My thoughts exactly although I'm almost sure now that I won't hear back from them...Originally Posted by ahmed
yah .. money first (just like the rest said)
Actually, I had my first non-solicited (no argument) purchase of a direct ad on March 6th .. I told the guy my paypal address and suggested he continue with what he needs in the description of his payment. For convenience, and I suppose just being nice that he sponsored one of my sites - i extended it until April 15th .. (it's easier for me to keep track too) - and, that guy was tickled pink.
Hmmm... I've always gone the other way.
I'll put the ad up, and then send an invoice that makes clear I expect payment within 24 hours. So far, no-one has failed to pay within 24 hours. I think a large part of getting good customers and repeat business is in building trust and goodwill, and saying "show me the money" doesn't do much to engender that trust.
Having said that, I tend to deal with companies I (think I can) trust, and companies that I work with to put together a tailored advert, so it's not been too much of an issue for me so far. If my bull-sh*t detector lit up I'd probably either (a) not do business with the company at all, or (b) insist on some/all of the money up front.
Overall, though, for me the benefit of building up goodwill and repeat business outweighs the (usually relatively small) risk of being burned by having a rogue ad up for 24 hours.
Most certainly money first.
I'm even fussier because I want to see the graphic before I even take the money and think about putting it on the blog.
It's also worth sticking to a rate for advertising and don't budge.
I think I'm with Jesse on this one... it's all up to the individual - and, we are individuals and if something goes wrong it takes 2 seconds to delete a link, and if it's left on there for a day or two 'au gratis' .. does it really make a difference?
I recently received an unsolicited payment in advance - he just paid my paypal and a price listed on my advertising page (the opposite of this situation) and, that was March 6th. I just told him it would be good until April 15th and he was tickled pink for the 'extension'...
The great advantage to publishing on the internet is that the risk of such a 'generous' approach is viritually nil. If an ad goes up for a day or so, and the buyer doesn't pay, we just take it down and use the space for something else.
Whereas, a traditional print publisher simply wouldn't find it practical to put up an ad on the 'understanding' that it would be paid for in a day or so.
I believe my hesitation in this situation is that the company is one that I haven't heard of and they're signing their names differently in the email than the name on their e-mail account. It smells a little fishy...
The second person that contacted me came back to me today with an "I can pay right now" and again wanted the banner up. I placed it and let her know she had until 7:00 AM for me to receive the payment or the ad would be taken.
If I knew the company or felt they had some kind of reputation, I wouldn't have hesitated. But everything is fishy and the lack of steady communication leads me to complete disbelief.
We shall see by the morning!
Let us know how you get on!
If they come through with the money, it'd also be interesting to see if they develop into a reliable long term customer....
OK, so they paid. At 6:37 am... just before my 7:00 am time limit kicked in.
It's going to be there for the year now but we'll see what else happens with them... could be interesting.
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