Ex-owner of LM Solutions London · onlyvans-uk.com · rubbishbids.co.uk
Two Beds, Six Chairs and a Basement in London — Three Bids Within £40
Three EA-licensed carriers bid on the same basement furniture clearance in London: two beds with mattresses, six chairs, four bookshelves and a chest of drawers. Their bids were £350, £350 and £390.
That's an 11% spread, and two carriers named exactly the same price without seeing each other's bids. In our other case studies the highest bid was double the lowest. The difference this time was how the job was described.
3
licensed carriers bid
£350–£390
range of bids
£350
accepted bid
11%
spread, lowest to highest
The Job
A London customer was clearing furniture out of their basement and wanted it gone within 48 hours. It was a typical medium load: bulky, but mostly light, and nothing that needed specialist disposal.
What made this job different was the post. As well as filling in every field, the customer wrote their own notes. Lightly edited, they read:
“6 chairs, 2 beds in the basement — double and king. 4 bookshelves and a drawer unit, IKEA, can be dismantled easily. Ground floor direct access, as the basement has its own entrance — very easy.”
What carriers saw before bidding
Why it matters: Every line above answers something a carrier would otherwise have to guess, or price in as a risk: how many trips, how many people, how long on site, and whether there's anywhere to park.
The Bids
Three licensed carriers bid on the job, and no carrier could see the others' prices. Two offered next-day collection and one offered the same afternoon.
Bid Comparison — Same Job, Same Brief
Can pick up tomorrow
Tomorrow
Today, afternoon
Two carriers, one number
Carrier A and Carrier B each priced the job at £350 without seeing each other's bid. When two independent businesses reach the same price, it suggests the brief gave them both the same, complete picture of the job.
Why Were the Bids So Close?
Wide spreads usually come from uncertainty. If carriers have to guess about weight, access or how long the job will take, each one adds their own margin for that guess. This post didn't leave much to guess.
Photos of the real items
Four photos showed exactly what was going. Carriers could count the pieces and judge the volume themselves instead of working from a vague description.
Crew size stated up front
The post said two people were needed for lifting. Every carrier priced the same crew, so nobody quoted for one person and nobody added a third to be safe.
The basement explained
A basement normally means stairs and extra time. The note about the separate ground-level entrance took that risk away before anyone had to price it.
Dismantling flagged early
Flat-pack shelving that comes apart easily loads much tighter in a van. Saying so up front tells carriers they won't be fitting four assembled bookcases into one load.
Compare that with our Greenwich soil job, posted as “one Hippo bag, not sure on weight.” Bids there ranged from £200 to £420, a 110% spread, because each carrier had to estimate the weight on their own. The carriers weren't behaving differently. They were working from different amounts of information.
The remaining £40 is easy to explain. Carrier C offered to come the same afternoon, which usually means fitting the job into a day that's already planned. That costs a carrier something, and the price reflected it.
The Outcome
The customer accepted £350 for collection the next day. That was well inside their 48-hour window, and £40 less than the same-day option. With two bids at the same price, they could choose on whichever carrier suited them.
Every carrier on RubbishBids is checked against the Environment Agency's public register before they can bid. You can check a carrier's licence yourself before sharing any contact details. If you're pricing a bigger clear-out than this one, our house clearance cost guide breaks down what drives the price.
What This Job Tells You
If you're clearing furniture, beds or mattresses from a basement, loft or spare room:
A detailed post gets you comparable bids
In our earlier case studies, bids for a single job ranged by 100% or more. Here the spread was 11%, and two carriers landed on exactly the same number. When the post answers the questions a carrier would ask on the phone, every bid is pricing the same job. If you're not sure what to include, here's what to photograph before you post.
"Basement" sounds expensive. Say why it isn't.
A basement usually means stairs, a narrow route through the house and more time on site. This customer added one line: the basement has its own ground-level entrance. That one sentence removes most of the risk a carrier would otherwise price in.
When prices are close, you're choosing on timing
The only real difference left was speed: £350 for tomorrow, or £390 for this afternoon. When the bids are this close, the decision is simply whether a few hours matter more than £40. That's the choice you want to be making.
Related Guides
Furniture, beds or a full room to clear? Post your job free.
Add a few photos and a couple of lines about access, and EA-licensed carriers bid on it. Your contact details go only to the carrier you choose.
A clear-out like this one?
It's free to post and takes about two minutes. Carriers send their bids while you get on with your day.
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