Here the same work sells at two very different prices depending on where the client comes from. That is neither unfair nor avoidable: it is the structure of the market.
Reference ranges
They only mean something with a defined scope.
Before quoting a figure, fix five elements: the number of videos, their length, the number of formats delivered, the number of revisions included, and the duration of the rights.
Two quotes showing the same amount without those five lines do not describe the same service, and it is that vagueness, more than the amount, that loses jobs.
The useful marker is internal: work out what a job really costs you in hours, exchanges included, then check the rate holds once that time is paid.
Colones or dollars
The question is not symbolic, it is accounting.
Invoicing in a currency you do not spend transfers the conversion risk to you, and that risk grows with the payment term.
Three simple rules: write the currency on the quote, state who bears the transfer and conversion fees, and for long jobs, plan payment in two instalments.
The applicable tax and accounting treatment depends on your situation and is checked with an accountant, before the first invoice abroad.
What is charged separately
Five lines, always the same, and systematically forgotten.
Usage rights, in particular paid advertising.
Revisions beyond the number included.
Additional formats, each requiring a new edit.
Travel, especially outside the central valley, with travel time counted.
And urgency, which is not a favour but a reorganisation of your week.
The season factor
Tourism sets the rhythm of a large part of demand.
Campaigns are shot before the season, not during it. That means your busy weeks are not the ones when the hotels are full, but the ones before.
Two pricing consequences: you can hold a firmer rate during the preparation period, when everybody is looking for creators at once, and offer packages during the quiet period, when your calendar is empty and so is the client's.
Do not lower the price off-season, change what is included: more files for the same amount is better than a discount that becomes your new price.
What a price is made of
| Component | What it covers | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| The shoot | Preparation, takes, gear | Per video |
| The edit | Cutting, subtitles, exports | Per version |
| The licence | Media, duration, territory | As an extra |
What justifies a higher price
Travel, a product you must buy, a shortened deadline, exclusivity against competitors or a paid advertising release.
What is never discounted
The rights licence. Cutting the price of a shoot can be recovered, granting an unlimited worldwide release never can.
Costly mistakes
Four, and they all come back to the same point.
Quoting a price before knowing the intended use. The same video is worth two to three times more if it goes into paid advertising.
Including rights without saying so, which amounts to giving them away.
Accepting long payment terms with no deposit, which turns a profitable job into a cash advance.
And aligning your rate on the cheapest visible creator, who delivers neither the same files nor the same rights, and who often does not invoice.
A price is not defended with arguments: it is defended with a list of what is included.
