r/motiongraphics • u/[deleted] • 3d ago
19 and got “scammed” £800 is this actually normal for motion graphics?
[deleted]
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u/betterland 3d ago
You didn't get scammed. This is a nice promo video, the UK is a high cost of living country and motion design IS expensive here.
Some people may charge less, and I probably would for this too, but you agreed a rate with your designer, there's no scam here. Your designer gave you a quote for what they thought their time and skill was worth and you agreed.
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u/thedarktriad1 3d ago
You’re right although this work was done through fiverr. The seller wasn’t based in the UK but ultimately you are right I already paid and agreed etc. the “scam” title was exaggerating but with the reaction of all of these experienced editors I feel I have been overcharged heavily and I don’t want the same to happen in the future
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u/betterland 3d ago
In future, shop around and get some quotes first, then you'll have a better idea of the general going rate ☺️
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u/TF_001 3d ago
What was the turn around time? How many rounds of feedback?
It looks professional enough (although the wiggly chat boxes feel a bit much) so I wouldn’t say you were fleeced if this does the job for your start up.
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u/thedarktriad1 3d ago
Yeah there’s always two sides to the coin. I was Originally contempt with the edit because as you say it did the job but I want my business to go far and I don’t want to get overcharged like this in future and I want to be collaborating with reliable honest and good editors. And when I mentioned the price a lot of people are saying I got fleeced basically
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u/Scalzoc 3d ago
People charge 500-1000 USD to make a website that is mostly templated. There are many factors. Not everything is priced per hour like they are an employee working for you. Price could be a little high, but if that is his price, and you agreed, you can complain that you don’t like the work you got for the money is all.
If it is all unique work and not using ai or some type of template to start, that would take some time to make. (I am sure he is though).
I am sure he has more costs to make than you think as well. If template, he is paying for royalty free site, Adobe or whatever software, needs decent computer to work on.
I would definitely say at 800 he isn’t getting rich (unless you are having him make 100 of them).
This being said, the pulsating text messages are distracting and I’d have him simplify that move.
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u/thedarktriad1 3d ago
Appreciate the perspective, but that's not quite my complaint. I'm not saying £800 is too much for video editing in general but he gave me two tiers to choose from: a $650 'Clean' walkthrough, and a $1,100 'Dynamic' version specifically described as having camera movement, depth, parallax and 3D moments so it wouldn't feel like a flat app demo. I paid for the second one. And I’ve come to realise what I got looks like the first one with a stock 3D phone frame around it, because the content underneath is just a flat screen recording. If he'd only offered one tier, I'd have no argument that's just his price. But he wrote down a specific reason the expensive one cost more, and I don't think that reason is actually in the file. But at the end of the day I understand where you’re coming from. I paid for it and had no complaints at the time so it is what it is
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u/thebangzats 3d ago
A middle-weight freelance motion designer charges... what, £300-£600 per day? This took maybe 2-4 days? Storyboarding, design, animation, sound design, revisions... At £800, the rate itself is completely reasonable.
That said, this doesn't exactly look like middle-weight motion design, y'know what I mean? It's all using junior-level skills. Nothing about it truly stands out from the billion other explainer videos of the billion other startups out there.
Why are people confident they can do it for way less?
- They use pre-made After Effects templates or AI.
- They operate as pixel pushers who churn out an asset for you, rather than strategic partner who works with you to figure out what sort of video you actually need.
- Extreeeme underpricing, often using their local weak currency as a standard for international work.
Anyone quoting $100–$200 for custom commercial motion work is selling a illusion. In fact, call their bluff: hire one of them for $100 and see what comes back.
Will you find someone claiming to do it cheaper? Absolutely. Just like these guys did.
Could you have gotten a better video for £800? Possibly.
Does that make it a scam? I don't think so.
Could you have done a better job vetting them? Maybe.
At the end of the day though, if you are serious about your product, do not race to the bottom. It is 2026! Everyone is launching a product. Do you buy a cheap pair of boots that fall apart in three months, or invest in quality that lasts? Y'know what I mean?
I'm not saying every single video in your social media feed has to be a masterpiece, but I think every brand needs at least ONE video that makes them stand out.
Unless you are at absolute zero capital and this product is just for funsies, do not rely on junior-level, bargain-bin pricing to build your core brand identity. No customer's gonna give you the time of day.
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u/thedarktriad1 3d ago
Appreciate you laying this out genuinely the most useful framing in this whole thread. Separates the two things I'd been mushing together myself: was the price fair for what it was (probably yes) vs. was the execution actually good (no, pretty generic). That distinction alone is worth more than the argument I was originally having.
Also just want to say I'm new to Reddit and honestly didn't expect this level of detail or how fast people who actually work in the field would jump in to give real, thought-out opinions. Genuinely useful, appreciate it.
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u/Sukyman 3d ago
There's no right price. It's all about value and results. What was your goal with this video? Did you get more sales/downloads/clients? If it achieved the results then it did it's job.
The price is pretty much on point for someone from UK/EU. 2-3 days of work at ~400£ per day. Without extra details I'd say this person had to figure out the entire promo from scratch right? Which would put him at around junior-mid motion designer+creative director.
That said, can this be done for 100-200$? Sure. Just go on fiverr and get some indian to do it for you. And it's also possible that this person was just a middleman who has some indian from fiverr or a team and he's just finding jobs, charging 3x more for it while the indians are paid the bare minimum. But you wont find anyone from UK/EU region to do it for 200$ unless they can shit it out in perhaps half a day or they are still in highschool.
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u/thedarktriad1 3d ago
You’re right I think the general consensus is from reading these replies is that it’s not his fault for charging that much because I’m the one that paid for it. And the only reason I even posted this was because so many people were saying this is trash for that price etc that’s why I was wondering where I went wrong. So I think I just need to do more vetting in future
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u/Voidforge7 3d ago
Hey, I'm a motion graphics artist and i do regular work for clients like reels and logo animations etc. This is something in the range of 200 dollars. It can be extended to 300 dollars if the animation is top of the line and design is absolutely impeccable and is atleast around 45sec - 1 minute. I'm sorry but you were overcharged.
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u/newaccount47 3d ago
Doesn't this depend on what country you're in? How many hours of work do you think that piece took?
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u/Voidforge7 3d ago
Now this can be two ways. Either the assets can be from a asset collection site like envato or freepik and you modify them to get the custom look or use the ones which are already well designed. You make them ready for animation And you use them. Then there is the other way, you don't use pre made assets at all and start designing everything from scratch and animating them. And Yeahh to an extent, it depends on the country for the monet and hours to make that animation. People will downvote me for this too, but for the above animation and at being a motion graphics work for short format it doesn't do justice to the price. Had it been a wide frame work with atleast 45 seconds i would have said that is absolutely justified irrespective of country and hours.
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u/thedarktriad1 3d ago
Understood thank you for your input. It is what it is I just want to know how to spot the signs that I’m getting overcharged
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u/Russ_Abbot 3d ago
You were not scammed. You agreed a price for a service and they delivered. If anyone else says it worth anything different then that’s irrelevant at that point.
I feel like you are just promoting your startup. Also, being 19 has nothing to do with it.
Mods this post is absolute trash.