Appreciation post: The $100 'good faith' deposit that saved me from a nightmare job

A potential client for a website redesign balked at my standard contract and asked to work on a 'handshake deal' instead. I insisted on a small, non-refundable deposit before starting any work, and they ghosted me immediately after I sent the invoice. Has anyone else found that asking for a token payment upfront is the fastest way to filter out bad clients?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_harris15d ago

Seems like a pretty low bar for a nightmare.

jennyfisher15d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way after wasting a week on "just a quick mockup" for a friend of a friend. My hundred dollar test is basically a jerk tax, and I'm happy to let them not pay it.

rose_perry1214d ago

That hundred bucks also works as a great filter for people who don't value your time at all. They'll argue about the fee but expect endless free revisions. It saves you from a much bigger headache later.