I did something really dumb yesterday...well it's sort of a dumb thing that stretches out over the last 12 days or so. A friend of a friend needed some Baptism invitations done for her baby boy...
When he was first born, I helped my friend create baby announcements and shower invitations for her friend, the mom, and I did it for practically free - all that was paid for was the material. My friend was giving them as a gift for her friend, the mom, and I agreed to design and help put them together for free as a gift to my friend. It was SO fun designing with a good friend at my side, we had a blast and I really enjoyed making things for babies (this was my first baby project). This was not the dumb thing I did, this was really really great.
So then almost two weeks ago, the mom contacted me herself to ask about Baptism Invitations. I was thrilled that she liked her announcement and shower invites, and agreed whole heartedly to create Baptism invitations, and was very excited about it!! So excited in fact, that I didn't think it was necessary to have her sign a contract because she was a friend of a friend and was such a sweet person when we spoke over the phone.
We agreed on a price of $3.00 per invitation over the phone, and so I went and designed a few samples for her to choose from. I've been so busy this past week that I spent my spare time designing for her, rather than hanging out with my husband, practicing for a concert that happened last night, or marking my students' theory homework. I was so proud of the work I'd done and couldn't wait to show my client what we could do for her, I emailed JPEGS of 4 different samples and waited for a reply.
Later last night I got a response, which kindly said "thank you for the wonderful samples, but they are costing a little more than I had wanted and have decided to make them myself". No problem...wait, big problem. I had already done all that design work and sent her my samples which could absolutely be copied, or even printed directly from the JPEG onto photo paper or something of the sort to create a very nice invitation, and yes much cheaper than what I was charging. And I didn't have her sign a contract (which I normally do before any sort of work is done) so there was absolutely no obligation for her to hire me - I just didn't think I needed to have her sign one in this situation. But how could these be costing more than she wanted if I landed the dollar right on her $3.00 mark?? What the hell happened?
Sheepishly I had to email her back and tell her that it was fine, good luck on her project - oh and please don't copy my designs. I felt horrible even mentioning the issue of copyright, but I really felt that I had to. I felt totally screwed over, used. I gave her exactly what she asked for, at the price she was asking for. I just don't see the reason for her to cancel her request - coincidentally immediately after I sent the samples her way.
I should have known, but I guess now I really do. And luckily it wasn't a huge project anyways. Lesson learned then. It's just saddening, this was one of my last projects until/if I decide to continue the stationery business - feels like a tainted way to leave it. *sigh*
When he was first born, I helped my friend create baby announcements and shower invitations for her friend, the mom, and I did it for practically free - all that was paid for was the material. My friend was giving them as a gift for her friend, the mom, and I agreed to design and help put them together for free as a gift to my friend. It was SO fun designing with a good friend at my side, we had a blast and I really enjoyed making things for babies (this was my first baby project). This was not the dumb thing I did, this was really really great.
So then almost two weeks ago, the mom contacted me herself to ask about Baptism Invitations. I was thrilled that she liked her announcement and shower invites, and agreed whole heartedly to create Baptism invitations, and was very excited about it!! So excited in fact, that I didn't think it was necessary to have her sign a contract because she was a friend of a friend and was such a sweet person when we spoke over the phone.
We agreed on a price of $3.00 per invitation over the phone, and so I went and designed a few samples for her to choose from. I've been so busy this past week that I spent my spare time designing for her, rather than hanging out with my husband, practicing for a concert that happened last night, or marking my students' theory homework. I was so proud of the work I'd done and couldn't wait to show my client what we could do for her, I emailed JPEGS of 4 different samples and waited for a reply.
Later last night I got a response, which kindly said "thank you for the wonderful samples, but they are costing a little more than I had wanted and have decided to make them myself". No problem...wait, big problem. I had already done all that design work and sent her my samples which could absolutely be copied, or even printed directly from the JPEG onto photo paper or something of the sort to create a very nice invitation, and yes much cheaper than what I was charging. And I didn't have her sign a contract (which I normally do before any sort of work is done) so there was absolutely no obligation for her to hire me - I just didn't think I needed to have her sign one in this situation. But how could these be costing more than she wanted if I landed the dollar right on her $3.00 mark?? What the hell happened?
Sheepishly I had to email her back and tell her that it was fine, good luck on her project - oh and please don't copy my designs. I felt horrible even mentioning the issue of copyright, but I really felt that I had to. I felt totally screwed over, used. I gave her exactly what she asked for, at the price she was asking for. I just don't see the reason for her to cancel her request - coincidentally immediately after I sent the samples her way.
I should have known, but I guess now I really do. And luckily it wasn't a huge project anyways. Lesson learned then. It's just saddening, this was one of my last projects until/if I decide to continue the stationery business - feels like a tainted way to leave it. *sigh*
1 comment:
Oh dear! That is crappy Hilary, but you know, we've all done something similar. It's horrible, but after all of these years teaching privately and now doing events, I've learned "trust no-one until the contract is signed". It's so sad - because a few awful people have ruined it for everyone! Grrr! For shame, you people!
Don't let it get you down... lesson learned, I guess!
Mary @ Lavish
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