Thumbtack's model is to gouge the Pros by the following means:1) Charge them an arbitrary amount for customer contacts. Pros don't know how much they will be charged, and it doesn't matter if the customer is legitimate or not or whether the Pro gets the job or not.2) Encourage customers to contact more than one Pro because Thumbtack makes money for each Pro the customer contacts, whether or not they hire that Pro.3) Provide favorable listings for Pros who are willing to pay more for customer contacts, but other Pros will still be listed higher.4) Not allow Pros to list their phone number or website in their profiles, so customers have to go through Thumbtack and therefore Thumbtack gets paid even when Pros do not.5) Charge a Pro close to the maximum they are will to pay for leads, no matter what maximum the Pro sets. If you set your maximum at $10 you will be charged close to $10, but if your maximum is $30, the same lead would cost you closer to $30.6) Have inconsistent notifications to Pros via website and app. Sometimes a Pro will be notified that a customer has contacted them only after another Pro has received the notification and responded.
