I received a BPO order this evening, drive-by w/ 3 sold comps, front & street photos, for $35. It's not too far away, but I called to get the fee increased anyway (My time is worth more than that, right?)

I told the rep it's probably on acreage, so it'll be hard to comp, can you increase the fee to $50. She says "Sure, no problem! I totally understand. Is $50 enough? Do you have to drive a long way to get to it? Gas prices are so high right now! Would $60 or $65 be better?" So I say "Well yes, $65 would be excellent!"

Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!

It's official, you've entered the Twilight Zone.

You aren't kidding! I've had reps from this same company practically argue with me about raising the fee! I wonder if this was her last day, or if her job is being outsourced to India or something...

BPO Bizarro World!!!

I had that the other day with a company that is surely now my favorite. When discussing the fee of $50 (and of course the orders are rural), the rep said"I can change the fee to $70 if you would like. ME: Sure, that will be great, thank you so much, ect........... Also,one of the lowest paying / most demanding companies are kissin my feet, this week and it feels great! They need to learn. This company first of all agreed to pay $60 and the standard fee is $40. They pulled the order on me because I was late. They did not read my status update. They called tonight. The other agent that they were so hasty to find left them with no report. They offered it again for my desired and I got another $10 out of them. I think I deserve the break. I always learn the hard way.usually

One company I deal with a lot has gotten used to my negotiating fees- now nearly every order they send is at $70 or more. Gotta love it!

What company is this?

Hmmm.. I have tried this, and.... it really works!!! I have gotten *some* companies to increase the fees "due to gas prices" but others really do not care - perhaps they have Agents who will work "for free" - so to speak.

AMY

I'm sure it all depends on how many agents they have in the area. I'm in a large city, so they have agents in all areas of the city here. It may not make sense for me to drive accross town for $40, but it's likely that they have another agent just a few miles away that is happy to do it.