The "one quick thing" guy ruined my pricing for good

Had a client named Mark from a real estate firm in Phoenix who kept hitting me with 'one quick thing' after every deliverable. After the 4th round of unpaid extras I finally said 'sure, that'll be $75 for the revision.' He actually paused and asked for a scope rework after that. Has anyone else had luck just naming a price on the spot?

4 comments

4 Comments

keith1645d ago

Man I got a buddy who had a client pull that exact move - he just said "that'll be $50 upfront" mid-call and the guy suddenly didn't need the revision anymore.

jana5095d ago

I had a friend who did graphic design and dealt with the exact same thing, @keith164's buddy situation reminds me of it. After three free revisions she finally told a client it would be $40 for the next change and he immediately said the old version was fine. Sometimes you just gotta make them put money where their mouth is.

ray6135d ago

Right? Isn't it wild how fast people change their mind when money gets involved? I had a buddy who does wedding photography and this couple kept asking for more and more edits to their album. He did like five rounds for free before he finally told them the next batch would cost extra. They suddenly said the last version was perfect and ghosted him for two weeks. It's like they just want to feel like they're getting their money's worth by making you work harder. But the second you slap a price on it, they realize they actually liked it fine. Just proves that free revisions are a trap for the person doing the work.

brooke_murray5d ago

Free revisions are a trap for the person doing the work" - I gotta push back on that a little, actually. I see it more like free revisions are just part of the deal when you're building trust with someone, especially if you're new or trying to get your name out there. I mean, yeah, people absolutely take advantage if you let them, but isn't that just about setting clearer expectations upfront instead of blaming the free work itself? Like, your buddy could've said "three rounds max" from the start and avoided the whole situation. The real trap is not defining what "done" looks like before you start, not the free revisions themselves.