What a $99 junk removal ad in San Diego actually gets you

The short answer

A $99 ad is almost never a price for your job. It is a price for a very specific, very small, very convenient job: one light item, already outside, ground floor, no appliance, no mattress, no electronics, no stairs.

That job exists. It is just not the job most people have when they start searching, which is usually a garage in Clairemont, a beach apartment at lease end, or a parent's house in Rancho Bernardo.

The honest floor is a $75 minimum per visit. Above that, you pay published per-item prices - a sofa is $126, a queen mattress $103, a refrigerator $164 - or a published truck-fill tier starting at $241 for a quarter load.

How a headline number gets built

Nobody is lying when they advertise a low number. They are quoting the cheapest possible version of the service, which is standard advertising. The gap between that and your invoice is usually one of these:

• It is a single item, curbside. Already at the alley, already disassembled, one person can lift it.
• It excludes restricted material. In California, TVs and monitors are e-waste, refrigerant appliances need certified recovery, and mattresses run through the statewide recycling program. Those all cost something to route properly, so they sit outside the headline.
• Disposal is separate. If the ad says labor only, the landfill or transfer station charge lands on your bill afterward, and you will not know it until it does.
• Access is assumed. No stairs, no long carry, truck parks at the door. That assumption fails constantly in this city.

Why the access assumption fails in San Diego specifically

Because a large share of this metro is built on a hillside or behind an alley.

The canyon-lot houses in Mission Hills, Bay Park, Del Cerro and Rolando put the living room one or two flights below the street. The 1960s and 70s apartment stock in Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach is three stories of exterior stairs with no elevator. In Mission Beach, plenty of addresses front a walk street and can only be served from an alley. North Park and Golden Hill are alley-loaded blocks with detached garages behind the house.

Any pricing model with a stair fee or a long-carry fee in it will find one of those on your job. Ours does not have one. There is no stair charge, no walk-up fee, no distance-to-truck charge - which is exactly why we can publish the number in advance.

The honest price sheet

This is what real San Diego jobs cost, published:

What under $100 genuinely buys

Plenty, actually - we are not arguing that small jobs have to be expensive. Real items on our list that come in under a hundred dollars:

• Microwave, countertop: $30
• Patio chair, each: $30
• Baby gear - stroller, highchair, playpen: $33
• Bag of clothes: $35
• Bicycle: $37
• Dining chair: $45
• End table: $52
• Nightstand: $57
• Office chair: $61
• TV under 42 inches: $62
• Bed frame, standard: $68
• Coffee table: $67
• Bookshelf: $72
• Armchair: $77
• Mattress, twin: $82
• Window AC unit, small: $87
• Patio table: $89

If your list comes to less than $75, you pay the $75 minimum. Two nightstands is $57 + $57 = $114, so that one is just $114.

The three-item test

Here is the fastest way to find out whether a headline price applies to you. Write down your three heaviest things. Then check them against these:

• Anything with refrigerant - fridge $164, side-by-side $183, mini fridge $115, chest freezer $146, window AC $87 or $109, AC condenser $115.
• Anything electronic - TV $62, $68 or $73 by size, monitor $58, box of electronics $77.
• Any mattress - twin $82, full $94, queen $103, king $114, box spring $92.

If any of those three categories is on your list, the $99 headline was never describing your job. That is not a trick; it is just that those items cost real money to dispose of legally in California.

Two real jobs, priced honestly

Ocean Beach studio, tenant moving out. Queen mattress $103 + box spring $92 = $195, or take the set price of $143. Third floor, exterior stairs, carried down, no extra.

Serra Mesa garage, kitchen replaced. Refrigerator $164 + electric range $134 + dishwasher $109 + medium junk pile $129 = $536.

Neither looks like $99. Both are numbers you can see and verify before anyone drives out, which is the thing the headline price was never able to give you.

What to ask any hauler

Four questions. If a company answers all four before dispatching a truck, the number is probably real:

• Is disposal included, or billed after?
• Is there a stair, walk-up or long-carry charge?
• Is there an extra charge for mattresses, TVs or refrigerant appliances?
• What is the minimum for a visit?

Ours: included; no; no; $75.

Frequently asked questions