How Leads are priced

Boatdrinks2711

I would really like to get both pros and Thumbtack employee feedback on this.

I am completely blown away by this. I received a lead for Furniture Assembly, 5 pieces. The lead went out to 2 additional pros, totaling 3 including me. The pcs were 5 chairs, all the same, maybe 10 screws each, super simple. It's a 2 hour job, max. There was a bit of back and forth between myself and the lead as she was interacting with another pro. She asked, "How much". To just have a chance, I bid $200. I didn't get it.

How much was this lead? $83.25. So, Thumbtack makes $249.75, and the person who gets the job and does the work…..revenue (not profit) of less than $200.

I can comment on just how ridiculous this is but I am a P/L guy so I will break it down.

All things being equal, I had a 1/3 chance of winning this job. Meaning if I get 3 identical leads to this one, basic math, I win one of the jobs. See where this is going. That would mean, I would pay $249.75 to win a job worth less than $200.

Dear Thumbtack! This cannot work. Let's be real, paying 50% of revenue to Thumbtack doesn't work. You provide a valuable service and help many professionals, but this is not a business model. It is why, I have my business hidden 97% of the time. It's on only when I have an open day.

And when I ask for this to be looked out. Denied