When they ask you to just send a price

"Can you just give me a ballpark over the phone?" or "Just email me a price." Every pond contractor hears it weekly. Refusing outright sounds evasive. Giving a number blind sets an anchor you will spend the rest of the job fighting.

There is a middle answer, and it works.

The response

"I can absolutely give you a range right now. What I cannot do is give you a real number without seeing the access and the ground, because those two things move it more than anything else.

For what you are describing, most projects land somewhere in the your typical project range range. Where inside that depends on how the equipment gets to the back, what the ground is like, and how much rock is involved.

If that range works for you, I can come out and get you a real number."

Why it works

You answered the question, which stops you sounding evasive. You gave a range, so nobody wastes time. You explained why the precise number needs a visit, in terms they can see the sense in. You qualified them, because the ones who balk at the range were never buying.

If they push for an exact number anyway

"I could throw a number at you, but it would either be too high and scare you off, or too low and then I would have to come back and change it, and that is a bad way to start. Give me thirty minutes on site and I will give you a number I can stand behind."

If they are comparing bids

Ask what else they have been quoted, plainly. Most people will tell you.

If they name a number well under yours, do not attack it. Send them the questions article from this library instead: "Happy to be compared. Before you decide, these are the questions worth asking anyone bidding on this, including us." Then let it do the work.

The one to walk away from

"I just want the cheapest option." Believe them. Wish them well and hang up. That job costs more than it pays, every single time.