Debt collector + bone breaker out there :-)

[slickrenderer]

Ok one of my collegue at work is leaving and setting up his own company. He came to me and asked if I could do his CI (corporate identity) and how much would I charge.I said that I would charge him cheap rate as he has been working with me for last 2 years.

The amount was 400 dollars. He shook hands and said we have a deal.

After 2 days I showed him the finished logo, stationary etc etc. He loved it and wanted me to give him the CD straight away. I said you get the CD when you show me the money. He was looking at the CI very concenterated. Anyway I have a feeling he is not going to pay and will just copy what I did. He is at work for only 2 more days.

I said to him today before lunch thatI have the CD ready and that I am ready for the exchange. He said ok and said if I could give him a print before the money exchange.
I said NO!! as he has seen enough. I think he wanted a print out so he could copy even more properly.
I was hoping that at lunch he would get the money out from the bank but he is dragging his feet and acting like nothing is hapenning. He did not say he won't pay he is just acting clueless.
I am really pissed off.

I have put this event down to bad experience. Wasted 1 day for nothing.
I can't pressure him otherwise he could blackmail me and say that he will tell the boss that I did work on the side.

Any thing you could do in my situation???? (apart from licking my wounds)

[twisteddragon33]

i would threaten him with bodily foce.. mock him and his family and put dead animal parts in his bed. i dont know what you could do though... call his bluff?

[slickrenderer]

Never trust a MARKETING MAN!!!!! PERIOD.

[twisteddragon33]

.. arent you a marketing man?

[Cyborg Corp]

I don't think the boss could do anything if he says you did work on the side. unless you used company hardware/software.

[slickrenderer]

I did it at home. F*** it I will just confront him tomorrow and say "so you don't want to pay??"
Atleast he is not gonna take me for a Mug :-(




edited by Kevin:

(sorry there mate, edited your word -but im sure people know what it is :))

[slickrenderer]

".. arent you a marketing man?"

What do you mean "twisteddragon33" ??? I am a designer.

[kbrown]

Put his name in public and tell ppl what he did. Good reputation for his new company... At least you can use that as a threatening weapon :)

[Ultragames]

Designers are marketing men realy.

[M]

lol, i dont agree with that ultragames. If you can design, you can design... if you are also a good marketer then yea.. but other than that, you may be a wonderful artist.. but thats not the surface of marketing. Even though people think marketing is mostly graphics and advertisements.. its really not.. thats one of the many sections. Anyways, slick renderer.. thats too bad. Did you learn a lesson though? You really cant trust anyone. I know its hard when something like that happens.. but you probably should of had the cd only, and him having the 400 bucks in his hand. But yea, i feel sorry for you man.. that really sucks.

[Ultragames]

NO NO NO! You miss understood me Matt, but I can see how. I meant... When designers want to get jobs, they have to advertise them selfs.

[slickrenderer]

To market as a designer is different from sales mentality that a pure marketing man has.
They are deceptive and lie like hell. They are dishonest and have a snake like mentality. I know because I work for a marketing company. They are dishones in there personal life as well.
Designers market themselves in an honest ethical way normally.

"M" Yes I learned a valuable lesson. I normally am very carefull. The thing is he does not have the CD. I was not that stupid. (Maybe I explained wrong)
He has only seen everything on my computer screen. The design concept was such that if you look for a bit long you could copy it to a certain extent.
Let's see maybe he pays up when I break his legs ;-)

[R-Tillery]

A good rule of thumb is, always be professional, he might ask for your talent in the future but pay you more,, never burn your bridges because customers always remember the bad stuff, In your case confront him and ask are you going to honor the deal? If not? Good luck at your new place of business and I HOPE IT GO’S WELL. Leave him feeling like an A$$. It’s not personal.. it’s just Business.

P.S. always get yourMoney up front:D

[slickrenderer]

Just got paid :-) I guess he loved the design too much and could not recreate it ;-)
Wanted to pay half first but when I said all or nothing he forked out the rest of it. I am happy :-)
Next time money up front.

[dbirider]

any way of showing us the design... :-) Im just curious to what 400$ work looks like.

[slickrenderer]

I would if I could but then I would have to kill you :-)
I can't because I could reveal my identity which i don't want to do + it's his and not mine.
Do you think my price 400 US dollars was cheap or expensive?

[slickrenderer]

He wants a simple web site as well now :-) I might charge him.....900-1000 US. What do you think?

[dbirider]

i think thats awesome! Especially if he thinks that what you do for him is worth that much.

[R-Tillery]

Time s money and only you know what your worth, but always look at the time and you’re overhead and shop around to see if your price is fare to the customer and your self and the rest will be fine.

[twisteddragon33]

Really fdepends on the kind of website he wants as what you should charge, if he wants a straight out site and you never have to see it again, with lots of specialy made graphix. 900-1000, if he wants a smaller site but you to update it regularly, have a cheaper overall price and charge for the updates.

[slickrenderer]

I think it will be more the 1st type.

[slickrenderer]

P.S. always get yourMoney up front -

Is that not bit unreasonable?

The guy is back and he wants a simplish web site. I offered to do it for $1000. Should I ask for half of the money 1st and then the 2nd half after completion? Or should I ask for all upfront?

[^^TwEeK^^]

i say you should try and get everything upfront...but if you see you cant, then ask for half upfront. i would also recomend you to make a written contract with him...

[slickrenderer]

Eight (Ali G) I mean alright.