMusselman
    JMusselman Posts: 21

    I just looked at my account and back when I started last spring, I was able to get 22 leads for $200! Then 9 leads for $150 and now most recently, 3 leads for $150. Unreal.

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,863

    @JMusselman Sorry you are experiencing this. Be sure to check what you have your Max Lead Prices set to - as you do have control over how much you are wiling to pay per lead. Here is an article that shows you how to do that. Hope this helps (you may already know this, so disregard if so!). I would also suggest sending this pricing feedback to support@thumbtack.com — we are working on getting a suggestion box/feedback feature in the Community that will link your feedback to your account, but until that happens I always suggest sending it to support@ to be sure it is logged under your account/category. Thank you!

  • JMusselman
    JMusselman Posts: 21

    But I am told that is my only option to get customers is to have high lead prices. If the smallest job is charging me $36, that is the cheapest lead price then right? This job was the smallest square footage possible.

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,863
    edited January 9

    I am admittedly not totally sure how the pricing works on smaller vs bigger jobs - so I would encourage you to for sure send this pricing feedback in. It is really helpful to receive feedback with details like the size of the job, what you would normally charge for that job, and what the lead cost. I know this isn't very helpful to you. I wish I had more to share!

  • If you do not know and we do not know, then Thumbtack is not being transparent in how the price. This is very concerning as a business owner and I feel like like I have complete lack of control in the process.

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,863

    @JMusselman I apologize that I don't know how every aspect of pricing works in 500+ categories (I wish I had a mind that could retain all of that)... I know prices will vary based on things like project/job size, how many pros are available at the time, and what's happening in your specific market. Prices will also go up if it's a booked job vs a direct lead (which probably explains the difference between prices in the Spring vs now), and of course based on your Max Lead Price settings.

  • kostlover
    kostlover Posts: 15

    Pricing is out of control. I had an Instant Booking for organizing a room under 500 square ft. I was charged $80! It also mentioned that I received a discount from my max lead price of $102! I can’t afford this. In some cases I am driving over 100 miles to see a client and by the time I get done with gas, the items that I include in my rate and now the Thumbtack fee, I am making about $40. I tried to reach out to a supervisor by asking if they could make changes that would fit each Pro in the instant booking process. I received a canned response from a supervisor who said that they will not allow anyone to opt out of Instant Booking. I was not even asking to opt out… I was asking for them to take a look at the process for each Pro. That told me that the person did not even read a request that I put a lot of heart and soul into. This is not the Thumbtack that I signed on with . Everything has changed…

  • Same thing is happening here! I think they take your max lead prices and that is the price you have to pay for the lead!

  • dusi

    The point is that it is not transparent to the pros. This is something we should know about. Like we will be charges XX for this size project or if it's based on time of year or how many organizers are contacted for the job. This is information that we should be allowed to see. Regarding the changing in lead prices--both jobs I was referring to were leads and not instant books. Why have lead prices gone up?