Design firms will charge you for the time it takes them to look at your project and determine if it's something they can work on. More times than not if you are not willing to pay for a quote, your dream already sees a bit of a dead end. Luckily that's where freelance graphic designers like myself come in.
Quotes shouldn't cost you money, nor should they cause you to pull your hair out. The issue with quotes is that they literally take a service worker less than 10 minutes to determine what the job entails what sort of direction you should go in. I have given countless quotes to potential clients and they don't like the cost quoted to them; which I don't have a problem with. Many feel their budgets are what they are and they have allocated a certain amount to different aspects of their startup costs. It's your branding that sets you apart from your competitors, so if you look low budget you will be treated as low budget. Make the correct decision and get a free quote; than assess what the budget is for your company and determine whether you want to be branded or remain faceless.
