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Thread: Why Thumbtack may or may not work for DJs.

  1. #111
    Member fatcatdj's Avatar
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    My Thumbtack Theory...Is it true?

    Oh Snap!!!!!!
    Thumbtack isn't a 100% independent dj search engine referral. I think and I could be wrong but I doubt it, they are using worm software that
    visits Craigslist and other FREE ad sites, picks up the clients info there and transfers to their database. I mean how can they come up so many
    job leads? Thumbtack was a start up a couple years ago, its not like FaceBook or Instagram that exploded on the scene. It was developed by 2
    Silicon Valley computer nerds who probably saw the FaceBook movie and like Zuckerberg developed the software to cash in.

    How do I know?

    I sometimes see the SAME requests being posted on the same week by the same people.
    So you bid on it, never get a response, you figure they went with someone else and forget about it.
    Then after a few days the same request comes up. Job search engines do the same thing. You can see the same job posted again and again.
    Only bad thing is, most job search engine leads are free, like Monster.

    Defending Thumbtack:

    Sure you can get an official request from TT, for a professional on there, but it may be 50% of the time.
    But the reason it has nothing but low ballers or bottom feeders asking for gigs for $200 is because they probably scooped them up from online ads or free sites. Nothing wrong with that. Many job search engines do that. And some like TT ask for a fee but most don't, like Indeed.com and Beyond.com they get the revenue from banner ads or people advertising job serach how-to's, etc.

    Buyer Beware
    Its like anything else, like gambling. Its not against the law, its just the way they do things. Sometimes you can get a $1,000 gig. But very very rarely.
    Even Wedding Wire spreads its paid DJ professionals to other sites that they are in cahoots with. But those are high end sites.
    Like another DJ said, if you're going to spend $1,000 on a wedding dj are your REALLY going to ask for one on Thumbtack or a look for one on a wedding regisrty website.

    Why Don't They just be Subscription Based?
    Lots of people ask that. They should have a flat yearly or monthly fee for leads. Reason>>you can make more money selling 'credits'
    ...remember? Zuckerberg. Mucho money, mucho mucho dinero. Fast money. But yeah, if they thought long term, a subscription based account
    would be a lot better and give them a better curb appeal to all professionals that use it. Zuckerberg's team thought long term thats why they are so successful.
    Last edited by fatcatdj; 06-11-2016 at 06:02 PM.
    .."You can NEVER go too far"---Ferris Bueller

  2. #112
    on TT today I say a req for a b'day party (200-300, 4 hours) grad party (200-300 4 hours). $300 is pretty normal price for that stuff here, unless they're doing a country club or something.

    Seems many low ballers are last minute folks - is that because 'well, if it's cheap enough I'll have a dj' or the 'hotels.com' mentality - if a DJ is sitting around doing nothing $200 might look like a better way to spend an evening?

    And McDonalds and Red Robin both sell burgers and fries - and McD's sells a lot more of them and in the end makes more money.

    I won't book a 2017 gig for cheap now, but if I'm sitting around with an open date i'm tempted to make something rather than nothing. Got a cal for a grad party for tomorrow this past wednesday.. i told them $325 for 4 hours. He was good with that..till he talked to his wife. She found 'a friend' do to do it for nothing. Had I quoted $200 he may have just jumped on it.

    So, instead I make nothing tomorrow. Had I done it for $200 what's the harm? Will I devalue my 'brand'? How? My ego? Maybe...but one can do bar gigs for $150 for 4 hours...why not a grad party? probably easier.

  3. #113
    Member fatcatdj's Avatar
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    Ok here's the thing many DJ's DO NOT UNDERSTAND regarding the Thumbtack Quote ($200-$300) for 4 hours...THEY don't want to pay $300, they don't even want to pay $200...its $100! Remember these people are Craiglisters. They are like those two guys on that reality show, "Barter Kings" they're totally cheap, frugal, etc. Also like the guys who post here thinking that their 2007 Mac book pro is still the best. "They have the money, they just don't want to spend it!"---Ferris Bueller's Dad on "Ferris Buellers Day Off"

