I need about 1 cubic meter or so of mulch, lawn soil several times per year. It looks like they charge $60 for delivery each time!
The mulch is worth less $30 and lawn soil about $55.
Why is delivery so expensive for these products? Does it need specialised training and skills etc? Or do the trucks consume heaps of diesel?
Thanks.
flowers/cakes ~$20
$40 delivery for flowers from my Wife's Favourite Shop.
Especially considering that a cubic of soil literally weigh close to a ton, and can’t be loaded on your typical uber/dash car.
DIY pick up is another option for OP.
You're paying for time as well. A delivery driver and loading time - probably 60- 90 mins, as well as the truck/insurance costs. Plus the company needs to make a bit of profit. Labour is expensive in Australia.
Everything is expensive in Australia.
Negotiate them. Tell them you are loading and unloading the soils yourself.
The weight of one cubic meter of soil can range from 1,000 to 2,400 kilograms,
Lawn soil is about 1000kg per cube I think.
I used my RAV4 to transport about 300kg yesterday. It cost $14 but only 0.26 cubes.
Does your RAV4 have roof racks? Asking for a friend.
@Muzeeb: No. I just load it in the boot after putting a thick tarp. I have removed one seat to make space also.
300kg fits easy.
400 for sand.
I have platinum ozbargain membership.
@Naigrabzo: What do you load it in?
Just a tarp in the boot? That seems a recipe for soil everywhere.
I was thinking of getting those plastic tubs from bunnings just not sure if they can handle the weight.
They’ll deliver using a tipper and load it 100x faster at the depot with a loader. How exactly do you expect to save costs by loading and unloading yourself?
Go diy if you think it’s cheap/easy lol
I regularly send parcels to Victoria from Qld and it costs at least $50 for a medium parcel on an express service with direct freight… let alone having staff to load a truck, a guy to unload it, drive it to and from your place.. far out haha
Some garden centers offer complementary trailer usage if you are happy to pick up yourself and have a tow bar.
You could just get a trailer…???
Feel free to arrange your own transport if you can do it cheaper.
What is your hourly rate ?
Why is delivery so expensive for these products? Does it need specialised training and skills etc? Or do the trucks consume heaps of diesel?
LOL You think $60 is costly for a place to cover the running costs of a truck and the staff member to drive it to your house. Lets say its a 15 min drive to your place from the soil yard, including loading time, that is about 45 mins of staff wages + fuel + truck costs to cover for a round trip.
So yeah honestly on your tiny order, they are not really making money.
Why not hire a ute for an hour and go get it yourself?
I have been just using my SUV. :) Again I am not whinging just wondering why the cost is so high compared to low value product. To be honest I don't know why we have to pay $55 for cube of dirt also but that's another issue.
Again I am not whinging
Some might say otherwise how your post comes across.
just wondering why the cost is so high compared to low value product
Value of the item has nothing to do with the shipping costs. Order more dirt then, the delivery fee is normally a fixed charge.
As per my first reply, its basically an hour of staff wages plus truck running costs in your deliver fee that needs to be covered, so you're never going to get a single m2 of dirt delivered for $10/m2 unless you order 6m2.
To be honest I don't know why we have to pay $55 for cube of dirt also but that's another issue.
Because that what it costs. You seem to think everything is 'over priced'.
Time to make friends with someone who has a trailer.
On a serious note though, a bloke is probably getting $40 an hour, plus truck running costs. Diesel is like $2.20 a litre at the moment as well.
So $60 probably is about right depending on the distance of where you are.
It costs the same if they're sending a full truck or 1m3.
Actually more than 10 cubes the price goes up. But yes.
10cube will be a bigger truck.
If you live near a Flower Power you can sign up for a free Garden Lovers Club Membership, which allows you to hire their courtesy trailer for free if you purchase certain items (T&C's below):
Members of Flower Power’s Garden Lovers Club are welcome to hire a courtesy trailer from their local Garden Centre, subject to availability and in accordance with the following terms and conditions.
