Some time back, I met a person through a forum who liked what I had to say on some topic. Turns out she needed a graphic designer for an upcoming project. Since she liked my attitude, she wanted to give me the job.

(For the record, I would hope she actually looked at my samples. I’m flattered that someone might hire me on personality alone, but that’s a dangerous way to make decisions about freelancers. Anyway, back to our story…)

Just one thing… she had already chosen a designer for the job. But if I could beat his price by, literally, just a few dollars, I could have the job and she’d yank it from the other guy. (I’m not kidding… I think I just needed to beat the price by $5.)

The price the other designer had quoted was pretty low to begin with. But I declined the job for a number of reasons. Those reasons led me to keep handy an explanation that I can give when someone asks me for a low price, to compete against another quote they’ve already received, or when I get asked to lower the price after they see my quote.

I can cut and paste as required for the situation.

I’m going to share that with you now. If it’s something you want to adapt for yourself, go right ahead.

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I respect your desire to get the best price possible. However, I will not be able to match/beat a lower price from another designer for the following reasons:

1. I don’t compete for projects based on price. If you look hard enough, you’ll eventually find someone to do your project for free. There are plenty of designers who are just starting out. For them, a portfolio piece is more important than being paid. I’d go out of business quickly if I were bidding just on price considerations.

2. While I could probably undercut any other designer just to get a project, ethically speaking, I don’t feel that’s the right thing for me to do. While the the quality of work I do is extremely important, it’s equally important to me that my business maintain the highest ethical standards possible. Taking a job away from another qualified designer simply by under-cutting his or her price by a few dollars does not meet those standards.

3. Because of the standards I just mentioned, it’s important to me to develop a trusting relationship with clients. I never view my clients as “disposable”… hopefully a first project is the start of many projects in the future. Over time, I want to know your business well enough to provide useful opinions that will help you reach your goals. But if I give you what I feel is a fair price for the work you need done, and then lower the price if I find resistance, we have eroded a certain level of trust before the project even begins.

4. Finally, a general thought about design. Quality design, like anything else of quality, takes time. And the tools used to create these projects – such as InDesign, QuarkXPress or Photoshop – require a skill level that many clients don’t have. If they did, they’d simply do it themselves. Understanding design considerations like kerning, leading and tracking and host of other things come with time and experience. Since I do have that experience, I’m very comfortable with the rates I charge.

Having said all that, let me say again that I fully respect your desire to consider all your options. I would be thrilled to work with you on this project. But if it doesn’t work out this time, hopefully we can work together on a project in the future.

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Let me be clear on a few points:

I’m not opposed to a true bidding process, and may the best designer win. I am opposed to playing the game where one person is pitted against another to whittle down the price. Some clients like to play that game, and that’s fine. It’s just not for me.

In fact, it’s rare I even bid on projects if I know lots of other designers are also bidding. Nothing wrong with joining a bidding party, it’s just not my thing.

I’m also not opposed to lowering my price if the client lowers the scope of the project. That happens when clients aren’t initially realistic about what’s involved. If they’re willing to rethink the project, I’m willing to update my price based on that.

If you’re just starting out and need work, you may question the wisdom of taking any sort of stand that might chase away a paying project. I understand and respect that. Always do what’s best for you and your situation.

I simply share my opinions and hopefully give you some things to consider before you find yourself in similar situations. I can tell you there are clients out there willing to pay a fair price to a solid designer. You don’t have to work for peanuts.

My “canned response” is really targeted toward the clients who are looking to play people off each other for the lowest price. That is the client’s right, so I’m not complaining about it. Just explaining how I deal with it.