Ex-owner of LM Solutions London · onlyvans-uk.com · rubbishbids.co.uk
30 Bags of Bathroom Rubble in Hackney — and a £300 Price Gap for the Same Job
Three licensed waste carriers looked at the exact same photos of the exact same pile of renovation rubble in E9. Their bids: £300, £380, and £600 — all for identical work.
That's not a rounding error. Here's what happened — and what it tells you about the true cost of renovation waste disposal.
3
licensed carriers bid
£300–£600
range of bids
£300
winning bid
100%
spread, lowest to highest
The Job
A customer in Hackney (E9) had just finished ripping out a bathroom. The result — as anyone who's done a bathroom will recognise — was a small mountain in the front garden.
Access: Curbside collection. Parking directly outside. No stairs. The customer added this in their job description — it took two minutes and likely improved the bids.
The actual job photos posted by the customer. These three images were all the carriers needed to bid.
The Bids
Three bids arrived on the job. Here's what came in — and the price gap that would have been invisible with a single bid.
Bid Comparison — Same Job, Same Waste, Same Day
Sunday, 2pm onwards
Next day
Same afternoon (urgent premium)
£300 spread
lowest to highest bid
Same pile of rubble. Same licensed carriers. The lowest and highest bid were £300 apart — there was no way to know in advance where a single bid would have landed in that range.
Read that again
Three professional, licensed carriers looked at the exact same photos of the exact same pile of rubble — and their prices ranged from £300 to £600. That's not one carrier being greedy. That's a market doing exactly what a market should.
Why the Spread?
A carrier's price depends on things you can't see from the outside: whether they've got another job nearby that day, how full their van already is, what their local tipping fees look like, how badly they want the work that week.
Their location that day
A van two streets away bids differently to one starting from across London.
Their diary
A gap in tomorrow's schedule drives lower bids. Fully booked carriers price in the cost of rearranging.
Vehicle capacity
One trip in a large van beats two trips in a smaller one — and the price reflects it.
Disposal costs
Tip and transfer-station fees vary by waste type. Proper, licensed disposal has real costs baked in.
The £600 bidder wasn't being greedy — they offered same-afternoon collection, and urgency costs money. But this customer had flexible timing, so paying a premium for speed made no sense. Which is exactly the point of a reverse auction: the customer doesn't have to know any of this. They just compare the bids and pick.
How It Played Out
Job posted
Photos + description. About 2 minutes.
3 bids received
No phone calls, no site visit.
£300 accepted
Lowest bid chosen.
Collected
Sunday 2pm. Front garden cleared.
The Outcome
The customer accepted the lowest bid, £300. Collection happened as promised — Sunday afternoon, straight from the front garden. Job marked complete.
No skip permit. No waiting for a skip to sit on the street for a week. No lifting a single bag themselves.
£300
Final price paid
£600
Highest bid received
Licensed
EA-registered carrier
Because every carrier on RubbishBids is checked against the Environment Agency's public register, the customer knew all three bidders were licensed to carry the waste legally — you can check a carrier's licence yourself before sharing any contact details. The £300 gap between bids didn't come from one carrier cutting corners — it came from three different cost structures competing for the same job.
What This Job Tells You
If you've got renovation waste and you're deciding between a skip, a single man-and-van bid, or ringing around:
The first bid has no reason to be near the middle
This job's three bids ranged from £300 to £600 — a 100% spread. Taking the first bid that arrives gives no indication of where it sits in that range. Comparing more than one is the only way to find out.
Flexibility is worth real money
Saying 'any time this weekend' is cheaper than 'today, please.' The £600 bidder offered same-afternoon collection — that urgency premium is real. If you don't need it, don't pay for it.
Photos do the talking
All three bids arrived without a single site visit or phone call. Clear photos of the pile, a rough description, and good access notes were all that was needed.
These three bids came from photos alone — no site visit, no phone call. If you want carriers pricing your job accurately on the first try, here's what to photograph before you post.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
Got renovation waste? Post your job free.
Licensed carriers bid against each other. You compare and pick. No skip permits, no phone calls, no guessing whether the price is fair.
A pile like this one?
It's free to post. Takes two minutes. Carriers compete while you get on with your day.
Rubbish Removal Across London
Compare quotes from EA-licensed carriers in your borough.