I think every freelancer has their pet peeves. Whether it’s clients blowing up their inbox, or dealing with slow payments, we all have those moments when we want to strangle somebody. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I’m always hesitant to apply for jobs that request a rate or price quote. I’ve had mixed feelings about this for some time; and even after reading other blogs and forum posts, in which fellow freelancers defend a client’s decision to request a rate quote - I don’t buy the hype.

An incident that happened earlier this week confirmed my distaste for rate quotes.

I stumbled upon a freelance opportunity - my favorite topic, manageable work count, one to two articles a week - it sounded perfect, right? Well, one thing was missing from the job ad - compensation. Instead, applicants were asked to provide a quote. I went against my better judgment and quoted my rate.

Now, the job poster has a choice. Upon reviewing my cover letter, they can decide my quote is within this means and contact me for assignments; or they can decide that my price is too high and move on.

Within three hours of submitting my cover letter, the job poster contacted me and accepted my price quote. That was pretty simple - or at least I thought. But since my experience with rate quotes have never been positive, I don’t know why I assumed this time would be different. Less than 24 hours after “selecting” me, the job poster attempted to talk down my quoted price - not once, but twice! Are you kidding me….

I think it’s fair to conclude that they already had a price range in mind - like most clients. So, why ask for a price quote? Better yet, why agree to a price you know you’re not going to pay? As of today I haven’t decided what I’m going to do. But given the fact that the company has already left a bad taste in my mouth, it might be wise to cut my ties.