I'll do it . just for fun. Or even better most paperboard or corrugated companies will do the shapes, apply your graphic, make mockup and sample for free. tey just need you to have them run the job. PsSss don't tell anyone. Shaunie

I guess I should watch myself, my client's are seeing my Dr. Evil side. Heh. But seriously, if you get a Jonah client like Pepsi or Cingular on the hook it's well advised to jam them for as much money as you can get. And never be shy about talking about money, that is the single thing that screws up creative people. If a client likes your work and you come in too high, they'll let you know. And if you come in too low and they jump at it, you will be kicking yourself through the entire project.

SORRY, I JUST REALIZED MY STATEMENT GOT CLIPPED OFF. . . A lot of questions need to be answered by you . . . then, you tell me; what is your guess as to a high / low price dollar rate for a flat fee is, and why? Then, I’ll give you a reality check on that number and rational. Remember several key business principles along the way: you will not be able to retire off this one project. You should want this project, to be the beginning of a long and mutually profitable relationship for both parties. Don’t get greedy; something is always better than nothing. "Hogs get feed. Pigs get slaughtered". . . .PS--Marc's pricing model of charging whatever, until the pipeline is almost full, then charging full retail, is very sound, and works like a charm.

Heh, I'll keep that in mind on projects I send you Mark. LOL. It is a good idea though. I think it also correlates to "how busy are you." If you're just starting out and have no work, price to make sure you get it. After you're at 80% capacity, start charging people full retail.

Michael pretty much nailed it. But also if you are looking for a ballpark the AIGA has a pricing guide which is pretty comprehensive. This might be worth the effort since it is a larger company you could utilize the pricing guide as backup in case they squeal. Usually I bid high enough to be worth it on raise my prices for each project until their ass puckers and then I back off 1/2 a notch.

If you're good enough to get the assignment, you should be good enough to get paid for doing it. Ask them what their budget is? What budget figure do they have in mind, it’s their business, they have spent money for things like this before; and their people have too, for other competitive companies that they have worked for? How long was their last package design used? Where will your package design be used and for how long? Look in the Redbook and see what their overall advertising budget is? Look at their competitors for the same type of information. Understand that large companies are inherently wasteful by nature, yet their employees are accountable to their bosses, at the same time. There is a lot of money involved in marketing their type of product. The product’s package / look / image / message / brand / and it's importance at the point of sale, are at the core, of that overall marketing and sales mix and budget. How many designs will you have to do, to get a certain amount of choices they no doubt want to see in the final presentation? How comprehensive do the package prototypes have to be? How much time will it take you to do everything involved? What is the timetable and how might it effect your price? How much do you like to get paid for your time? What is your time really worth? What are ALL of your out of pocket costs? A flat fee is better than an hourly rate, but every out of pocket and time cost needs to be covered. Figure out what ALL these cost are. Multiply that number by three, add a 20% plus or minus factor pad, for what you probably forgot. That becomes “the low end of your flat fee estimate range”. The high end is whatever multiple (4x’s instead of 3x’s, 5x’s instead of 3’xs. . . whatever) you think the traffic might bear, how good your relationship is with the client, and how good a salesperson you are. Revisions are always extra, because you can never foresee what those might be. A lot of questions need to be answered by you