Eligibility
Garden Lovers Club members who have purchased certain items from a Flower Power Garden Centre. The trailer must be used only to transport goods from Flower Power to the Garden Lover’s home or nominated delivery site.
Hire period and fees
First two hours free of charge, subsequently $20 per hour. Maximum hire period of 5 hours. No overnight hire is permitted. Additional charges may apply in relation to misuse or damage of the trailer. Speak to staff in-store for full terms and conditions.
Great tip! I am not close to them but that's a nice service.
Thanks everyone. If the majority thinks it's fair enough then that's what I wanted.
I thought I was being a cheepskate as usual and this confirms it.
I love these posts. I'm sure it costs the garden place nothing to buy the tipper, maintain it, pay rego, fuel, insurance, plus the labour for someone to drive it to your house and dump it, then back to the depot.
As always, if you don't like the price, do it yourself. Personally, I think that's cheap to avoid having to go hire a trailer, go to garden place, get it filled, drive it back home, shovel it all out, hose down trailer, drive trailer back, drive back home. Even trailer hire alone is probably $20-30.
Trailer hire is about $50. Which is about $40 too expensive.
Again, the trailer has to be purchased. Rego, insurance. Tyres replaced. Wheel bearings repacked, replaced. Someone to book the trailer in and out. Someone to check the trailer for damage when it returns.
True that. It looks like I have to pay for all of that and other customers pay them for pure profit. :)
@brendanm: And a soil company too, while we're at it.
OP couldn't figure how to store 2 cubes of the stuff, yet wondered why companies want to charge for it.
I need about 1 cubic meter or so of mulch, lawn soil several times per year. It looks like they charge $60 for delivery each time!
Is it the same cost to transport more than one cubic metre? If it is, you can order two or three in one go and the effective cost of shipping will be cut into half or a third of the original shipping price
Yes it is. Up to 10 cubes it's the same.
Problem is where to keep the 2 extra cubes. Yes otherwise it would be fine.
Problem is where to keep the 2 extra cubes
Assuming you have a backyard?
Curious…. where does the first cubic metre of mulch, lawn and soil disappear to, that makes you need to buy it again several times each year?
Lawn top dress etc, I have lots of plants in the backyard etc which need a bit of mulching. I am a gardenphile. :)
@[Deactivated]: Hmmm… I will think about it. Not a bad idea. I will need to talk to them for that…. :)
Free 2hr trailer hire from Bunnings, when you buy 2.4metres of wood for $10.92. Keep receipt. I'd suggest buying a tarp too, so it's easy clean when you're returning it.
Place down tarp, pick up soil. Drop soil off (& tarp) at home, then go back to Bunnings to return the trailer. Return wood for $10.92 refund. Their returns policy states:
We are pleased to offer change of mind returns or exchanges. - Source
More info (possibly?) here.
DAMN! This is the information that I needed.
ROMPASTOMPA: You are an ozbargain champion! Cheers mate.
I already have a tarp!!!!
Then it comes down to whether the above is all worth the stuffing around with for the sake of $60.
Sounds fair. In the country, it costs me $100 to have delivered 1/3 to 2.5 m3 of soil or mulch. That's a 50km round trip for the driver.
I recently bought a new fridge. Harvey Norman charged $70 for delivery to my kitchen. I considered this a bargain. To pick it up myself I would of needed to organise a trailer, trolly and someone to help with lifting. I'd earn far more than $70 if I spent this time working.
Thanks boys.
I do need this 3-4 times per year though. It's kinda different for paying to get fridge delivered once off etc.
I will consider my options etc.
Appreciate your feed back.
Invest in a trailer. It will pay for itself after a few years.
Got a tow bar? Hire a trailer and do it yourself.
Buy 20 cubic metres. Delivery will probably be the same,
but relative to the cost of the dirt, it will seem like an OzBargain!
$60/hr would be absolute minimum cost for a truck and driver. It’s probably more like $150/hr by the time they work out down time.
Food delivery can cost ~$10, flowers/cakes ~$20, and you don't understand why yours is $60? 🤔