We work in a global market, Doris.  Free Enterprise and all that -
undercutting is allowed simply because there is no way to stop it. Reality
sets in: you can't depend on having the lowest rates when engineering your
business model. Not realistically.

The selling of products and services is not exclusively about price, though.
Perceived value is far more important. People will be happy to pay you more
than they would a competitor if the amount is still within their budget and
if >>you are giving them exactly what they need<<. My advice would be to
sell personalized service and not web design products - be what they need
you to be for the money.

Also, the longer you trade with a client, the greater loyalty you can build.
Repeat business can keep you afloat during a price war. Having a working,
proven solution is far more comfortable for most people than developing new
relationships.

I've lost countless contracts to the bidding process.  It's inevitable.  I'm
sure many have regretted their decision and probably some have done well
with my lower-priced competitors.  Some *I've* regretted losing, others I
bid good riddance to. From my perspective, however, the final word is
simple: it wasn't a good match and my time was better spent working on the
next deal.

:)

D


----- Original Message -----
From: "Doris Kyburz" <doris(at)kyburz.net>



Dear all,

I got a request to make a web site and when I followed up I learned
that the client decided to go with elance.com. He gets his site done
by someone in  Romania for $XXX. (Yes, I know, numbers are a nono,
but I think you should be aware of the scale I am talking of here).

Did any of you have a similar experience? Does anyone work
(successfully) with elance.com? Do we have in the long run a chance
to compete against rates low like this? Do we get our share of
globalization fallout here and better think of changing our line of
work?

I admit that these news really hit me and I feel I have to rethink
from scratch my line of work I love doing so much.

Any and all input, thoughts and opinions appreciated.

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