This rant was brought on by one of my most recent clients (in real life, not deviantart). A local petitioner commissioned me to make a sign for them. They wanted me to paint the logo of their organization and mission statement. I tried talking to them about price and they just said "just charge me whatever you think your time is worth when you are done."

So today, once I was about three-fifths of the way done, I showed them my progress. They were pleased and I told them that it will likely cost $25. And you know what they said? That it was too much. $25. We aren't talking about a teenager who only gets allowances, we're talking a grown woman in her late 50's.

I was surprised and offered to leave the sign unfinished and charge this person $15. Their response was "Okay fine, stop!" Then they tried to get me to tell them how much I charge for other people's commissions, as if I was ripping them off. I explained to them that doing digital commissions isn't the same. This sign was much bigger than the 8x11 paper I use for other commissions, and it required actual supplies like acrylic paints.

So after all that was said and done, we agreed on the unfinished piece for $15. I asked for the money and... Here it comes... "I don't have $15, I only have $9!" I was upset of course. And they were too when I told them that they couldn't have the sign.

"You are being really mean right now, I need that sign to get signatures tomorrow! It's my sign! You can trust me to pay you back!"
That's right, they called me "mean" for not letting them use "their" sign because they couldn't pay. Please don't be this type of person. It makes me sad. :(