Four Ways To Reduce The Cost Of Your Dumpster Rentals
If you are renting a roll off dumpster to clean out your attic, or another short term project, you may not need to keep it for an extended period of time. You may only need it for a day or two. Unfortunately, many times the best price breaks the dumpster rental service offers are for weekly or monthly rentals. Although short term rentals can be expensive, there are a few ways that you may be able to save a couple of dollar and all it will require is a little negotiating on your part.
Put Yourself In Their Shoes
When you are negotiating with the dumpster rental service, one of the first things you need to know is that they may not have as much wriggle room as you think. There are a lot of costs that are covered by the fees that they charge.
Some of these are:
- Landfill or Transfer Station Disposal Fees – This is what the dumpster company is going to be charged by your local landfill or transfer station.
- Transportation Costs – The large trucks that are used to deliver and pick up the dumpsters are not the most fuel efficient vehicles on the market. Although the average price of diesel varies based on where you live, this is subject to change at a moments notice, and the dumpster rental service has to be able to withstand an increase in the price.
- Operating Costs – The company has to pay employee wages, purchase and maintain equipment, stay within governmental compliance, and keep the lights on.
- Profit Margin – This is any money that is left over after everything has been paid.
If you know that diesel fuel is at an all time low, the landfill or transfer station is running a discount on tonnage prices, or you live in close proximity to the company, ask the company to share the bounty with you.
Shop Local/Shop Small
Small companies do not have the profit margin that larger companies have because they do not produce the volume. Because of this, they are often willing to offer you a better deal in order to get your business. Just know that the average cost of a roll off dumpster rental is approximately $418, but can vary greatly based on where you live. Shop around and compare the prices of all of the dumpster companies in your local area.
Schedule Your Rental At Off-Peak Times
If you are like many people and work Monday – Friday, you are probably hoping to complete your project over the weekend while you are off. Unfortunately, many times pricing is based on supply and demand, and if the rental companies do not have to worry about dumpster sitting on their lots unused, they do not have a lot of motivation to offering you a discount.
Consider taking a long weekend and doing your project on a Monday or Tuesday, or taking a week of vacation and doing it in the middle of the week. You are going to find that the companies you call are going to be much more willing to negotiate on these days than over the weekend.
Piggy Back On Other Projects
If you have other building or remodeling projects going on in your neighborhood, look to see who they are renting their dumpsters from. The company may be willing to give you a discount if they already have a truck coming to the area to pick up or deliver a dumpster to the other location.
Even if the roll off dumpster company is only willing to offer you a few dollars or a small percentage off its everyday price, enjoy your discount. That is money you can use somewhere else in your project.