Entrepreneurship & Small Business

How much would you charge to deliver the same product to the same client?

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  • Sep 10th, 2022 6:00 am
Deal Addict
May 22, 2012
1015 posts
118 upvotes
MONTR

How much would you charge to deliver the same product to the same client?

Hi,

This is something I was thinking about, but it seems to happen in real life. Basically if you spent X number of days to build something say 6 months for a company and deliver everything to them, you fulfilled the contract. Everyone is happy.

If the same company contacts you again after a year saying they dont have this program anymore, how much would you charge to send it again?

I saw online people claiming from free to original cost i.e. what the contract paid at the time as that's how long it took and how much that should cost, or a fraction of it.

Are there guidelines for this?

Thanks in advance.
6 replies
Deal Fanatic
Jan 21, 2018
9652 posts
10924 upvotes
Vancouver
In the circumstances you describe, it should be free or at most a small cost to cover expenses. It's not costing you anything significant, but your business reputation is involved whether you realize it or not - i.e., easy to deal with? helpful with problems? or not?

Somebody in the customer organization screwed up. They will remember whether you saved their ass or took advantage of their mistake.
Deal Addict
May 22, 2012
1015 posts
118 upvotes
MONTR
Scote64 wrote: In the circumstances you describe, it should be free or at most a small cost to cover expenses. It's not costing you anything significant, but your business reputation is involved whether you realize it or not - i.e., easy to deal with? helpful with problems? or not?

Somebody in the customer organization screwed up. They will remember whether you saved their ass or took advantage of their mistake.
This is a tech company as big as Apple though and they only hired me for a small project. It's not likely that they will hire me again, as I am just a simple contractor, not a big name in this business.

When they contacted me, they even got my name completely wrong, to give you an idea.
Deal Addict
Aug 28, 2007
2167 posts
539 upvotes
Calgary
I agree with Scote64. Even though this firm seems to be a complete bunch of idiots, (losing it in the first place, not accurate with your name on recall, and then assuming you would have a reduced price for a repeat provisioning)... you still have to choose between being a reputable consultant or a greedy opportunist. Our instinctual response from human nature would be to screw them over. But the smarter approach would be generosity. Although your professional reputation may only be minimally impacted because they are unlikely to hire you again, there will be someone who knows the true story. The world is a strange place and you never know where your next customer will come from. Think of the butterfly and hurricane anecdote. As Scote64 says, a modest charge to cover costs and a small profit is probably the best course of action.

Actually your experience speaks volumes about the Silicon Valley IT approach to business. All the big software firms are forcing us to upgrade continually for ongoing fees, when the product they sold us 10 years ago would still function fine if we were allowed to purchase it outright. The SAAS model guarantees recurring revenue for them with no consideration for their customers needs. They epitomize greedy opportunists; considering us simply as sheep to be shorn.

So, you could act just like them or behave more like a civilized human being with principles. Your choice, neither one is going to be the end of the world.
Deal Addict
Jan 19, 2008
1682 posts
1580 upvotes
Etobicoke
lachdanan wrote: This is a tech company as big as Apple though and they only hired me for a small project. It's not likely that they will hire me again, as I am just a simple contractor, not a big name in this business.

When they contacted me, they even got my name completely wrong, to give you an idea.
There is no tech company as big as Apple...well except Apple
Deal Addict
Nov 6, 2015
1353 posts
1022 upvotes
Guelph, ON
You yourself have likely bought software. What would you think of a company that forced you to pay full price again just to download it again?

You can either be professional or petty.
Deal Addict
May 22, 2012
1015 posts
118 upvotes
MONTR
JoeBlack23 wrote: You yourself have likely bought software. What would you think of a company that forced you to pay full price again just to download it again?

You can either be professional or petty.
I don't think this is good analogy though. There are tons of software that are subscription based. Some of them cost alot and I am forced to pay the full price comes the next renewal time, even if I didn't use it. Technically I shouldn't be charged again then.

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