Hey there,
I guess the first question I would ask is what is you end goal, does that truly require having the tree removed or are there other options.
That said, if the goal does dictate removal then yes, you can expect a wide range of quotes.
Some of these variables have to do with differences in what the cutters propose. For example:
Flop and drop....Cutter A will put the tree on the ground, maybe cut it up (he really doesn't say) and walk away for $250. You'd have to clean up the mess
Flop, Drop and Block...Cutter B will do what A does but he specifies that he'll cut the wood to stove lenght. He wants $350
Takedown....Cutter C will take down the tree for $600. Maybe he specifies more cleanup, maybe he doesn't but you have no idea why he wants twice as much.
Total removal Arborist D will remove the whole tree and leave the stump and bids $2500
So, right off you can see there would be differences just due to the amount of work each bidder sees as included in the job.
Differences could also be explained because one might see something that make the job look more difficult to him.
Could be that he is booked solid, doesn't need the work right now or considers the job to have a high hassle factor. In such cases I have known many people, just about anyone who does contract work from trees to construction, to highball a bid rather than tell the customer they really don't want to bid on the job. In some ways this proves that everyone has thier price.
When the bids have essentially the same work specified, differences can be simply from estimating formulas or techniques.
And, lastly, it can simply mean that the higher bidder can actually command the higher price.
However, I have often found that those that can command a higher price are usually so busy that they A) don't have time to do quotes and B) thier customers hire them without getting a quote first.
I too, just from the pics, could guess that you could get that tree dropped (on the ground no other work) for as little as a couple hundred$$ and you could expect a full removal for as much as a couple to several thousand$$
I would expect the NJ market to run on the higher side than say East Overshoe Maine. Prices seem to be higher the closer to urban regions one gets.