Dear Fellow Melbournians

When you jump online to find a Skip Bin provider in 2021, the options and the Search Engine results return a very different information, compared to just a few years ago.  The major difference is - there is a significantly more skip bin suppliers being present in your search results, which can be very confusing and misleading at the same time.

So why is 2021 bin supplier search is so confusing?  The simple answer is - not necessarily a significant inrease in Skip Bin Hire companies in Melbourne, which is also a factor, but the massive increase of Price Comparison Websites for Skip Bin Hire Companies, disguised as genuine Skip Hire Companies.

While only a few Bin Price Comparison websites will come out and openly state that they are indeed just an online directory, the larger proportion of them will be discretely posing as a genuine Skip Bin Hire Company.  It is no different to travel bookings, where we all know that we can go to webjet.com.au and compare prices for various airlines, where it tells you directly which airline you are comparing prices to.  You know exactly where you are, you know that Webjet is not posing to be Qantas or Virgin and Webjet is not offering mysterious airline X vs Mysterious airline Y comparison.  That's what we feel is missing in the confusing world of the Skip Bin Prices Comparion Websites.  Let's Start from the basics:

How To Tell a Difference between Real Skip Bin Provider and Price Comparison Website

For an experienced industry player, we can even spot the difference in the name, but not always. Some tell sign to watch out for in the price comparison websites might include, but not limited to:

• skipcompare
• findskipbins
• bookabin
• bestpriceskipbins
• webskip
• skipbinhireaustralia

In the About Us page - the genuine Skip Bin Companies will include a real story about their company, perhaps some company branded vehicles or team shots, while in a Skip Hire Comparison Website, all images will be generic, perhaps photoshoped and there will be no real company story, mainly talk about price and some generic terminology.

The Real Skip Hire Companies will also have some social media presence, which will most definitely have their branded bins, trucks and team, which will be very different for online directories, who might again offer some generic graphics, with no real people or team behind them.

When you are looking at generating a quote in Bin Comparison site, the result will present to you the cheapest provider, as it will be determined by price algorithm, running in the background.  However, you will not be able to see the name of the "cheapest" provider, until you put your credit card details in and finalise your skip bin order.  Once this happens, you'll probably receive an email, confirming who your supplier will be.

The problem with this practice is that you have no choice in who your bin supplier will be.  You cannot google them prior and check their google rating, you are basically buying a "cat in a bag" and will deal with the consequences later.

Why Book a Bin with Skip Supplier Directly vs Skip Price Comparison Site?

One of the immediate benefits of booking a Skip with a brick and mortar supplier is because you get a chance to research your supplier, give them a call, ask them questions, get a feel for their customer service.  Most important - by knowing who your skip bin supplier is - you can research other customer's Google Reviews and make an intelligent consumer choice whether this supplier is suitable for your project.

It is no different than booking an air ticket, even if Qantas and other airline offer similar prices, you might have a specific preference for one airline over the other, based on their reliability, the probability of flight cancellation, the comfort of the seats and good ol' customer service.

The dangers of buying a "cat in a hat" Skip Bin Hire service is based on a real customer stories, which we were told, when you don't know the company or an operator you are dealing with:

• you didn't book directly with them, hence your delivery or pickup will not be prioritised, as you never spoke to them directly
• the specifics of your property will not be considered, as they don't know your property dimensions and you might end up placing bin on a council land, without being prepared for additional costs of council permits
• the customer service of the end supplier might be very different to the "comparison price website" as supplier could be a one man operator, who drives the truck, answers his phone and so on, hence don't expect someone polite and cautious and answering your questions as he will be on a road and won't have time to elaborate on details.
• more often than not - pickup times won't be adhered to and in some unfortunate circumstances, pickup might be delayed by days if not weeks.  We had customers calling us, offering to pay money to remove other companies bins, which were left in their driveway.  We of cause cannot touch other companies bins but at the end of the day - selecting the cheapest supplier, based on price only algorithm can end up being a costly affair if you don't get the service that you deserve.
• if you need a new bin or a swap over, you might run into some real problems here.  If your original bin was booked via price comparison price and you go back there to book a new bin, you might get a completely different operator.  Hence you will need to coordinate between the initial company to first pickup your skip bin and then with a new supplier to deliver the bin.  Given possible delays with the pickups, it can become a logistical nightmare, where you will spend half of your day trying to coordinate two separate companies.

