Ryan is an engineer in the Sacramento Area with a focus in Python, Ruby, and Rust. Bash/Python Exercism mentor. Coding, physics, calculus, music, woodworking. Looking for work!
Yeah, you’re right that that can’t go on forever. Usually what I’ll do is give them a pretty wide range. Like, “We’ll, if you want to go full fancy, all the bells and whistles, do features x,y, and z, it could be upwards of $big number more than you expect them to want to pay (sometimes they go for that!). Oooor, we could go bare bones, just get the minimum done with only i and j but not k, and that might be closer to $reasonable dollar amount but probably less than they will realistically need. Most people fall somewhere in the middle.” And then you gauge their reaction to each price. If the situation is specifically they are asking you for a quote, the onus is probably eventually on you to provide an estimate. But, if you can get them to say a number, it’s like an unexpected but nice win for you.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
Yeah, you’re right that that can’t go on forever. Usually what I’ll do is give them a pretty wide range. Like, “We’ll, if you want to go full fancy, all the bells and whistles, do features x,y, and z, it could be upwards of $big number more than you expect them to want to pay (sometimes they go for that!). Oooor, we could go bare bones, just get the minimum done with only i and j but not k, and that might be closer to $reasonable dollar amount but probably less than they will realistically need. Most people fall somewhere in the middle.” And then you gauge their reaction to each price. If the situation is specifically they are asking you for a quote, the onus is probably eventually on you to provide an estimate. But, if you can get them to say a number, it’s like an unexpected but nice win for you.