[debacle]

I don't really think this is true. I'm in a small market full of stingy clients, and most developers sell their time to each other at $50 an hour and bill clients at $80-150 an hour.

It really depends on your goal. If your goal is to work with good clients and spend a bit more time on sales (maybe a 40/60 split), then a higher rate is what you want. If you want to spend more time developing and less time on sales (say, 20/80), then your rate will probably be half of what it could have been.

If you don't want to do sales at all, and just focus on development, you're not going to be able to make it as a freelancer.