I apologize if this isn't the right area to post this, how do you all base your bonus requests off? I have an MSC willing to "make my bonus worth it" for me to make a 3.5 hour one way drive...

Do you want to earn $25 an hour? Then ask for $175. To make it even better, pick up some shops on the way there and on the way home!

I ask for and get $175 for an all-day drive like this one.

Never done one that far so wasn't sure, thanks.

7 hours x rate of pay plus car cost for mileage plus time to do shop hours x rate of pay desired.
Your example with some libs taken
say shop takes an hour total time including on site and report that's 8 hours time at $25 an hour for $200 plus gas say its 400 miles round trip or 16 gallons at 25 miles per gallon or $44 if we say 2.75 per gallon. So $244 request. Now if you are happy with 10 an hour then it would be $80 plus the $44 or $124 ask.
My rate of pay will vary based on varibables such as scheduler, msc and past history with msc, time of year, type of travel hihway or town driving as well as what else I can pick up on the route with other mscs.
You have to develope your own system to calculate this. I have no plans for tomorrow and live in NY State if a scheduler says can you do shop in Chicago 8 hours one way I will go for right price but it will cost more than if I have time to build a route and do other shops.

Buffalo, I don't get that complicated. If I drive 350 miles, I figure I'll write off about $175 from taxable income for the mileage deduction. I live in a rural area, with low cost of living (my rent for 2 bed, 2 bath home with 2 car garage is $250 a month); $25 an hour suits me just fine. But someone in San Francisco couldn't pay rent on a place to live if they were earning only $25 an hour.

Tomorrow I'll do a 500 mile route for $350 plus reimbursements of about $35. Suits me just fine. I just keep it simple -- simple means less time figuring out how much to charge, and, as we all know, time IS money!

It's all relative. January, I lucked out and grabbed a shop bonused at $125. I called another scheduler to see if I could add more shops. It happened.

Asking for bonuses, is something you need to learn. I, normally do not ever ask for bumps, bonuses or incentives. I work with fabulous schedulers, that give me the extra cash without me asking.

Once in awhile, I ask. When I do, I ask for a minimum of $5 for every 30 miles for 1/2 of my driving miles. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.

Oh, I forgot, I work areas that schedulers can't find people.

One of my MSCs will email and ask me if they give me $xxx would I take an inspection out in the boondocks. Sometimes I don't want to do those jobs and will pack on some extra money hoping they would find someone else. And then there are the times I do that and they end up saying we'll pay you the extra money!! Then I'm stuck doing the jobs!!

There are a lot of factors involved in negotiation a bonus. Is it the end of the month or better yet, the end of the quarter when MSC's are more desperate and therefore more co-operative? Is your trip a pleasant ride through the countryside of a grind through cities? Can you add more shops in route to the destination shop and will this make the route an overnight trip?

A shopper several years ago offered a very simple formula - a buck a mile. If I am called by a MSC and they want an answer on the phone that is my guideline but I will invariably tell the scheduler that I will get back to them.

I have a detailed formula on the computer that I put the figures in - shop fee, bonus, tolls and mileage. I allow $.50 per mile as my car expense and that is automatically calculated. Mileage, travel time, shop time and report time is entered. The result gives me the ratio of income to expense, Gross per hour which includes travel and shop time, Net per hour which includes travel, shop and report time and Net, Net which is Net less expenses.

This sounds very convoluted and time consuming but the hard work was putting the formula together. Now i can determine a requested bonus in a matter of seconds. I know, I know, your are now thinking that's crazy but it works for me.

In any case I encourage shoppers near me to get maximum bonuses. That helps my business. Shoppers automatically taking shops at base pay hurts my business.

I'll take a buck a mile every day of the week. Where I live -- no traffic, no traffic lights -- 60 miles is an hour.

Give me a buck a mile, I'll do a 600 mile overnight route...and do the shops for free!

LOL!!!!

My best bonus day happened like this: I was asked to do a distant shop. I asked for an absurd amount of money and explained truthfully that I did not know if I could add any other shops to that day. I received that money and later had time to look for and bid on other shops. I got them. It was a good day. There was no skill, acumen, or "winning". There was only the intersection of unfulfilled assignment, my willingness to lose some otherwise free time, and luck. My bids were at or just under an acceptable amount.

I would only say this: can you afford to wait for bonuses? If so, enjoy the bidding game. If you really need a specified amount of money, rely on you and your willingness to work hard. Do the jobs you need to do in order to amass the money that you must have. You may have to take some base-fee jobs in order to ensure than you have enough work and pay for your needs. This is okay. It is humble, and it your proving ground. Perhaps fortune will smile on you and bring you unexpected jobs or bonuses. After awhile, you will become efficient and adept at organizing your work. Work may seem easier, or you may do more of it. After awhile, schedulers will remember you as a hard worker who does what they say they will do. Then, you will have a good reputation that is your foundation for being worthy of additional pay. This is a strong position. It is priceless.

But the lucky bonuses are wonderful, too.