IanC

Can I rip one of your designs off for free? It's for a site that doesn't get many visitors, so it doesn't matter! Do you go shoplifting and think it's OK because everyone else is paying to keep the shop open and stocked too?

Maybe if people stopped ripping them off the price could be more realistic. They wouldn't have to factor their investment in anti-piracy measures and lost revenue into the price for every legitimate buyer. Their R&D investment could potentially be shared across a greater number of paid licenses too. They are a business so they need a sufficient profit margin to keep investors happy. Extra costs and lost revenue erode the margin, so the price needs to go up to sustain it. Maybe people ripping off Adobe are actually ripping off legitimate users by a percentage as well. But if someone doesn't give a toss for Adobe's business they're probably not going to lose any sleep over mine either!

You've answered your own question there. You should purchase it because it's illegal not too! Anyone reading this post that thinks you're now worth a knock for a software audit. FAST for example. To be honest this sort of thing drives me around the bend. I'm trying to run a respectable and legitimate business, but remain competive against cut-price cowboys and cheap-skate hobbyists unprepared to invest in their own business. If you don't think your business is worth investing in - call it a day! I expect there are a good few 'student editions' out there that haven't been upgraded when the first paying job arrived too. A copy of PhotoShop could potentially see a return on investment within one job. Try bitching to companies investing in tools, machinery, IT systems or R&D that work to a 2-3 year return on investment and see what they think! In fact a copy of PhotoShop probably offers a better return on investment than a lot of badly designed or ill-conceived websites for that matter! There are enough people on here happy to complain about other businesses wanting a website for free. It's hypocritical to expect the tools of the trade for free. Plumbers always seem the typical analogy when talking about free websites, so apply the same logic here - can a plumber download a van full of tools from the internet? No, they have to buy the tools of their trade, claim it against the business and get on with it. People can bitch and gripe about the price all they want, but that's the price and that's the law. If you don't like the price use something else. It's not like PhotoShop is the only solution if you look around. No one is forced to buy it. Why buy it: If you want to run a serious, legitimate business, why run the risk of losing all credibility? This industry is about copyright and intellectual property. Adobe are just as entitled to have theirs protected and paid for as anyone else. It's hypocritical not to. ...and in my case, I'm a chartered professional, and see no point risking the equivalent of an MSc with bells on for the sake of a legitimate business expense with short return on investment. I disagree with Adobe's territorial pricing structure, and it is overpriced compared to buying it in the US. But I don't work in the US, it makes commercial sense for me to use it, so I decided to buy it anyway. Doesn't mean to say I had to buy and use it though - I could have used cheaper alternatives. But the Master Collecton made perfect business sense to me, so I paid for it.

For a vintage cheesy advertisement feel, this book But Wait! There's More! covers adverts for Ronco's shabby wares from the 50s to 70s. Some good examples of illustration style, fonts and colours. You might be able to find some of the content searching on the internet though. There's the real the 50's films - Rebel Without a Cause, early Elvis films, etc. (check out www.imdb.com) and the derived stuff like American Graffitti, Grease, Happy Days to check out as well. A lot of the good stuff will be in the detail, so be prepared to drive yourself mad with the pause button looking at set dressing and random props. Thinking about it, you're research should be good fun - enjoy!

Must admit I wouldn't touch it. The traffic coming to my site wouldn't be expecting to arrive there, so they won't be relevant traffic, and they'll hardly be that receptive at being forced there. Can't see the value in having both inappropriate and annoyed visitors myself. Looks like a typical pyramid selling arrangement to me, with more emphasis on recruiting than providing a product or service. That video has got a real QVC shopping channel thing going too!

Find out how much you should charge, and take it from there

Oh, and 'How much should I charge?' come to think of it too

Don't forget 'Contact Form'

If I've got the right end of the stick, I can't see many potential customers paying up-front. That looks like just a regular contracting arrangement, where the contractor would be expected to invoice end of each month (or it would be through an agency invoicing each month, then the contractor invoicing the agency). I just think companies would rather work that way for both cash flow and peace of mind. Paying a deposit then staged payments on a project is one thing, but I can't see anyone effectively paying for a contractor up-front and hoping they turn up for work. The only incentive I could see for a company to work this way is if the rate is so heavily reduced it becomes tempting for them, but then I fear prices would spiral downwards like a lot of other freelance sites, and it would be another site full of desparados, customers and contractors alike. It might also make it harder to collaborate with other freelancers, or allow sub-contracting to bring the optimum set of skills to a project. Sorry, just my opinion, but I just can't see any major benefit to the customer compared to either traditional contract or project terms. Just impact on their cash flow and/or a less flexible way of managing a project.

That's going to lead to a very similar discussion to this one I think - Future of Web Design

No problem, good luck with it - the price looks fair enough to me. If you get the job remember to check the school has got adequate documented parental consent if you're adding any pictures of pupils to the site. No doubt the school will have that in hand, but always worth mentioning it.

I wouldn't get too concerned if you haven't heard anything back from the school yet. They're very busy people, and I doubt the website is too far up the long list of priorities. It will vary from school to school, but the head teacher might want to or have to run this past the Board of Governors. So it could be waiting on the next board or relevant sub-committee meeting for it to be discussed. There is always the possibility the school purchasing policy means they have to get more than one quote before committing over a certain amount as well.

On unpacking it, Bob realised the hands-free headset was not as compact and lightweight as the Ebay advertisement had implied.

"Don't Stop - Spanner Time!" U Can't Touch This - MC Spanner

It's worth running any potential names through the likes of Google and Wikipedia. They're always useful places to discover any accidental associations you'd rather not have. Check Companies House too, just in case there's anyone else around with something a bit too close. It does sound a bit 'foreign' to me. Then again some dodgy outsourcing companies are just as likely to be called something like 'Megawonderglobalinterweb - International web design, graphic design, SEO, marketing, copyrighting (yes really!), call centre servicings and pet-sitting providings'! You could be really smart-arse about it and go for the 'Ansar to your needs' angle (maybe not - I'll get my coat!)