Anyone else notice insanely low rates from other Rover sitters?

I'm not sure if everyone who charges a low fee has the same mindset as I did but I started on Rover about 8 months ago and charged way under what most people were in my area. When I was first starting I didn't have any references and my idea was to charge a low fee and then more people would want to hire me. It took about 5 months to actually get some clients but when I started getting reviews I upped my rates and kept getting more offers. I don't know maybe people are charging low rates to try and build clientele.

I have noticed an influx of cheaper sitters in my area lately. Rover suggests that new sitters start at a lower price point so they can start getting clients. I have begun to wonder if the new sitters are getting higher search ranks because Rover takes 20% from them rather than us older sitters who are still at 15%. When searching by my own zip code, I now come up as the 39th sitter, when I used to be number one or two (Rover does not sort by zip code even if you search that way). Most of these new sitters have few or no reviews.

Fortunately, I have a loyal regular clientele and also succeed by word of mouth. With nearly 100 positive reviews, people still find me and contact me even on page 2 of rover sitters in my area.

At the end of the day, it irritates the heck out of me, but I think maintaining the same price I've had since I started ($30/night), even on the high end of the spectrum now in my area, I am getting a self selecting group of pup parents who are willing to spend the money for stellar care. That is not to say a pup parent won't get great care at a cheaper rate, but simply there are verified reviews that tell owners it's worth it. In my experience, people searching primarily by cost and those that try to haggle tend to have their dog's priorities lower. What is the old adage about cheap, fast, and good? Maybe for sitters it should be cheap, close, and good? :)

I have been thinking about this. There are so many points to consider here. First, we are service providers. We provide an optional service to people, not a necessity. I say this because, other than Service / Emotional Support Animals, dogs are not considered a basic necessity of life, such as food, shelter and water, without which a human could not live. And Service animals usually are always with their handler because they are so essential to the point of not being classified (legally), as pets. People who cannot afford the care and maintenance of their pets should not own them until they can. As providers, we should be most concerned with the VALUE of our services and pricing them accordingly. By not pricing according to our Service's relative value we may intentionally or unintentionally UNDERVALUE the services of others. This can hurt the comradery amongst us Pet Care Service Providers. Creating friction among us and haggling from our clients. As for newer Sitters it does make sense that they would be a reasonable rate lower than a seasoned Sitter, like $1-$2. This makes sense because they are new and the client is paying for the seasoned Sitters experience. All of that being said, however, we are all independent contractors and may price our services as we choose. Hopefully we are just a bit considerate and thoughtful while doing so.

I charge low rates as well. $20 a night normally and $25 a night for Holidays. I only have two dogs that I keep at $20 flat regardless because they have been regulars since I started providing care. I agree with what Angela said. Many of the sitters charging low are not doing this for main income. I work part time, mostly from home, and own 3 businesses. My husband works full time and we co own 1 business. We have enough primary and residual income to where dog sitting is just pocket change. I do this because I love dogs and we cannot accommodate more than two since we travel often. To be honest, my husband said no to more dogs. Dog care is a way I can spend time with lots of furbabies and not have people spend kennel prices which is ridiculous. One thing I can say is that I do more for dogs than most of the sitters I have come in contact with that charge more. If I'm keeping your dog they will get treated like mine. That means your dog can go to work with me, run errands with me, go out to eat with me, and do everything and anything mine do. I know a sitter that charges $40 a night. Shes a great person but many will assume that since she charges $40 a night their dog gets the best treatment. Your pup never sees daylight unless they go to pee or poop. They are usually in a crate most of the day. This sitter does not work and is home all day. She seemed to find this humorous and say people are stupid for paying so much. I'm not here to break peoples pockets, especially during the holidays. Also, just because we charge low does not mean we will not make much money. I actually made triple what she made because at the end of the day most people look for the lowest priced sitter. I have had dozens of people say they don't really care to do a meet and greet and they just chose me because of my price. Ive had people drive 45 minutes when they had a dozen sitters near them because I was the lowest. Ive also heard stories where sitters were paying double and they said the previous sitters house actually smelled like they had a dog and could tell they were feeding the dog in the crate because there were kibbles wrapped up in her sheets. To put this simple. If you are losing clients because of your prices then the sitter most likely can care less about the quality and just is looking to save money. Or, they found someone that provides better quality at a cheaper cost.

Although in my area I don't have "a lot" of competition, I check to see what other rover sitters are charging and I am in the middle range. I do have quite a few 5 star reviews and I have found that many people come to me either from "word of mouth" from other customers (rover, neighbors and friends) and because of the comments in my 5 star reviews. I am Very selective of the pups I take and won't take a dog that shows even the least bit aggression during our meet & greet. I work to keep all my repeat customers that do a lot of traveling weekly and monthly. I also have the customers that take vacations once or twice a year. I recommend getting on a B2B site(s), linkedIn and if you have Nextdoor which is a free, private, and your local neighborhood communication site. After our vacation, it does take a little time to have new customers contact me but my regulars are either scheduled or waiting to schedule after I come back from vacation. Hope that helps.

I find that those sitters do not last once they realize that it's a lot more work than they anticipated and after 20% deduction you're left with nothing. Don't undervalue yourself especially if you feel like you are more qualified/experienced and definitely highlight it in your profile in order to stand out.

Charging very low prices hurt all the sitters in your area on Rover. Your should price yourself to be competitive with the independent sitters in your area and the other Rover sitters. Thinking you will get clients being the cheapest in town is not a good idea and you won't make much money!

I am one of the "insanely low price sitters" and I do so because that is all that I need to charge. I give the same dog boarding services that a $40 sitter does but because it is not my homes primary income (my husband works outside the home in a professional aspect), I do not have to charge that amount. To me, that is an insane amount to ask to sit a dog but everyone has their ideal prices. My mouth fell open the other day seeing someone in my area that charged $50 per night.

I did not charge that to "steal" clients although I have talked to other sitters that charge that price and that was their primary reason. I worked through Craigslist for years before joining Rover and charged the same price there too. I felt that this was the right price for me. I am home 24/7, sleep a very few hours, allow drop offs and pickups at crazy times, am up in the middle of the night doing school work (online student) and have a large fenced yard for play/potty so they get play time in and outside. I do everything a regular sitter does plus more (as far as availability and such) but I do not feel the need to charge more than I do. They get top-notch treatment for a lower price and that is just how I am. I also have very few issues and about 95% of my business is repeat clientele who are either travel workers or frequent travelers. We are busy about 11 months out of the year so prices do not reflect care level here!

That being said....Some dogs feel like $100 per night dogs for the $15 that I charge and some feel like I should not be charging because they are so incredibly good. It all evens out.

It is all about what works for you. Perhaps when you took the break (and I would have done the same had my dog been sick), your clients found someone else and chose to stay with them. People will choose some with lower prices but then they want someone that will love their dogs and spend time with them at least equal to what the pet parent does. I do not feel that it "steals" from higher priced clients as we all give different services. I have a man that sits in my area that charges $40 per night and he is super busy just as I am with a $15 charge.

Angela

They are obviously new sitters who are trying to snag your clients. Once they see how much Rover skims off, those prices will jump right up to a reasonable amount! I'd stick to your usual rates, because otherwise you only make like $9 a night, and at that point you're operating at a loss anyway.