NJWireman, I resent the inference to "ripping off" anyone. I don't worry about getting undercut. I have walked away from more than a few jobs where the customer/GC insisted on gutting the electric down to bare minimum. What I think is the true rip-off is a new installation that leaves no room for the inevitable expansion without spending 100s of dollars to add a couple of new circuits when $25.00 extra spent on a full-sized panel or another $50.00 on a sub at the time of construction would have cut the customer miles of slack. If another $25-50 on a $7000 job is going to make/break the EC he's not long for the business. And you're right about one thing in your post, word gets around. I haven't advertised for years and I turn down more work than I take on because there's only so many hours in a day. I've watched dozens of ECs who did whatever it took to cut the price to get a job come and go around here in the last 25 years.
