competition comparison

[infinity]

So while surfing around looking at "competition" pricing comparisons (i dont know that i can really consider them competition being as i dont know if they are in my area.) i came across a site that had stuff for really cheap. like as in double digits cheap. Now i know one of the way we base our pricing is by how much experience we have. i looked for some of their work on their site and came up with a blank page.

now from a designer stand point i feel a little uncomfortable looking at those low prices and seeing no work to back them up. but i know a client would see the low prices and possibly choose them over me (being that my prices for the same things as these people are in the triple digits). my concern is how to go about competing with that? the "naked" eye wont be able to see designers work as we see others work. i fear people would see the price differences and choose the cheaper one regardless of the quality of the work.

granted like i said i doubt these people are in my area, but im just asking this in general

[Cosmo]

The clients worth having know what good design costs.

[KitchWitch]

The clients that don't know good quality will always go for the lowest price. The others will get what they pay for and hopefully hire you to fix it for them.

[<b>]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

The clients worth having know what good design costs.

I've always looked at it that way too. As designers it stands to reason that we're going after the higher-end business that understands design, appreciates it, needs it and is willing to pay for it.

Potential clients who head to contest sites, use Publisher templates and buy $50 websites, well, they were never our clientele to begin with.

For example, if you need a house built, you can go to a builder and use one of their ready-made house plans, and maybe they'll modify it here and there to suit your purposes. A step or two up from that is hiring an architect to custom-design the house to meet your exact needs. As designers, we're more like architects who cater to that upper niche of the market that needs and is willing to pay for custom work.

[kemingMatters]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

The clients worth having know what good design costs.

^This. Who in this industry posts their pricing online anyways?

[infinity]

i agree, thanks all.

kerning it was a freelancer i think. the particular business i was looking at was a "small family owned business" it was on their website.

[kemingMatters]

Originally Posted by infinity

i agree, thanks all.

kerning it was a freelancer i think. the particular business i was looking at was a "small family owned business" it was on their website.

More of a rhetorical question, it's quite uncommon to see generic pricing on design. I work on a client tells me how much they want to spend and I tell the client what I can do within that amount type system. Although I have some longstanding clients that don't even asks for quotes anymore, they just say it'll cost what it'll cost.

[Buda]

Honestly, as a consumer, I wouldn't pick a cheap freelancer that refused to show their work. If your work is good, I wouldn't worry about those other businesses.

Work on a good body work, a solid one with the kind of work that you want to be doing. Deliver amazing service to your clients and ask for testimonials when you're done. Good work and strong recommendations will trump cheap nobodies.

[Sketcher]

Clients who want cheap design are usually the kind that want everything in a very short turn-around time and want to dictate every design element to you. These clients only see you as a handy button pusher, not a designer.

I don't want a client who doesn't know the value of good design.

[infinity]

@kerning, ive been hearing that phrase a lot lately, a client asking for something done and the designer asking "well whats your budget?" For some reason that question didn't actually click until just now when you mentioned it. how though would that set the designer up for charging though? i assume that would go along an hourly charge?

buda, im not so sure it was a thing of them refusing to show their work, i assumed they just didnt have their work on their site yet. why a designer wouldnt make it a key point to have your work as one of the first things in the site though idk.

i agree with you all though. ive met quite a few people who hear prices and their eye brows jump off their face. thinking its so expensive for "such a simple thing" they then choose some online template or some small place that charges low double digits prices for something that should be costing high triple digits to low four digit prices (if done professionally and correctly obvious) kind of irks me, cuz not only does the designs suck, but the quality of the prints are just as horrid. but i know im preaching to the choir here.