The Grand Old Tradition of Selling a Package Deal.

This article by the ever-audience-dividing 37Signals needs addressing.

Every year or so we think about publishing prices for our projects. Every year we don’t. Many times our new clients fit exactly in the same launchpad as the previous occupant. We’re not formulaic, but there are similarities.

There’s a tendency, the longer we’re in business to just propose costs based on our previous averages. Every time we start to feel these blinders start to crowd our eyes we do our best to take them off and see the wide world again.

The only reason we’re in business – the only reason – is because it is incredibly fun and challenging to reinvent the wheel every single time we get a project. We love solving problems with design. Challenge us with a budget! We would like to think we can fit more inside it than someone down the street. It’s fun to try.

We do understand that there is a lot of money to be made by selling simple kits to people who only need simple kits. But starting a sausage factory probably would make money, too…

Craftsmen have always charged for their time, and their knowledge. We would very much like to think that web development should be looked upon as an artisanal trade, and should be priced as such.