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My wife and i have been contemplating solar energy. We found 1bog.org on a google search, they presented a compelling alternative to going direct to a solar company, because you could be part of a "group buy"... we signed up, got an quote from 1bog, and two others for comparison purposes.
It turns out 1bog.com was about the same price, because the referring company pays 1bog, but the 1bog install also came with panels that are outdated...well 2 years old... 1bog "promised" a better deal, but was not able to deliver...
I realized 1bog, like servicemagic was just a lead generation, they are a for profit company, don't be fooled by their marketing- they are slick.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I also contacted 1BOG and I was a little skeptical when I heard they were a for-profit referral company.
I think their marketing gimmick that quantity buying gives them big discounts is probably not really true.
Pricing on solar panels seems similar for most installers. The real issue is not the cost of equipment anyway, but installations charges, which vary alot.
What 1BOG offered were 210W panels, when everyone else is using 230W. When I asked for 230W and microinverters (which are also become much more common) there were add-on costs. The final estimate was about $1.50/watt more than another local installer. (i.e. $6000 more)
What I liked about the installer I finally chose is that he itemized all the equipment costs, which made it easy to see exactly what the labor costs were. Ask 1BOG to do that and see if the equipment costs really are cheaper.
Hello there!
My name is Shannon Coulter and I'm the Director of Community here at One Block Off the Grid. We're always happy to read about peoples' experiences with solar comparison shopping, and actively encourage our members to get the best price they can whether it's through our program or elsewhere, so it's great that you did so. Way to be savvy.
Fortunately, the vast majority of the comments we hear about One Block Off the Grid is that our 15 to 20% group discount is able to shave thousands of dollars off the other prices they've been quoted (more than $10k less is not unheard of), so we're confident in the power of our model and have seen it work for our members time and time again. We've also been written up by the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Cnet, and Fox Business, among others. They all seem to think we're onto something too!
Finally, I want to add that unfortunately we've seen a phenomenon where occasionally certain solar installers will generate false "complaints" about One Block Off the Grid on the web in an attempt to discourage the trend of solar group pricing. The price point on solar is high enough that some players out there will always resort to such tactics, so if you live in an area where there's an active group discount for solar (you can check here: http://1bog.org/1bog-cities), we strongly encourage you to at least get a free estimate from One Block Off the Grid in order to compare it to other price quotes you receive out there. Just sign up for free here: http://1bog.org/user/signup/
Best,
Shannon Coulter
Shannon Coulter, Director of Community
One Block Off the Grid: The smart, new way to go solar
shannon@1bog.org | http://1bog.org