Any ideas on what I should charge this company?

Talk is cheap, especially for people who you haven't met or spoken to.

This person could simply be fishing for another bid to use against their preferred supplier.

For someone who knows nothing about websites he sure had some specific questions to ask.

I would work on getting a live call with him. Then you can find out:

* has he been talking to any other designers?

* about what was the range they quoted him?

* what are the products or services he offers, and their value?

* what other kind of monthly changes is he thinking about?

* what kind of content (eg. page names and #) is he considering?

* is there a key factor that will stand out for him, helping to make his decision?

and more.

Otherwise you are simply throwing your bid into a black hole. And there, who knows what it will be used for.

You know you can get websites for any price, all the way from free (DIY drag and drop) to a few hundred dollars to thousands or tens of thousands and even higher.

You wouldn't expect a $300 website to be suitable for promoting the sale of $80,000 boats, or $50,000 consulting programs.

You wouldn't expect someone who believes $500 is "a lot of money" (because they're broke and have a very low money tolerance) to invest $2000 in a business tool.

You really need to get more of a sense of who this person is and the reality they live in.

Then match that up with your own preferences. You should have a minimum amount you'll go to work for; if the prospect's comfort zone is beneath that, then you turn the job down gracefully saying it's not a fit.

What price level or below do you feel "ripped off" at?

Where do you start to get excited about the value of the project?

No matter what you do, someone is always going to whine "That's SO Expensive!" at the top of their lungs. At any level.

But there are other levels, where the prospect knows the value of who they are and what they do. And there, if you come in at $500 and they know a worthwhile tool won't be under $5,000 as far as they're concerned, they'll reject you as low quality and unable to handle the load.

Find out where your prospect is coming from, what beliefs they're bringing into the situation, and then compare them against your own perceptions. Never go to work for less than you feel valuable. Be wary of underpricing because you're afraid the prospect is cheap.

And finally, what you think is "a lot of money" is not necessarily what your prospect thinks is "a lot of money."

The guy is good for the money, I know for a fact. He is a friend through a friend of mine and I previously spoke with him as well, including the client on the phone for nearly an hour. He wants to get started on it asap.

He wants something simple and linked me to this website here: AAA Crime Scene - Home

So I figured I would charge him somewhere around $500-$550, including a premium theme and the domain.

So far I was going to do $550/website. $45/month for maintenance. And depending on what I can get the SEO pricing for that would be an additional monthly charge.

I already know what it costs. I've worked with a business owner in the field before.

A simple google search will answer the question as well. $2100, $12000...not cheap.

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You're solving a larger problem than you thought, and deserve to earn more money because of it.

He has to agree, though, that the problem exists and what size it is. Otherwise you won't be able to meet on price.

$799-899 sound more reasonable?

i would say roughly $650-$750