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I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

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Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#371

Post by kortilla »

lazyasciiart wrote: post #199
whowhatwhy wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a company is accountable for the dollars you pay to it, and has to provide a commensurate value, or you take your business elsewhere. dollars paid to the government keep coming in no matter how wasteful their practices

That's not how people choose which health insurance policy is offered by their employer, or which private company won the contract to deliver their electricity.

Move to a location with multiple electricity providers. They exist all over.

If you don’t like your employer healthcare, quit and find another or buy it on your own. There is choice there and you just don’t like it.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#372

Post by sosodev »

mprev wrote: post #318
osrec wrote: post #12

You should try working in an investment bank as a contractor. You need to find the right team, but a lot of them are massive collections of people doing virtually nothing but getting paid great daily rates. The trick is to look busy and wrap your team/yourself in a perceived sense of enigma and complexity. If you play your cards right, you can end up in a situation where no one will ask questions as long as you fire…

Ugh, but who wants to do nothing all day? You get one life; why waste your days?

Are your days any less "wasted" laboring away?

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#373

Post by nitrogen »

paublyrne wrote: post #287
reaperducer wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC, it's very common for travel sites to charge higher prices for Apple users.

Any examples?

I was shopping for flights last Christmas and got price X on every site. I started checking out and the price became X+50. I got angry and left and came back later to find the price, on all sites, was X+80. Since I had no choice but to travel I paid X+80. Then for kicks and self torture I checked the price on my Android phone and it was still around X.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#374

Post by xenadu02 »

bonoboTP wrote: post #295
noir_lord wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the first web systems I ever put into production (still in use other than modernization I went 5 years without a bug report which still astounds me) after I jumped from desktop to web I charged £1500 for (it was about 20 hours actual work the rest was spent learning the right way to do things), did the job over 6 weeks. Client let slip they'd been quoted £11,000 for it and 3mths. Next job they asked me to do w…

As a European I wonder how much this whole discussion translates to Europe (and its countries more specifically). American professionals seem to be dealing in ridiculously, obscenely high payments, seen from my personal vantage point. But that's also because money has an enormous role in life there. If you have money you are someone. You are someone to the extent of how much money you have. More generally I wonder ho…

I once did a job for a European client who ended up being a manager in some government department. He had a use-it or lose-it budget and needed an app prototype turned around in 48 hours to avoid losing the money.

After the initial prototype we did a few more rounds. That ended up being IIRC $30-$40k for what amounted to 5 days of work.

Client was super-happy. I guess the prototype was enough to convince his bosses to fund the project for real.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#375

Post by m463 »

crispyambulance wrote: post #178

My parents had been running their own tailor shop in the 80's, barely making ends meet, pulling in less than $20K a year. It wasn't for lack of business, father was a master tailor trained in Italy and capable of elite bespoke craftsmanship. They had as much business as they could handle. The problem was that they were charging what they thought the work was worth rather than what their customers were willing to pay.…

"I don't want some small-time amatuer working on my $5000 power suit!"

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#376

Post by m463 »

crispyambulance wrote: post #217
stronglikedan wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But also, charge accordingly, if you don't have to post your prices (as your parents probably did). A lawyer is likely willing to pay a lot more for the same website than a tailor shop, and I'll gladly take both of their money.

Yes, "charge accordingly" means different things to different customers. My parents never advertised their tailor shop, it was all "word-of-mouth" business. After the pricing jack-up, every customer got charged what my mother felt they could pay (with a very loose regard for consistency and some allowance for negotiation). I used to think that was sketchy. It wasn't until much later that I realized that B2B enterpris…

> every customer got charged what my mother felt they could pay

I suspect with advertising profiles and amazon purchase histories (and possibly amazon visa card applications requiring household income)... this wonderful "service" previously only available to the rich will be democratized for everyone!

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#377

Post by RantyDave »

m463 wrote: post #375
crispyambulance wrote: post #178

My parents had been running their own tailor shop in the 80's, barely making ends meet, pulling in less than $20K a year. It wasn't for lack of business, father was a master tailor trained in Italy and capable of elite bespoke craftsmanship. They had as much business as they could handle. The problem was that they were charging what they thought the work was worth rather than what their customers were willing to pay.…

"I don't want some small-time amatuer working on my $5000 power suit!"

That's no amateur, that's an artisan. A craftsman. Your personal tailor.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#378

Post by awb »

ryanbrunner wrote: post #3

Entertaining story - although as advice to anyone reading it, running up the clock without proactively notifying people that you're going way beyond your original estimate is a very good way to make getting paid incredibly difficult.

Just to clarify, he got paid $21k for 7 weeks of time. He just so happened to only deliver a static HTML page, but was on prem as requested during the engagement.

Still, it's a quick way to get a reputation for running up the clock.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#379

Post by Aeolun »

im_new_here wrote: post #20
ryanbrunner wrote: post #3

Entertaining story - although as advice to anyone reading it, running up the clock without proactively notifying people that you're going way beyond your original estimate is a very good way to make getting paid incredibly difficult.

I don't disagree, but it's worth noting that at the end of it all, he billed them for $18k and they decided it was too little .

I mean, if I’m not paying with my money. And I know the guy has just been there waiting for stuff to happen for weeks, I’d happily do the same thing.

Re: I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page

#380

Post by antt »

crispyambulance wrote: post #178

My parents had been running their own tailor shop in the 80's, barely making ends meet, pulling in less than $20K a year. It wasn't for lack of business, father was a master tailor trained in Italy and capable of elite bespoke craftsmanship. They had as much business as they could handle. The problem was that they were charging what they thought the work was worth rather than what their customers were willing to pay.…

If you want to be paid more: ask for more. It is astonishing how few people do.
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