Why doesn't Thumbtack make its fee structure public?

jdinsmoor

I have been working with Thumbtack for several years and still don't have a clue how the fee structure works. I am charged anywhere from $37 to $100 to do the same job at the same distance from my home.

DustiO

@jdinsmoor pricing is based on several factors and will vary based on things like job size, how many pros are available, and your specific market (ie how many customers are looking for your service, how many pros are there, how much are those pros willing to pay, etc.). There isn't a set "price sheet" if that's what you're referring to, as there are hundreds of categories and even more markets on Thumbtack. But, you are able to see what range your lead prices will be in based on where you've set your Max Lead Prices.

My guess would be that prices varied on this particular similar job based on what other pros were setting their max lead prices at and how many were available in your market at that time. I would recommend revisiting your Max Lead Prices often to make sure you have them set at a level that works well for you and your business (though it doesn't often hit that upper limit, be sure that you are ok with it if/when it does do that). You can always play around with it and see what works for you, since you aren't locked into it for any amount of time.

This article talks about what goes into pricing and how to check your Max Lead Prices - it also links to several other helpful articles. Hopefully this helps! But, please let me know if you need more help!

cltexan

I would say that this "structure" is a scam. Thumbtack could, and has if I'm not mistaken, used set prices in the past for its leads.

DustiO

If you check your max lead prices page you will be able to see the price rang of leads in your categories/area. You can find that by clicking on your services tab - then you'll see budgets and max lead prices.

cltexan

Why not just make the cost of the lead the high mark, or even better and more fair, the mean of the figures. Seems like making the pricing stable and concrete would remove any of the sketchiness of the current (and relatively new) method and give Pros more confidence in the platform. It just seems like there’s been a fair amount of complaints since Thumbtack started pricing this way a couple years ago. Maybe it’s not that big of an issue and have a skewed perspective?

DustiO

You can see what factors go in to pricing leads here.

DerHilfer_LLC

This is why Thumbtack won't make it's fee structure public, aside from ruining the idea that it's "FREE"

Thumbtack has charged me $5,305.02 for 272 Users. Only $1,604 of that was successful lead generation. Not surprising that 2/3 Thumbtack users don't buy from me. What probably will surprise you is my investigations have consistently shown 47% don't buy from anyone.

We made $14,908 in net profit on those jobs. HOWEVER! When I sum the fee I was charged multiplied by the number of pros that Thumbtack sent the same job:, Thumbtack made $33,839.51 This isn't averaging, this is 272 individual fees multiplied by 272 "pros contacted" lines - which is almost always 2+ pros, sometimes as many as five..

I've worked 776.01 hours for Thumbtack Users. Thumbtack has made $44.18/hr from my work, while I made $19.21/hr. Convenience stores in my area pay $19-21/hr. I'm basically working for minimum wage even if it's not the minimum wage by law.

Now you know why Thumbtack won't make any acknowledgement that someone is paying for Users to use Thumbtack.

BTW, you should also know these statistics for your business. If you want to have access to the same system I use, PM me. I will spin-up a new instance for actual free and let you use it for actual free for three months.

DustiO

I have already answered this question in multiple threads. Please refer to our Community Code of Conduct.