[aantix]

15% of every billable hour?

Will the engineers PLEASE wake up... A deal where an organization is taking a cut of your gross is NOT worth it.

So you work for an entire year, working nights, weekends, and they will take %15 off the top? At 200/hr, if you gross 400K they're taking 60K?

Are they really providing 60K worth of service? No. It's your reputation on the line. Your ass working weekends. You being called at 3am when the server crashes.

If they find you the contract, offer to pay a finders fee that seems reasonable.

They did the work up front, fine, then pay them up front. But don't let them keep sponging off of you like a leach.

[niggler]

"So you work for an entire year, working nights, weekends, and they will take %15 off the top? At 200/hr, if you gross 400K they're taking 60K?"

Your view is very myopic. If your best alternative without them is 100/hr or even 150/hr, then in fact you are still net ahead.

"If they find you the contract, offer to pay a finders fee that seems reasonable."

Who is assessed the fee and when? In this model, they are taking an "equity" stake so to speak. The developer bears lesser risk for a souring relationship.

[MoOmer]

Right, but the point being made elsewhere in the thread is that agencies usually can approach or exceed your goal rate, while not requiring you to share your secret sauce (ie: your leads).

[nilkn]

A year-long contract at $200/hour is going to be very, very hard to land for most freelancers.

[Sodel]

> At 200/hr, if you gross 400K they're taking 60K? Are they really providing 60K worth of service?

It depends on what you would have been making without their help. If you otherwise would have made any less than $280K that year, they are definitely providing $60K worth of service. (Or, perhaps more properly, "value".)

[smithbits]

I think there are plenty of really really good programmers who are lousy negotiators. For these people a 15% cut could easily be made up for by a good agent. It's not perfect for everyone, but for people who are better coders than business people it could easily be a win.

[rdouble]

$60K on a $400K project sounds worth it considering that in most other contract broker arrangements the developer is the one getting $60K. FYI, you spelled 'leech' wrong.