going rate for trimmers

[Phaeton]

There are those who say I overpay. I do not understand that. The government sets an artificially high price at 600% of what it costs me to grow inside with LED.

I pass it on. Trimmers get 20%, yes you read that correctly one ounce in five goes to the trimmer.
And to help insure a good job the trimmer also gets to keep all his shake.
Large bowls of water are kept everywhere and hands and scissors must be wet at all times, dipping the entire branch in the water bucket is acceptable. Water and THC do not mix and this keeps the trichomes on the buds and off the hands and scissors.

Most take their commission in cured bud. Some cash out at wholesale price. One (only one) would take his cut same day, it usually hit the street wet within two days. I don't understand that either.

My top trimmer takes home $50 per hour cashed out at wholesale. Most do half as much as him and sell their commission for about 75% over wholesale.

Even with these wages one out of three new trimmers does not keep the job. Some I fire for lousy trim, other quit cause the tedium drives them nuts.

And no, the eye cannot watch the bud and the TV at the same time, music only.

 

[Tonygreen]

so whats the top guy puttin out production wise phaeton? I hold steady at a qp per hour for the first ten hours or so then it slows down cuz i start takin breaks and shit.
12 hours is about my max or i start feeling really shitty.

 

[UniverseWisdom]

My top trimmer takes home $50 per hour cashed out at wholesale.

Holy shit for 50 per hour id be willing to master the ancient trimming technique using both hands and legs simultaneously.d

 

[Phaeton]

so whats the top guy puttin out production wise phaeton?

I am really fussy about my gourmet bud. Wholesale is $250 an ounce and he puts out an ounce an hour. The speed could be easily doubled if I allowed 'christmas treeing', clipping and smoothing the bud into a pleasant shape.
Naw, every leaf has to be cut at the base of it's stem. Eight pairs of custom pointy scissors to choose from. They get to keep their shake to encourage the taking of those tiny time consuming hairy single frond leaves deep inside.

Bud on the street goes for $100 per quarter ounce. The low volume trimmers can still make a fair wage even at a half ounce per hour.
This is Alaska, everything is more expensive, even labor.
I am not the only grower they trim for, merely the favorite.

Plus I am a low volume gardener, at two pounds per month if we trimmed fast and crude it would be over too soon. Every two weeks we do a pound, socializing on those nights when it is -40 outside is an important activity.

I am an aging hippie, everybody gets a big enough piece of the pie to make it enjoyable instead of work. I almost feel guilty keeping all the extra.

I never think to snap a picture of a trimmed bud. Lower buds are used for oil, the picture is of a plant trimmed down to the oil buds and a curing jar full of trimmed buds.

 

[Tonygreen]

damn that is a nice trim lol

 

[woolybear]

I am an aging hippie, everybody gets a big enough piece of the pie to make it enjoyable instead of work. I almost feel guilty keeping all the extra.

I greatly admire this sentiment. Weed trimming sounds easy but in my experience it has been the worst part of growing just because the plant fumes you're exposed can be really obnoxious.

I think some plants know they are going to die so they release all the chemicals they can. I've had to leave the house before because the smell is so intense.

Good luck all

 

[mowood3479]

I greatly admire this sentiment. Weed trimming sounds easy but in my experience it has been the worst part of growing

I second this... Sitting for 8 hrs plus trimming is not a party.
Especially for me as I have developed an allergy to the oils on freshly cut plants... I'll be stuffed up and wheezy for days.
That's why I pay my trimmers well (for my area)... Because i think it's a tough job to do well.... And although not a dangerous job it is an uncomfortable and monotonous one

 

[monarch]

Most jobs advertised on local craigslist here are 10-15 an Hr for trimmers. Doesn't seem too appealing of work for the low incentives. It seems like everyone is constantly looking for trimmers...

 

[_tessarecting]

10-15 an hour is a fucking disgrace. You're better off getting paid by the weight and determining your own value this way. I've made up to 75$/hour trimming when you do the math.

Just saw this was Colorado my bad. I had a friend that did minimum wage trimming there. Trimmers deserve more than that if they are skilled!

 

[green404]

In Colorado when rec first became legal their was tons of young people who moved here to "get a job in the industry" they would work for cheap..
After a few weeks or months of trimming the novelty wears off and they quit.

The wages are going up, I used to see ads for $10. an hour now it is $13-$15(still not enough to buy a life in Denver).