There is a lot of labor to properly ball them, ship them, and keep them alive until they sell. There is a lot of risk that they do not survive. There is a lot of risk that they do not sell.

What are your alternatives? Sell them to someone else? Pay to have them removed? Ask for more money and see what they say?

The nursery who wants them just helped us out with another area in our yard. They saw the boxwoods and I indicated that I did not care for them. They offered to buy them from me. I dont need to get rid of them and they already have a client who wants them (especially because the nursery cant get them as big as mine). I just want to know what a fair counteroffer would be. I would imagine they are going to charge the other client a minimum of $600 for the four and maybe even as high as $800. If that is the case, their $300 credit offer seems too low.

If they were an itenm in a box that they just need to pick up and deliver, you may be right. But, it is a lot of work to transplant, transport, etc,...

It is not unusual for a landscaper to double the wholesale cost of a plant bought in a nursery. These guys will earn their money. They need to get paid for all the effort it takes to move them.

It probably would not hurt to ask if they'll give you more, but at some point the return for them won't be worth the effort.

They have to send somebody to your site who knows how to dig, wrap and transport these successfully - without damaging your property. And the seasonal timing for this project is terrible (maybe they are thinking it would be undertaken some months from now).

One thing about it - if you don't want them anyway you are having them removed for free. And being paid some money for them on top of it.

To pay you $300 and sell them for $600 is fair and the average mark-up for most nursery material. Nurseries are a dying breed, they need to make a wage so they can stay in business.

Not just dig them and ball them, they have to transport them safely (have you seen the price of gas lately?). Plus pay wages to the workers.

if they can access the site with atree spade and immediatly transplant to the other site.... ask for more, sure fuel costs have increased... but for the sellers as well. I am always amazed that the fuel surcharges ,I notice cropping up from all sides these days , always forget the consumers extra costs too... this customer has repeatedly, it seems gone to the nursery without asking for a "cost off gas etc...sale" .. so I would think that maybe you might suggest a fair offer and also maybe since this is a wholesale transaction on both sides part ask for trade pricing on credit...if you havent already

No nursery, or anyone else for that matter, will do this unless they are going to make money on it. It takes specialized equipment and/or hard skillfull work that not many people are equiped to do. You can either participate and get some money, or forget about it.

The real resource in this case is the ability to move the plants successfully, not so much the plants. They have to make the sale to the customer, negotiate a price with you, wrap the plant, tie the plant, dig the plant, burlap the plant, move the plant, and plant the plant. That is a lot of work that they need to get paid for. None of it happens without the sale. If your price goes up, so does the price to the customer. That could kill the sale and no one gets paid.

One thing no one's mentioned- there's a limit to how much the contractor can charge for these plants, because if one dies (which is always a good possibility with transplanting mature material), where does one get a matching replacement? My guess is there's less profit in this than there is in container or purpose-grown stock, because an inability to warranty or replace your shrubs means a lower markup. We've got three big english box out back that we dug from another job; we started with five, if that gives you any idea.

You didn't like the Boxwoods. Your landscape will probably look better without them. Maybe you should be charged for their removal. Why not dig up them yourself and sell them to the highest bidder. Maybe 20 dollars at a garage sale.

If the nursery is paying $300 and selling for $600 they are NOT making a profit.

$600 less $300, credit and labor to transplant, leaves them with $300 to cover reinstalling, overhead (insurance, equipment, etc.), and not to mention GAS.

I would say $300 is fair for their risk of the plants not surviving. I would guess you would be charged about $70 - $130 just have them transplanted in your own yard, and that is just labor.