    I too got screwed today by a Thumbtack person. He backed out on paying me (only $500) to do his wedding, I know he found a $100 guy. I am glad, so glad that I got $100 deposit from this turd. PS--its raining today...GOOD!!
    .."You can NEVER go too far"---Ferris Bueller

  4. #114
    Member fatcatdj's Avatar
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    Thumbtack "Client" SCAM ALERT! Please read if using TT or CL

    To finish off my 32 Thumbtack Credits, good riddance Thumbtack, Yesterday I used them all on a bunch of cheap bids on a bunch of crappy leads in 5 minutes.
    This morning after 9, count 'em 9 bids, I get one. And its a scam. Nice huh.
    REVISED: HERE IS MY EMAIL TO THUMBTACK CUSTOMER SERVICE:

    Dear Thumbtack:

    Now I know, I am certain that you guys are getting referrals for JOBS from Craigslist and other free sites. I don't like saying this but your company is embarassing, you really have to do some research on the 'prospective clients'. I just spent all my credits on 9 bids and got zero responses except for one. That one person tried to scam me. Here is the following transcript from our phone text conversation:


    A "woman" who is "throwing a birthday party for her 18- yr-old daughter" contacted me. (909)293-XXXX
    Here is the word for word transcript from my phone text

    Me: Hey Sarah how are you?
    Sarah: Hi how are you doing? Which city are you located?
    Me: Glendale
    Sarah: My daughter will be celebrating her 18th year old birthday, so I want to make it nice and memorable
    for her. I hope you can offer a good service.
    Sarah: I will be making payment upfront. You still haven't tell me how much you collect up front. Do you accept check?

    Me: PayPal deposit is good for $100 do you have PayPal, if not a check is fine.
    Sarah: Please text me your FULL NAME as it will be written on the check and your ADDRESS where it will be mailed to. I will be very busy next week.
    Me: (So I text her my name and address)
    Sarah: Will you email me the contract once you receive the check?
    Me: Yes

    Sarah: Hello, there is a little problem. My account officer made a mistake by sending the funds for your charges and the funds for the bartender
    together to you. the amount on the check that you will receive is $1850. It was issued in your name.

    Sarah: I need your favor on this. Once your receive the check, you can take the check to your bank and have it deposited into your bank account, deduct your
    funds and help me to send the remaining balance to the bartender.

    Sarah: To make things easy for you, you can deduct additional $100 from the check for your compensation for the stress and hassles of disbursing the
    remaining funds to the bartender. Thanks.

    Me: I'll just send the check back if you don't mind.
    Sarah: It is not difficult for you to deduct and send the balance. Why are you sending it back?
    Me: I don't have enough in my check acct to cover $1850

    Sarah: Yes, that is why you are depositing the check and the funds will be available
    in your account after 24 hours.
    Me: Yeah right.
    Sarah: Perfect, I am counting on your service
    Me: Ok what is your address?

    Sarah: maygida6020@hotmail.com
    111 E. Harvard St. Glendale 91208
    Sarah: did you get it
    Me: Yes under what name is the banquet hall under so I can go today and check out the room, thank you.

    Sarah: My party host will be making reservation for it, but all necessary detail will be sent to you before the event.
    Have you sent the contract?
    Me: I can send the contract but I need your full name, address and venue name in order to fulfill this request its standard procedure
    Sarah: Sarah Williams 111 E. Harvard St. Glendale CA 91205
    Me: Quit already dude, you're an embarassment

    "Sarah" home address is the Americana Mall in Glendale. Great going guys!
    Last edited by fatcatdj; 06-12-2016 at 02:50 PM.
    .."You can NEVER go too far"---Ferris Bueller

  5. #115
    Member Galager's Avatar
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    LOL. I guess the reality is DJs with attitudes about TT like yours (and I am NOT trying to put you down... I promise) make it easier for me to make money with TT. I don't bid on low-ball leads on TT. They can burry mean with low-ball leads and it costs me NOTHING if I don't bid on them. No harm, no foul. I only bid on the higher end bid requests. I get probably 1 in 6 of those. That is a pretty cheap cost for a higher paying gig. Plus it takes me less than a minute to create the bid. Literally. I have multiple bids pre-formatted that I cut and paste into the TT bid area and just change a few things like name and cost. I just got another contract in the mail yesterday with a deposit check for a gig I found on TT.

