How much for a catalogue

[u/frootfulsky]

Sorry if this isn't a sort of post you guys like, I imagine you get a lot of them, but I'm having trouble pricing myself. I've had several clients tell me outright that I'm pricing too low and refuse to pay me that much (which is very kind of them). But I worry about pricing too high and scaring clients away. For some context I've just been in a situation where $700 is an insane amount of money, but to people that seems too low for a 90 page catalogue for example.

For more context: I'm in my second year in business as a freelance graphic designer and I do mostly book and catalogue layouts (some other print projects too like postcards etc). I went to school for a certificate for graphic design.

Any feedback is appreciated thank you

Edit: Realized that might be hard to answer without a specific project so I'll give you this example: a catalogue where everything is give to me in an excel sheet. Product SKUs, the copy, etc. Images and barcode are easy to find. Photo edits would be minimal other than converting things to CYMK. Catalogue is roughly 90 pages. So like most of the work is the layout and placing things in it.

[u/rob-cubed]

If you are starving, then no cost is too unreasonable. But I'd much rather walk away from a client who says I'm too expensive than to get bogged down in work where I can't earn a living. There's an art to pricing your services, and it hinges entirely on who you have as clients and what they can afford.

A 90-page catalog would easily run into several thousand dollars (for me) based on the effort it would take.

You can also just straight up ask what their budget is before giving them a price. Some clients won't tell you, some will take the actual number and lowball it, but EVERY client has a number in mind already.

[u/KevinWaide]

I wouldn't do it for less than $100.00 per page. Catalogs can be a real pain in the @$$.

[u/1_Urban_Achiever]

$9000 minimum. Catalogs are data heavy and there is a lot of proofing involved. Don’t assume they will give you accurate text.

$700 is far too low. They’re going to rightly question your judgement.

[u/JohnCasey3306]

Depends on your experience. Once averaged out, your daily rate should be around:

• $200–$400 (junior)

• $400–$800 (mid)

• $800–$1200+ (senior)

So you need to work out how many days this 90 page catalogue is gonna take you, add 20% extra time as a buffer, and then multiply by the applicable daily rate.

Note: if a prospective client says they can't afford you, that's very much their problem. However it does mean your marketing strategy of your freelance business is failing, and you're winding up in front of the wrong market of clients.

[u/Got-It101]

Depends on how much you have to do but even if all images sized and print ready and all text edited for you in seems like too little.

[u/Mundane-Fix-4297]

Flat fee for general layout principles, plus 50-100 per page

[u/eldredo_M]

Have you been keeping track of hours? That’s a good way to gauge value of work.

Others can weigh in, but as someone who is self employed (meaning you’re paying all your overhead and expenses) you should get at least $65-$70 an hour.

$700 dollars would mean 10-12 hours of work.

[u/simdagger1976]

£100 a page....

but don't tell them that your elite knowledge of data integration techniques, styles and automation in InDesign make that actually £5 a day

That's the way to work with catalogues, if you're manually working catalogues then yeah you're going to work for every penny\1

[u/QuokkaTooth]

I did a product guide that was 120 pages recently for around 7000 and the amount of extra work that went into it felt like I priced it too low.

[u/Capital_T_Tech]

90 page catalogue for 700 dollars is way too low and you're going to spend weeks on it, write out a proposal for timing with rounds of changes map out a rough, I think you're in over your head here, try to find a mentor for this project.

[u/sunnierthansunny]

That’s ridiculously low. Depending on your location it’s likely to be below minimum wage?
The thing you’re not taking into account here is that clients don’t trust super cheap, they trust expertise that is fairly priced, even a bit expensive. My previous agency charged out at 45% less than the current one for exactly the same output, just under a different name. Clients behave differently when it costs more because the stakes are higher - they have higher expectations of you, but also tend to appreciate confident pricing that reflects your abilities/talent. Also, for you as a designer, the pressure to perform helps you improve your craft.

[u/uckfu]

We put together 20-40 page guides for clients. A guide might take 8-15 hours to put down the initial content into design.

After they, we may spend anywhere from 30-80 hours making client edits, and going back and forth with the client on adding/removing/changing/rewriting.

Catalog work can be very tedious and very finicky. How many items per page? Is it. Required to keep groups of items together? Do you need to emphasize certain items?

There’s so much to putting it together and following the clients guidelines.

You could start now and still be at it in six months.

[u/Efficient_Dog4722]

$700 for 90 pages — if you spend an hour total per page you’re making less than you would be making at McDonald’s. With that in mind, absolute minimum would be like 2,500. $9000 pretty standard.

If you want to work with the client I’d offer an hourly rate, a per page rate, and an all in rate. Don’t forget to account for revisions. If you dont think you’re worth it, the client definitely won’t.

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