That "design contest" client who wanted 20 revisions for free

Had a lady last month post a gig on a platform asking for a logo design, said she wanted to see "a few options" before picking one. I sent over 3 rough concepts, she asked for 5 more rounds with different colors and fonts each time. By round 7 I realized she had no intention of ever paying or picking, she just wanted free ideas to give to her cousin who "knows Photoshop." Why do designers keep falling for this bait-and-switch? Has anyone else had a client use the "I just need to see more options" line to bleed you dry?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.anthony5d ago

My buddy had a client do almost the exact same thing with a wedding invitation design. The woman asked him for "just a few tweaks" and ended up requesting 12 different versions with different flowers, scripts, and layouts. He finally found out she was screenshotting every single one and sending them to someone on Fiverr to copy for $15. She strung him along for two weeks and then ghosted when he asked for a deposit on round 4. Did she ever actually pay for the final one she supposedly picked?

lilyt905d ago

Read some statistic that said like 40% of "design contests" end with the client ghosting after getting free work. Your story just proves that number is probably higher in reality. People treat designers like they're idea vending machines sometimes.