Can I Get a Neighborhood Discount for My New Roof?

Everyone wants a deal and no one wants to pay too much. So wouldn’t it make perfect sense to get three or four of your neighbors to all go in together? It would seem that material costs would be lower that way and travel costs as well. This should equal a discount on your roof!

It really doesn’t work that way. All the costs associated with installing a roof stay the same whether your roofing company installs 10 roofs in your neighborhood or just the roof on your home.

Material costs: Buying in bulk does create a discount, but bulk is a relative term. When you consider that the material suppliers for roofing companies sell materials to 30 or so companies a day, buying roofing materials in bulk is hard to do. Roofing companies basically have to be working on a hotel or very large apartment building to get a discount on materials.

Labor costs: No matter what, a roofing company has to pay its employees full-price for the work they do.

Transportation costs: If the roofing crew stayed the night at your house then that would cut transportation time and costs. Of course, this never happens. The crew members go home and sleep in their own beds every night so they still have to drive to and from the job site. Installing multiple roofs in a row in the same neighborhood doesn’t logistically change travel costs or time.

Disposal costs: Just like material costs, it takes a lot to constitute “buying in bulk” when it comes to disposal costs.

I have found that the best approach is to put forward my companies’ best price every time. This way every individual customer gets the same pricing and is treated on an individual basis. I have lost out on jobs because I didn’t give a discount. The only counter to that would be for me to raise my prices and then give a discount which would just bring me back to my original price. I prefer the simple, straight-forward approach. I offer my best price every time. I have found that most people appreciate the no-haggle approach.