Print buying for the customer..

Hi Nick,

I went through the same process when I originally set up as a freelance marketing contractor some years ago. Basically, if you purchase the print then the contract exists between you and the printer. So, if the client defaults in any way, you would still be responsible for paying the bill, which can of course cause huge issues for a freelancer.

I took the decision to put my customers directly in touch with my suppliers (design, print etc.) or to act as an intermediary and charge project management to manage the process - but either way, the financial relationship always exists between my client and the supplier. This saves me getting involved with any credit or cashflow issues, or having to go down the route of taking out insurance (which is costly) to cover me for situations where things go wrong.

The downside is that you cannot charge a 'mark up', which an agency would do, often between 17% and 35%. This is a great money-earner, but in my opinion the positives do not outweigh the negatives! Some freelancers come to an agreement with the printer to 'take a cut' (formally know as commission, but basically a fee for making the recommendation) for the referral, but I have never done this as I feel that part of my role as a marketing contractor is to identify and recommend good suppliers. Fortunately I have a great printing company, with whom I have worked for many years, which always helps when feeling confident enough to recommend them!

Hope that helps, feel free to email me if you need more info.

Kind regards,

Gill