# The Blue Book / Dodge Report



## joesauers (Jan 2, 2007)

Do any of you guys have listings in either of these publications and if so do you recommend it for getting your name out to general contractors.


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

They're two different types of products. The Blue Book is basically a yellow pages for commercial contractors. I receive a good amount of leads from advertising in it.
Dodge Reports advertises bid opportunities. They report on various projects in various stages of the contracting process. It takes quite a bit of effort to 'work' the Dodge Reports but the info provided is very valuable if you do so.
I use both.


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## rikanit (Nov 28, 2005)

Pipe Guy, what are your tips for working the dodge reports?

I basically look for projects requiring site work or landscaping then decipher the GC from the report. Very few reports are solely for landscaping or seeding and thats the best scenario I can come up with for now to try and worm my way into the project.

Your thoughts????


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

we subscribe to an online builder's plan exchange. costs 1100 a year. we can view plans, specs, bidders lists, apparent lows, etc etc online. no more orderingor waiting for bulky plans. you can zoom in, scale, count, etc. online, we think it's slicker'n snot on a doorknob.

ours is www.plainsbuilders.com


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

dayexco said:


> ...we can view plans, specs, bidders lists, apparent lows, etc etc online...you can zoom in, scale, count, etc. online, we think it's slicker'n snot on a doorknob.


that's cool Day. I'm going to look into whether there's something like that for my area. I just got a 42" monitor so I can view plans electronically. The price of big monitors keeps coming down.


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## rino1494 (Jan 31, 2006)

How much does it cost for the Dodge reports ?


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

PipeGuy said:


> that's cool Day. I'm going to look into whether there's something like that for my area. I just got a 42" monitor so I can view plans electronically. The price of big monitors keeps coming down.


now THAT would be slick! currently, i have a 19" wide screen i view the plans on, and the 15" or whatever this is that came with computer along side with my excel spreadsheet on it. that 42" would be great, save a lot of zooming


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

dayexco said:


> ...that 42" would be great, save a lot of zooming


It let me stop wearing bi-focals too; I can easily view/read spreadsheets as wide as a dozen columns from 10' away. At a smaller but still legible type size I can view 20 or so columns at a time (without panning) from as far as 5 feet. I'm telling you, it's the sh#*s:thumbsup:


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

rino1494 said:


> How much does it cost for the Dodge reports ?


I thought you were a Ford guy? :laughing:


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## ruskent (Jun 20, 2005)

What about constructionjournal.com ??


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## LNG24 (Oct 30, 2005)

I use the BlueBook, but there is no need to advertise to get leads. It is free to join on line. I get a few leads from it now, I use to get tons of leads whne I was full blown into the excavating end of the business.

I use it more now to get bids from and search for contractors. :thumbup:


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