Just got a request for assignment from snapdocs, 23 miles away, for $50. I’d like to know who on earth is taking these $50 appointments. My travel fee for 25 miles away is $50 for GNW, let alone a loan signing. I wouldn’t even break even at that price. Who is taking these assignments and screwing this up for the rest of us. Someone is or they wouldn’t have the audacity to offer it. I/m not leaving my house for under $100. let alone fax backs and 25 miles away. Geez. ok Rant over.
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The people that would take an assignment like this are people who have never had their own business before. They have always worked for someone else where they had no idea or concern about expenses and the costs of doing business. So, they don’t even understand that basic concept. Seems common sense but it isn’t to everyone apparently. Pretty sad that a SS would offer this ridiculous amount, but they know someone will take it due to the surplus of NSAs and the fact that some of them will fall for it.
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It’s still sitting there 6 hours later so hopefully no one takes it. It just hurts us all when they do.
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@jaimelynntorres Yes, there are multiple longtime professional Notary Cafe members who have been voicing this Clarion Call for quite some time; however, some unscrupulous Signing Services endeavor to convince newbies that if they Accept these lowball fees that they’ll send a plethora of Signing Orders to them (the deluge of orders, of course, doesn’t ever come to fruition . . .).
@RoadRunner Thank You! Your accurate wisdom & insights are helpful. “have never had their own business before . . . expenses and the costs of doing business . . . don’t even understand that basic concept . . . . will fall for it.”
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As I often express, know your worth, calculate your out-of-pocket expenses & needed income to determine your Schedule of Fees in order to ensure that your business is Profitable and has staying power over the long term.
Here is a helpful post in regard to determining your individual Schedule of Fees to ensure a successful business:
This is a thread containing helpful decision-making processes for the current state of affairs within this business sector:
Just don’t take the job. No point in complaining. These go out to many people. Just because it’s 23 miles for you it could be down the block or across the street for someone else.
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I disagree. Let’s rethink this. I believe collectively, any business owner should be paid a commensurate rate to cover expenses and be profitable to the desirable amount good for that company. Yes? Yes. We need to reward curiosity and question every deal-offer like a detective. To do so, is not ‘complaining’… it’s being a savvy business owner. I say good for her, great detective work! 
That offer as described, does seem low unless you are on the same block, it’s a good point you made. It may work for a few but most, probably not. There may not be much meat on the bone so to speak.
I’ll give an example…
How many new business owners, when first opening their doors, took low-paying jobs that turned out to be, non-profitable? We took them to get experience and pay? I did! Those first handful of jobs as I jokingly say today: “Provided me the experience I sought…but every one of them, I BOUGHT!” 
I paid dearly for the experience. I should have questioned the fees back then. It made me angry looking back at those early costly mistakes. How could I have been so blind? Here’s a great saying:
‘Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around us…in awareness.’ Wisdom is now mine. I paid the price for it. A complaint is really just an observation, an observation is worth investigating and every investigation needs a determined outcome. A diagnosis, more or less. Low ball offers only work if you’re within a relatively short distance or can get a free ride there and back. Perhaps a genie (who can teleport across town in the blink of an eye) could profit at this offer, not the rest of us. 
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Great detective work! Your company needs to be profitable and you found out what doesn’t work. The only way I’ve been able to piece things like that together is, if I’m already going to be in that area of town with another full paying gig. The other gig can already cover some of the transportation costs associated. Likely, not the case but worth mentioning.
Even if it was 1 mile away. $50 is ridiculous. And I was asking a question, that you missed. I didn’t need to be scolded, mom, you could have kept scrolling if all you wanted to do was criticize my post. 
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After printing all the docs, and factoring in all the other business expenses it takes to run the business, $50 is basically breaking even and so then my time isn’t being compensated. So I don’t think I’d do it then either. But thank you for your kind and constructive reply!
@anon42300334 " . . . if I’m already going to be in that area of town with another full paying gig."
Understood, BUT I’ve seen it often happen where the “full paying gig” is subsequently cancelled or rescheduled for a different day and there you are . . . stuck with overhead that is greater than your income for that Signing Order.
In my direct experience, there is QUITE A BIT of risk associated with this type of thinking & utilizing this strategy as it OFTEN falls through. 
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You’re welcome. In short, we have to stick together and universally have a ubf= Universal base fee. I worked in a similar industry for 35 years & taught this method.