Is Cheapest Skip Bin Price Always the Best Value

The answer to this question depends on what you are looking for in your Skip Bin hire experience.  If it's a one off bin hire and you'll never hire a bin again, maybe the cheapest bin is the answer.  However, when something is too good to be true, it often times is.  There are a few pitfalls to look out for when settling for the "cheapest" price.

• check whether the price includes GST (most companies quote without GST and you need to ensure you are comparing equivalent prices)
• check how many days of bin hire are included in the price.  For instance, Bingo offers discounted prices on 3 days hire only with every extra day at additional price, hence making 7 day hire bin quite pricey.  Our bin prices for instance, have a minimum 7 days hire included in them, plus our trade and building customers enjoy extended long bin hire at no additional charges, hence this point is very important.
• check if there are any weight limits, which are covered by the price.  When prices are very cheap, they usually cover you for a certain tonnage, above which you will end up paying extra per each tonne.  Particularly important is when you are loading bins with a heavy material, by starting out with a cheap price, you can end up paying over a thousand dollars, due to not being aware of extra weight charges.  At Need A Skip Now, we offer all inclusive prices, regardless of the bin weight, up to 12 cubic meters, hence our landscaping and building customers, who regularly have very heavy bins are confident that there will be no surprises with extra charges on the pickup of the bins.
• According to the EPA website, it is customer's responsibility to ensure that the skip bin supplier they employ, will dispose of waste in a legal and prescribed way.  Unfortunately, when the price of the skip bin is way below the market price, it indicates that suppliers are not compliant with EPA regulations and hence there is a very high chance they they are involved in the illegal dumping or some untoward activity.

Booking a Bin via Price Comparison Website for Builders and Trade

If you are a builder or a trades person or even a resident, involved in DIY proejct or a lengthy renovation of your home and require more than one bin for your project, you might need to consider the following:

• Relationship - if you will require a swap over of bins for your project, you need a to have a relationship with your supplier, who will:
  • know your requirements
  • adhere to your deadlines
  • keep record of your delivery instructions and know your site contacts by name
  • be trustworthy enought that you can give him your gate code for out of hours bin deliveries and pickups
  • be reliable enought that you can book an excavator and know that supplier will arrive within the designated timelines or will call you in advance in case of any delays
• Customer Service - if you are in your trade for a long haul and care about delivering the highest quality projects to your end customers, you want to surround yourself with an A Team or highest quality suppliers, who will be part of your team and almost an extension of your team.  You can only achieve this with a  Bin Supplier, who constantly works with you and is attuned to your needs and is committed to delivering excellence and nothing less to your projects.  Ordering Skip Bins from an unknown operator and buying a "cat in a bag" from a price comparison website is a lunacy and a gamble and will jeopardise your project, due to all the reasons outlined above.

In Summary - there is nothing wrong with ordering a skip bin via Skip Bin Comparison website, provided you clearly understand that you are dealing with just an online directory and not mistakenly thinking that you are dealing directly with the supplier.  It is also OK in situations, where you only need to order one bin in your lifetime and you are not in danger of extra charges due to heavy bins and your project doesn't have deadlines in case of delays with deliveries of pickups.  However, if you are involved in a project, which will require more than one bin, quality and customer service are important to you and transparency of pricing, bin hire period and an ability to research your suplier prior to delivery are important, then the only reasonable choice is to deal with Skip Bin Supplier directly, where you have a total control over your relationship with your supplier.

For any questions about your specific bin hire needs, please don't hesitate to contact our friendly and experienced customer service team on 1300 605 624 or for any out of hours enquiries, you can generate an instant Skip Bin Quote and be confident that you are dealing with a genuine Skip Hire Company, with real trucks, bins, drivers, recycling yard and customer service and logistics team, who are looking forward to be an extension of your team in your projects.