then come up with reasons to jack up the price. Again never pay more than the bid. Never pay for anything before the work is done. With home building a few items require up front payment such as windows, doors, cabinets and flooring. With these items normally pay 50% up front and 50% once installed. It always pays to get several bids. With excavators get a bid that is broken down with all on site work and then all import and or export needed. Let them know that the bid needs to be firm so that you can meet the budget. Take that bid and get several other bids with the exact some information. This way it is truly apples to apples. You may be shocked how different bids can be. Sub contractor bids often reflect how busy they are and how badly they want the job. If they are busy they will want to hit a home run in order to take on more work. Don't be the home run. Once you have several bids and have a good since for what a fair price is it never hurts to go back to your preferred sub and let them know what your budget is for the job. Give them the chance to do the work for that price. More often than not they will take the job.