If all companies/notaries, will hold steady their ubf and never drop below a set fee, it stabilizes the fee structure for everyone. This doesn’t mean that a business owner can’t have higher fees but they never, ever drop their ubf lower, never! If that fee would have been $100 you probably would have accepted the job. It would have been on the low end and not nearly as profitable but you still might have accepted. Whereas, only bottom feeders will grab it now. In my industry I call them: Bowl Lickers, as in cake batter.
Low standards, lacking in class. Don’t be a bowl 
licker!
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Exactly. I declined the offer and that’s exactly the rate I typed in when it asked. Minimum fee would need to be $100. $50 compensation for my time. Not getting rich over here. Lol. But it would have made it worth my time.
Beware - this sounds like borderline price-fixing and can get you in a bunch of trouble. Ask the NNA what happens when this concept is utilized.
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@anon42300334 Well . . . not really as you’ve described.
=> “you may be on the way there and it gets canceled and you’re out fuel and time?”
I’ve detailed it further below to assist in elucidation of the manner in which this usually unfolds.
SCENARIO:
- Receive a call on Monday morning to schedule the first Signing Order at full fee on Thursday that is a one-hour drive one-way with turnpike fees.
- Receive a call on Monday afternoon to schedule a second Signing Order on Thursday at a lowball fee (doesn’t cover the out-of-pocket expenses). The location of this second Signing Order is within 5 miles of the previously scheduled first Signing Order (at the full fee).
- On Tuesday, the client who scheduled the first Signing Order on Thursday at the full fee reschedules for Friday.
- The second Signing Order previously scheduled on Thursday is now nearly completely in the red/negative income as the first Signing Order has been rescheduled for Friday.
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Question: " What would be your advice for these lowball jobs? Any insights?"
Answer: Negotiate your fee. It’s best to quote standalone fees to ensure your business will be in the black/positive income, because often the “good deed” usually doesn’t “go unpunished” . . . It’s true that you may not receive the Signing Order, but you’ll avoid going into the rec/negative income & possibly becoming classified as a “hobby,” due to the lack of profitability.
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Hi, they try, I always respond with the correct fee, $200.00 or $250.00 if it is going down a toll road. The person that takes the lowball offers will soon learn, they might as well do it for free…LOL Let’s keep enjoying our correct fees and when these companies put out these ridiculous fees, just respond with a smile and either say, how about for free… or just say what you should be receiving. One company, I told them, if they want me to reduce my fees that much to make sure they reduce the price of gas and supplies…LOL Merry Christmas and a Healthy Happy New Year to all.
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Yes. I did put my fee I would accept in snap docs when I replied to the offer. I’m just stunned anyone would take this price. Even if it was next door to me. I still have to print out all the documents, ship it. And it had fax backs. Wild!
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I agree. Its insulting frankly. I got one for $62 the other day. I responded with $175. Which is a fair price for 30 miles away in the winter in alaska. They responded automatically with $67, then $72 until they finally called and I said $175 again, they asked why so high? I said that is the standard here, and they gave it to me. I am lucky to be in Alaska where there is not as many NSAs, but i started as an NSA in Calofornia in 2009, and then the standard was $100 -$150. After about 4 of 5 years , i helped a friend become an NSA who was a part time realtor, and I explained the negotiation process and she still STILL took jobs for $90 then it went down to $75 and she snatched them all! 
So as someone said on this post, the newbies will screw it up and take whatever they get offered without cost of doing business every time! She made $4500 that first month. I made like $1000 . She was doing 5 a day at one point. I wonder if we could start a union? Or something. I see every other person involved in the closing has doubled their interest fees in the last 3 years but ours have gone down. Whats wrong with that picture !!!
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I am from Michigan. I live in the country…about 10 miles from town. Most of the signings I’ve done were usually 25 to 40 miles away. My typical pay was between $65 for debt consolitation to $85 for anything else. It used to be more than that when I first started but it has dropped significantly. I started taking the low-balling offers because if I didn’t, I didn’t make any money at all. Everytime I would negotiate a higher price, I wouldn’t hear back from them, which meant someone was accepting their price. I had to accept the low-balling. Then it got so bad that I was getting notifications about twice per week. It got so bad that I am presently taking a test to become an insurance agent. I am still licensed to do the notary business but it isn’t doing hardly anything right now. I have to still eat and pay bills. I want to continue to keep my notary business but at least the insurance will offer a much better income and I can do it at home versus driving in the cold, snow and icy roads. If they continue, they will low-ball themselves to the point where no GOOD notary will do business with them.
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Nice to see your process. So a good idea to just call them and not do everything from the portal/website. Maybe I need to update my process if this is helping. I mean the fee is passed on through to the signer so it’s not like they are eating this cost so I don’t see why they are getting so greedy.
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