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c/rate-hikes-negotiationpatricia_hill60patricia_hill605d agoProlific Poster

That $50 retainer agreement template I bought off Etsy was a total scam

I paid a graphic designer $50 for a retainer template last month and all I got was a Word doc with typos and zero legal protection. Lost about $300 when a client ghosted me and I had no way to enforce payment. Anyone else fall for those cheap template sites and regret it?
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3 Comments
haydenhayes
I went through the exact same thing. Ended up paying a local lawyer $150 to draft me a simple one page retainer that actually covers my back. The key was telling him exactly what I do as a freelancer so the language fit my work. Lost a lot less money after that since the contract was actually enforceable.
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xena_hernandez98
My buddy Marco paid $40 for a freelance contract template online and it had a clause saying he owned nothing he made for the client. He found out after he finished a $200 logo and the client demanded all the source files and rights. That cheap template cost him way more than just the money.
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taylor.brooke
Wait so did the lawyer actually ask you the right questions about your workflow, or did you have to basically spell out every potential issue for him?
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