how long should we honor price quotes?
I totally get where you’re coming from—had a similar thing happen when I was getting quotes for a fence. Here’s what I do now: 1) Ask for the quote in writing, 2) Check if there’s an expiration date (if not, I ask them to add one), and 3) Confirm if it’s “locked in” for that time. Even then, I’ve had a guy try to bump the price up after two weeks. I pushed back and he actually honored the original quote, but I think it was more about keeping the job than anything else. It’s a bit of a gamble, honestly.
Had a weird one with a plumber last month—he quoted me for a water heater install, and I sat on it for about three weeks because life got busy. When I circled back, he said the price had gone up because of “supplier increases.” I get that prices can change, but it made me wonder if I’d just waited too long or if he was trying to squeeze more out of me. The quote didn’t have an expiration date, which I didn’t even think to ask about at the time.
Is it normal for quotes to only be good for a week or two? Or does it depend on the type of work? I’m finding that with stuff like appliances or materials, the price changes way faster than I expected. Does anyone actually get contractors to stick to prices beyond a couple weeks, or is that just wishful thinking? I feel like I’m learning all this the hard way...
I’ve run into this a couple times, especially lately. Last year I got a quote for a new furnace install and figured I had some time to think it over. When I called back about three weeks later, the price had jumped by almost $400. The contractor said his supplier raised prices on equipment and he couldn’t eat the difference. At first I thought it was just a tactic, but I checked around and sure enough, prices on the units had gone up everywhere.
From what I’ve seen, most quotes are only good for 10-14 days now, sometimes less if it’s something like HVAC or water heaters where supply chains are still a mess. If there’s no expiration date on the quote, it’s kind of a grey area—technically they could stick to it, but in reality, if their costs go up, they’ll usually pass that along. I’ve started asking contractors to put an expiration date in writing just so there’s no confusion.
It’s frustrating, but with how fast material prices change these days, locking in a price for more than a couple weeks seems pretty rare unless you get everything signed right away. Learned that one the hard way too...
Had a similar thing happen with a water heater replacement last fall. Got a quote, waited about two weeks thinking I had some breathing room, and when I called back, the price had jumped by $250. The contractor showed me the updated supplier invoice, so it was legit. I used to think quotes were good for at least a month, but these days, with how volatile material costs are, I just assume 10 days max unless it’s in writing. It’s annoying, but I get why they do it—no one wants to eat those costs.
Yeah, I’ve noticed the same thing lately—quotes used to feel like a handshake deal for 30 days, now it’s more like “blink and you’ll miss it.” I get why, but it’s still a pain when you’re trying to budget. Had a client last month who waited three weeks on a roof repair quote and the price shot up by $400. Makes you wonder if we’ll ever get back to more stable pricing or if this is just the new normal...
