OWJones

Charging for file conversions?

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My brother works for the local computer repair store (in our small town, there is only one real computer store - and they're it) and he asked if I could convert a bunch of old CorelDraw files for a client - upgrade them to a newer version and/or some other file format that is more universal.   These were for a client of their's who had paid a company to design all of their letterhead, business cards, flyers, etc., and then the designer went out of business, but thankfully they had all the original files.

 

There were 30 original .CDR files, most of which consisted of 2 or more pages - I converted them to CorelDraw X6 and then exported each page individually as .EPS files.   They had used some oddball fonts, so I had to do some searching and downloading to make everything turn out like the originals.

 

When I was done, there were 30 new .CDR files and 70 new .EPS files for a total of 100 new files.   I told him that I'd only expect $2 per new file (which I thought was a generous price considering the 2.5 hours and effort involved).  He told me that he'd already told the client I'd do it all for $20.

 

I thought $2/page was already stupid cheap (considering how much it would have cost them to buy their own copy of CorelDraw and do the work themselves), but he thinks I'm expecting too much for what I did as I already had the software and knew how to use it...   Unfortunately they put the files up on a Dropbox share and I saved the exported files there, so I can't withhold the work pending payment...

 

Am I being greedy here?

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I think it's worth a lot more than $20.  I'm sure we have all had family or friends try to pay later etc. Now I don't start work without a nonrefundable deposit even for family.

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ouch...........   You got screwed....

 

$20  hahahahaha

Hopefully you learned a lesson.  Brothers can be a$$holes sometimes. 

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not greedy at all and pretty cheap - does he work for free?   like you said you paid for the software and have to get a return on your investment - something he was unwilling to do.  he is using he mentality that once you buy it that it cost you nothing.   not only do you have to recoup the cost of that software you have to plan on future upgrades to keep in business.    kinda like someone buying a printer with their tax return and then printing at about cost of materials cause the equipment is already paid for (it didn't pay for itself though!)

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I would personally tell my brother if he did this to me that he owes me the $2 per file convert, and he eats the rest of the cost, due to he did not converse with me first for my price. It was his choice to quote a low number so its his responsibility to pay me what I want. That is how you should do it. 

 

I was told I would get paid to design and press shirts for my sister in law I have yet to be paid from those shirts. She bought the shirts but it was my times, my ink, my equipment usage and the media I used to print on. So I told her not to bother coming to be again without cash in hand.

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I charge $2 each for an easy conversion like that. I would probably charge a minimum too although my main client gives me enough work that I don't hold him to any minimums. I typically do .dxf to .ai conversions and sometimes the other way around into .dxf. Your price is right there same as me and we're both probably to cheap.  

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1. Brother wasn't smart to quote a job he doesn't know how to do.

2. in hindsight, you should have opened the first few files, came up with a gameplan, and given an estimate do the work, so he could share with customer.

3. I would let your brother know he owes you more than 20.00- and perhaps he can come up with some ideas to pay you, computer stuff, etc.

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I agree $20 is too low, but $80 per hour for your time seems a bit high to me.

If I don't average $40 an hour including downtime I don't have lights. It's all relative.

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I try to figure $60/hr for graphics & computer work.

 

Like Jay says....you HAVE to pay the overhead in a retail shop situation.

 

Sue2

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To tell a truth, I rarely send any kind of file right back to people or they will figure out it was just three clicks of a mouse button. I do the work and let it sit for at least a few hours, sometimes till the next day. Same goes for design changes when building a new logo for someone. They have a perceived value in the design work and rarely value the costs of the program and training that it takes to do it so I don't mess that perception up by giving too fast of results. Helps keep the price up there where it should be. 

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I agree $20 is too low, but $80 per hour for your time seems a bit high to me.

 

True, but I was looking at it from a per piece pricing standpoint rather than an hourly rate.  I had considered $1/page, but that seemed too cheap - like it had no real world value - $2/page made it sound more valuable.

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I ended up the "winner" in this situation.  I never did get a check from the guy and when I asked my brother, he said "Oh, he said he'd give me $20 cash next time I see him".... so when it came time to pay up my share of the family cell phone bill, I shorted him $20 and told him to get it from that guy...   My brother said, "But I don't know when I'll see him again!" and I replied, "you're the one that thought this deal was acceptable - you live with it."...

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