    TT, if done PROPERLY, is very cost effective. I can tell you it's not just me in my area that feel that way either. I get a weekly report from them (not available in all areas yet), that tells me how many leads I was offered. How many I actually bid on, how many times I was hired, and a bunch of other information PLUS they tell me the other top 2 DJs that I competed against that week. It is consistently the same other 2 DJs (My guess is I am listed as one of the 2 in their report). I looked them up and, according to their web sites, they are even more expensive than me.

    I believe you just don't know how to work the TT system. If you did you would be making money.



    Also, regarding your earlier quary about how TT gets all these bids. If you google DJs in Portland, OR one of the top three results is TT with a link that says something like 'Get free quotes from DJs in Portland, OR'. I am sure they get a lot of traffic that way.

    You asked why don't they do a subscription based system instead of a lead based system? They actually did early on. I am sure they found this way to be more profitable. I actually prefer it because DJs that don't know how to utilize the system get frustrated and stop using it.

  6. #116
    Member fatcatdj's Avatar
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    Just deleted my Thumbtack account...GOOD RIDDANCE~~~PAYING FOR A LEAD WITHOUT A PHONE NUMBER IS LIKE HAVING SEX WITH A STRANGER WITHOUT PROTECTION, STUPID!
    .."You can NEVER go too far"---Ferris Bueller

  7. #117
    Member DJAkash's Avatar
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    Honestly, thumbtack locally has been terrible. Every single I client I quoted was expecting a DJ at such a low budget. I regularly see clients asking for a wedding reception DJ 5 hours, 200 guests, and $200 is their top dollar.
    Please explain to me where you can rent a full DJ setup and setup for any less than $500?
    Need an amazing Video DJ that can Handle Indian and American, let's work together!

  8. #118
    Member Galager's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJAkash View Post
    Honestly, thumbtack locally has been terrible. Every single I client I quoted was expecting a DJ at such a low budget. I regularly see clients asking for a wedding reception DJ 5 hours, 200 guests, and $200 is their top dollar.
    Please explain to me where you can rent a full DJ setup and setup for any less than $500?
    My oh my.... Is it such a hard concept to understand? If you don't like the lead, don't bid on it. If you don't bid on it, it costs you nothing. If you see a bid that fits your budget that you like, bid on it. It is a very inexpensive lead overall. It's not rocket science. I do very well with Thumbtack because I only bid on the leads that look good and are the right budget. I definitely don't bid on many more leads than I do bid on. If you have the self control to only bid on what looks good to you, Thumbtack can be great.

  9. #119
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    Hello all, New to the forms but thought I would put my two cents in on Thumbtack....

    Been using it since August last year and at almost a year later, I would have to say it works for me. I have booked over 25 events using it. At last count I think I have spent $1,400 buying credits to send out quotes and have made over $10k in profits from that.
    For the area I live, the average price of Weddings is around $500-$600. I have gotten higher payouts and some lower ones too, but all in all I wouldn't be able to take the wife to Jamaica next year if it wasn't for some patients and creative writing skills to get the bookings I have gotten with Thumbtack.

    Now, does Thumbtack have some major issues to fix, Yes they do and I think they are getting there with some of the complaints that they have been blasted with on Facebook and emails.
    Galager is correct - If you don't like a bid, don't bid on it. There have been so many request that I have passed on because I just didn't like the budget amount or didn't think it would work for me. Then again on the other hand, I sent one person a quote for $500 whose budget was $200-$300 and explained why my quote was over his budget. He called and booked the next day. Ended up costing only 1 credit to do that, so it was worth it and may start doing more that way too.

  10. #120
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    Really good read I must say! you hit everything on point. As for the customer leaving a review I have made my own sheet specifically for reviews and hit them up once the gig is complete and they usually are more eager to write something down then and there rather then having to go back to TT instead of facebook. Don't know if this helps but it works for me, and when I have a meeting with my next potential clients they have a chance to look at my reviews both good AND bad.

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