Posted by BetsyMI on 2/18/06 9:53am
Msg #98168

Undercut pricing

Had a private individual email me about doing some notarizations where they already had the documents from the lender. I questioned how many notarizations there were, and how far a distance I'd have to travel. There were 7 notarizations.

In Michigan, the law allows us to charge $10 per notarization. I quoted $100 including my travel fee, which was only for a distance of about 10 miles. The customer agreed and I was flexible with doing the work for them this weekend or Monday evening, which were the times they expressed interest in.

Today I received an email saying they had found another notary to do the work for $35.

Do you think my quote was too high? I think $70 was fair for the 7 notarizations, and probably I should have only charged $10 for the travel fee, but I still would have lost the job since someone was willing to do it for less than half of that. What do you think?

Thanks!

Reply by LisaWI on 2/18/06 10:03am
Msg #98169

Wow!! Did this other notary live right next door?? Or was this a phony phone call to get your prices??

And no, IMO your price was not too high. If indeed it was a legit request, I think it was very fair.

Reply by O/Cnotary on 2/18/06 10:09am
Msg #98170

Yes, it was high. I would have charged $70 and they wouldnt

have probably looked for someone else at that price, so no, I dont think in that case you would have lost it.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 2/18/06 10:40am
Msg #98172

Re: Yes, it was high. I would have charged $70 and they woul

If I were quoted either 100, 70, 35, gee I wonder which one I would take. It's a no brainer. I think what you quoted was fair. This isn't an ss or tc that could possibly give you regular repeat business. It's a one time deal. We take discounted fees from ss and tc because they could become a regular client. I think you would have been dumped whether your fee was 100 or 70. 35 is just too low, the signor doesn't know that nor do they care. Nobody can survive on those rates long. Just rediculous undercutting.

Reply by Mike_IA on 2/18/06 10:41am
Msg #98173

Betsy, your experience is exactly why I don't solicit and generally try to avoid doing notarizations for private individuals. If they have you do the work they often complain later that they could have gotten it done cheaper elsewhere and they want a refund. Sorry, PAW, I won't be buying your car signs.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 2/18/06 10:53am
Msg #98177

Betsy, When I get those kind of calls, I quote whatever my fee would be if I was called to do an overnight package. In this case, it probably would have been just the $70. Either way, neither of us would have gotten the job! Too bad you can't find out who the other notary was. Probably a newbie looking for experience. When they called me back, I probably would have said something along the line of -- "From that price it sounds like you found a notary that has never done a loan closing before. I have done over (fill in the number) of closings and have never had one come back to me to be corrected and my borrowers loans closed on time and they did not lose their rate lock."

Reply by Mike_IA on 2/18/06 11:01am
Msg #98180

Checking the Iowa Secretary of State's web site I found there are 85 notaries within 1.4 square miles of me. Of course, many of them are not notary signing agents but any of the 85 notaries could have done a notarization for a private individual.

Reply by Raimond on 2/18/06 11:13am
Msg #98183

Not knowing all the details... Lets explore the other direction. It could be easy $ for a notary.

Maybe the BO's called a friend of a friend and drove to the Notary (not a SA) to save the travel costs. Maybe the BO handled all the shipping/handeling of the docs for the return.....

With that said, $35 would not be all that bad for someone to have all the work and travel done by someone else. The notary could have been cleaning the house/yard or just planning a day in the easy chair. They receive a call to notarize 7 sheets. No Fuss no Muss. On top of all that, maybe their boss pays for thier notary expenses.....

As a CSA, I would not have done it for $35 but would have quoted somewhat less than you did if it was not going to take one of my normal time slots. The EOM rush could start Monday or Tuesday. I would rather keep a weekday slot open for a full package.

Then again, it could have been they did not have anyone lined up but looking for a better deal from you. Where did they get your e-mail address?

Have a great weekend and a safe holiday.

Reply by patricia on 2/18/06 12:39pm
Msg #98186

in my area (california) there is a notary service advertising as a $5.00 notary service.
I believe that they just charge $5.00 if client comes to their office, hopefully they arent offering
to drive to the client.

Reply by Danny_FL on 2/18/06 12:39pm
Msg #98185

I think your pricing is more than fair. You are asking for $10 per plus trip fee and nothing wrong with that. I know in FL maximum is $10 and the UPS stores charge that for walk-ins.

Danny

Reply by BetsyMI on 2/18/06 1:21pm
Msg #98190

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your comments. I would never have done this for $35, but thought maybe my $100 was too high.

On to EOM!!

Reply by O/Cnotary on 2/18/06 12:50pm
Msg #98187

Betsy, I reread your post and didnt realize it was for a ...

loan pkg, which requires the skills of a signing agent. I charge $150 for a complete loan packages to private "individual". SO, for $100, you were more than fair.

Reply by Kid_CA on 2/18/06 1:20pm
Msg #98189

I'm a newbie and personally I don't like this undercutting stuff. It's bad business and reduces all of us to a bunch of beggars asking for crumbs, and you know that all the vultures out there would love it. Stick to your prices. Whoever is undercutting won't last long or they will realize that they will have to set their prices higher later. Either way, if we all set our standard pricing up where it should be everybody that wants their docs signed will have to bend to our demands and not the opposite.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 2/18/06 1:34pm
Msg #98193

Betsy, they may be calling you back after the $35 notary

blows the signing. I have had that a couple of times. If a private party that have the docs already, then I quote my normal overnight doc fee as if a signing company was calling me. $100 bucks was not out of line. They have to pay for your equipment and time and most importantly, your experience.

Reply by thnotary_NY on 2/18/06 6:35pm
Msg #98217

Re: Betsy, they may be calling you back after the $35 notary

$70 just for the signing, and how did they think you were going to get there.? And I'm wondering about this other Notary. They don't know the fee evidently, or was that $35 to go to the house.? They may have mis-understood.

Reply by Jason on 2/18/06 9:15pm
Msg #98228

For loan work for TCs I charge a minimum of $100 for overnight docs. I don't work for SSs.

For loan work for borrowers looking for a notary, I explain that I charge $25 for the travel fee ("less than a taxi" I remind them) and then $x for the per-seal fee. I explain that the seal fee is set by the sec of state.

Breaking down the fee makes it more palatable. Telling about the per-seal fee lessens the chance of them shopping around.

The $35 notary who undercut you is an idiot. Satisfy yourself with knowing that they made less than minimum wage for this gig.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 2/18/06 11:30pm
Msg #98250

Presentation counts...

Pricing anything is nearly always a question of perceived value. In that kind of a situation, after asking several questions so I know what I'm dealing with (including the name of the lender so I have an idea about the docs in the package), I put on my teacher hat. I then explain the difference between "any notary" and a notary who is also a signing agent. (Few of the general public get this.) I want them to understand the importance of not only having the docs notarized (and having it done right), but of having all the other documents signed correctly, too, and that not all notaries have the necessary training for this, etc. Then depending on the response I get, I might give them a choice, i.e., notarize only for $X/signature (in CA) + travel, or a flat rate (most likely more than $100) to go through the whole package with them.

By the time I'm done asking questions and explaining, they've figured out I know what I'm doing. If they are only interested in shopping for price, good luck and "adios"! If they care about everything going well and they perceive they are getting a deal by choosing the best price option I give them, there's a good chance I'm in business.

No business enterprise is ever going to be the right choice for everyone and that includes us. We each just have to decide who our target market is that we want to appeal to and operate our businesses accordingly. If that means losing business that doesn't fall within your target market, so be it. It's inevitable to some extent and not worth a second thought.