Anybody who tells you to "name your price" and then voids what you say by retorting that they want it done for free is a manipulative, selfish, arrogant and abusive schmuck and not worth a second thought. Never -- not in a million years -- would you want to work for such a person. Or, I might add, WITH such a person. Close the book on this interaction and move on to something more productive. You have expended far too much energy on these folks for dark reasons that probably should be left unexplored.
Amen to that.
Actually I was kind of amused on how much energy is going into this topic. I remember my first post on B-Roll was a reply to one of the many Warren posts eternally complaining and blaming all of his problems to those undercutting his rates. This was seven years ago and the topic is still here, maybe one day we’ll come to the conclusion that there isn’t a damn thing that we can do about it. For years Warren has been calling for somebody to do something about it, anybody, I have yet to see Warren take any initiative himself. Two years ago I asked on this board to see a show of hands of anyone who would be interested in approaching the PPA, Professional Photographer Association of America (in my opinion the best professional organization in existence) in order to create a video professional group that would do pretty much what Warren would like to see, and that’s educate the professional. I got two responses, and Warren wasn’t even one of them. Like they say, if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem.
I’ve been in this business for 40 years and under-cutters have been an integral part of this business. The availability of today’s good quality and very affordable cameras will make the problem even worse; until a few years ago at least some of these guys were cheap but getting paid, now they are giving it away for free because for many of them is the only way to get some sort of experience and some material for their demo reel. If you really think about it, it's the new way of internship as internship as we knew it is gone.
Actually people undercutting rates have been a very beneficial part of my career, is because of them that I pushed myself to always be better that they are, they have always been my motivation because soon or later they’ll get better and if you stand still they’ll catch up to you; you always have to maintain a sizable distance. I want them to charge less that I do and I would get really PO if somebody with half of my skills and equipment investment was able to get the same rates that I do. If they would get so close that my clients could not tell the difference I wouldn't blame them or my clients, I blame myself.
In the mid 80s when video equipment started becoming portable and relatively inexpensive (by comparison) undercutting became a problem for many professionals especially those who were making the transition from film to video. We had to explain clients what the difference was and all the variables that can bring the cost upward. To facilitate this we created a client’s educational video. In that video we explained all the different variables that a client can choose in their video production decision making process. We explained in details what goes into the entire process, from early planning to the finished product. We also showed differences with real video productions between good, mediocre and bad productions and what goes into to make it good or what is left out that makes a video not so good or really bad. It was a very effective video and a great sales tool but most important it educated the clients.
We can not expect the clients to know about our business, everybody try to save money and cut costs, it is our responsibility to educate them, saying that you are better is not enough, unless those who charge less will tell client that the reason that they are cheaper is because they are not as good as you, you know that will never happen. This is a visual business we have to show the difference.
