need advice - email from freelancer

[Stan B]

Hi all,

would like an advice please. I have a freelancer that was doing some work for us. We negotiated a "high volume" deal quite some tome ago that was working for us for a while.

today I got a letter from this freelancer. Here it is:

"Although I appreciate your business, I can no longer provide you with work on the current terms. The past few I have allowed to continue since my business was slow at the time. My business is doing quite well now and no longer feel that it is beneficial to me to continue doing the work when it is taking away from my other customers and the profit is very low overall. You are the only client that is set up this way.

I have analyzed the jobs, compared them to what I should have billed and it has been much lower as a whole since inception


So there are 3 options. You can either 1) use someone else for your work; 2) renegotiate a higher amount that we both agree upon or 3) go back to paying the regular price for each job. I can bill weekly if the pay per job is not convenient"

How should I take this? Is this a normal request and business as usual or is it on a fence of freelancer being a bit rude

Thanks all.

 

[Rick]

I would have worded it differently and never brought up my other clients... what they pay would be none of your business.

I might have worded it:

'Starting at (enter date) my rate will be (enter rate). Billing will be as follows. (enter terms)

Your business is greatly appreciated, please respond at your earliest convenience if you have any comments or questions. If this is an inconvenience, we can discuss other terms or I can help with any transition of work to another designer.'

What do you pay an hour? If it's less than 45.00... then he probably needs to raise his rates.

 

[threeputt]

Ok, to clarify:
This guy is someone you outsource jobs to, correct? He operates independently, builds the signs from your workorders and furnishes you with the finished product?

Which you then turn right around and sell out your front door as if it were your own work, correct?

If that is the case, in the absence of some sort of binding contract (and I don't see how there could be one) he obviously is free to accept or not accept your work.

For any reason whatsoever.

Sounds like he was using the work you threw his way to fill up his own shop with work when he was slow. Nothing wrong with that. Now that things are heating up for him, he has little time for your "less profitable" work.

That's also not a crime.

He will more than likely give you a call come this November inquiring about doing your "spill-over" stuff.

I don't see how he's being a jerk at all. Seems like he was up front with you. Now....if you catch him calling on your clients...that's a different story.

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Is this a normal request and business as usual or is it on a fence of freelancer being a bit rude

YES, it's a normal request and YES it's rude.

I'm with Rick, other than being a poorly written business letter with a negative tone... making you aware of a change in terms is not out of line.

It sounds as though he's been unhappy with the current terms for a while. He should have spoken up sooner or kept his displeasure to himself.

 

[royster13]

Best to find real wholesale suppliers.....Many retail shops that do wholesale on the side never really appreciate the wholesale work they get....And most retails shops are not as efficient as they need to be to make the wholesale work profitable enough to be happy....

 

[Checkers]

Are you a PITA customer we all rant about? Because, it sounds like he's firing you - in a nice way though

As the saying goes, it is what it is. Or, it's just business.

So, you can do the following:

1) Make a lower profit on what he produces for you,

2) Raise your prices to maintain your profit margin,

3) Find someone else,

4) Start doing what he does for you in-house.

Checkers

 

[dwt]

Collect his 1099 info and send him a final check, instead of cash over the counter like it sounded. Hire a shop hand to take up the slack for 12 bux an hour and wait til November.
Freelancers always seem to want whats on your plate as well as theirs, and they would have it if you let them.