Quotes or hourly rates? Your pricing, how do you value your time?

I like the idea of a 2 hour needs analysis meeting, that's value added for the client when choosing the right designer. Where I used to work we did something simliar. I charge for consulting because it helps me weed out people who are not going to be great clients. I do this on the side so I have to be very picky when choosing who to work for (if it's a large project, that is).

Oh and feel free to use that quote, just be sure that every time you say it you send me a quarter. haha!

(yes i'm just kidding!)

What was your highest price quote Julian?

Originally Posted by Julian An amazing thing happens when you quote high, businesses start thinking "wow, they must produce absolute top quality work, we want the best, so let's get them!". Quoting low generally means what it means, cheap and nasty.

Very true. Its all down to perception. Usually clients dont have the technical know-how to properly decern who's really the best guy for the job, so they use other cues such as pricing, the designers level of professionalism etc. to determine who they should go with.

Originally Posted by Moni-Q Very true. Its all down to perception. Usually clients dont have the technical know-how to properly decern who's really the best guy for the job, so they use other cues such as pricing, the designers level of professionalism etc. to determine who they should go with.

Yes, many noob designers use this trick to get more customers..and that's bad.

I don't think you have the correct intent of what Moni-Q was saying there Mickoes. My highest quote is irrelevant, as it is based on each individual project basis. I charge $100/hour, my quotes (as I said in my original post) are based on how long I think it will take me to complete a project. I have done some very large projects (200 pages plus) and I have a good idea of what to quote for most projects big and small. I never quoted in the beginning, it was all based on hourly rates, until I had the experience needed to be able to offer quotes. I have stuffed up a few quotes and have been grossly underpaid for my work, but I learn from those mistakes and still act highly professional to the lucky client.

PS. I would probably be charging ten times what a lot of the members here charge for their templates. I can't design even 1/10th as good as most of them, but my service and level of professionalism is probably 10 times higher, therefore creates excellent value to my clients.

According to answer.com :

According to recent studies about 20 percent of contracted websites,software development and graphic designs worldwide are made by freelancers. Customers choose and stay with freelancers because their rate can go as low as 70 percent compared to industry standards.

Interesting.

The drawback with freelancers is just that. They're freelancers. The advantage of working with a "business" is that they are usually brick and mortar, they have a physical presence, they can be found and don't usually come of the risk that "they might not be there the next day."

But it's very true. Freelancers can charge less because they don't have the overhead and the work is sometimes as good as an agency (lot's of agencies use freelancers even!).

That said, freelancers don't have the infrastructure nor do they have the internal support network.

Underpricing makes people think that everyone else is a rip off and it's hard to earn a living. A good example of this is on sites such as Guro.com where Job offers are ridiculously demanding (ie no pay until we've seen the final result- so they can employ 20 people and choose the best one- a webcam must be on you at all times) and you have poeple bidding to do a 2 month job for $80.

Originally Posted by strangejuice Underpricing makes people think that everyone else is a rip off and it's hard to earn a living. A good example of this is on sites such as Guro.com where Job offers are ridiculously demanding (ie no pay until we've seen the final result- so they can employ 20 people and choose the best one- a webcam must be on you at all times) and you have poeple bidding to do a 2 month job for $80.

In Africa $80 is alot of money

You have a very good point there Mickoes, we all need to remember that pricing is also relative to the country you live in.