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Do You Ask For Upfront Payments?

  • hitmeasap Level X5
    • 6

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    Do You Ask For Upfront Payments?

    Do you ever ask for upfront payments when you're approached by a new client?

    (This doesn't apply to any work on Seocheckout as you'll get paid when you've delivered the work for the buyer's satisfaction.)

    You can discuss things through email, inbox messages, skype or whatever, but with a totally new client, which you've never worked with before, there's always a risk of getting scammed. So, simply put. Do you ask for upfront payments?


    Best Regards,
    hitmeasap

    #Upfront #Payment #Sales Freelance
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    TommyCarey

    TommyCarey

    I do a lot of marketing and web design for clients and I always ask for something up front.

    For SEO:
    I always make them pay in full up front if their package is under $10,000 a month. If they need more than $10,000 a month in SEO and Online Marketing then I give them the option to break up their payments to be bi-weekly (they pay twice a month). This is a pretty common practice since most SEO and Online Marketing companies have people they need to pay, and if the person is just trying to scam and doesn't pay up front, then the service provider is out of all that money because they had to pay their employees during the time the campaign was running.

    For Web Design:
    I never ask for the full amount up front because with web design you're normally paying more than you would for SEO and Online Marketing. I have clients pay me $10,000 to $10,000 for a design some times and paying that much up front will lower my conversions because people don't like parting with that much money all at once. So to avoid losing a sale I tend to do payment options for my web designs. I'll let them pay half up front and half upon completion, or we can set up a milestone payments system where they pay as soon as we get to certain points in the design. Most people go for the milestone payments, but the ones who have a good amount of cash in the bank will go for the half up front and half upon completion.

    If the website is brand new, they've never been online before, I always host the site for 90 days after the last payment so that they can't file a chargeback and get a free design Do You Ask For Upfront Payments? People can file a dispute/claim in paypal up to 45 days after the payment, but if they had $2 in their paypal and it pulled from their bank account, they now have 90 days to file a chargeback. And since this is a digital transaction for something you can't hold in your hand, a physical product, the chances of you winning a chargeback are very slim.
    8 years ago

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    MasterA

    MasterA

    This is a good question. I ask for upfront payment depending on the situation. I get lots of business from forums and there are lots of new members who purchase services from me and for them, I normally ask for half the upfront payment. For people who have lots of reputation on the forum and is very active, then I would negotiate something with them but I am happy to receive the payment at the end. Generally speaking, I prefer receiving all the payment at once but either way is fine with me. The thing is, as a seller it is safer to receive the full payment upfront because with PayPal, the buyer can open a dispute if something goes wrong but if no upfront payment is made and the work is delivered but the buyer doesn’t pay, the seller cannot do anything.
    8 years ago

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    Lynne

    Lynne

    I don't do SEO work but I do offer various advertising packages on my Mommy Blog. I also had an online store where I sold products retail and wholesale. My policy is always pay all money upfront before I will even think of providing any product or service. I don't consider anything an order until I have received payment.

    I also pay upfront for any services I use and I have no problem with that.
    8 years ago

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    EliteWriter

    EliteWriter

    In the beginning when I did not work on Seocheckout I did not ask for upfront payments. There were a couple of instances where I was not paid and that really affected me negatively because not getting paid for something you worked hard for is hurtful. However I decided I could not just stop because of these instances. I started to ask for upfront payments and most clients back then agreed with it. Those who were not okay with it I just said ok no problem and stopped at that. I felt it was better to be on the safe side and that I deserved that protection considering that I am a trustworthy person. Thanks to Seocheckout all those problems have ceased for me.
    8 years ago

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    Everett

    Everett

    If I don't personally know the person whom is buying from me, then I would most likely ask for an upfront payment. It's always safe than to be sorry and get scammed because you weren't cautious enough. Usually in the business field, you pay for a product or service and then you receive that product or service. Shouldn't that be the same elsewhere too? If there is an issue with said product or service than you can contact customer service and get your issue resolved. It's basically the same online, but it's also very worrisome too.

    As a buyer you don't want a seller you don't know to accept the payment, and then run off with the money you paid them. And you don't want a seller to run off with the money they you. The only system that would work would be using a third party to store those funds until both parties are equally satisfied with the work that is performed.
    8 years ago

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