Well, apparently, it's not

We had a very short-lived client that actually wasn't a client but was somebody else's client and we were doing most of the work so it was sort of our client but not really but in any case it isn't anymore anyway.

The last thing I personally did for this sort-of client was write a brochure about how their product was worth the additional cost (it is close to, if not the most, expensive in the category). Better quality, better materials, better workmanship, true customization and so forth. All true and valid arguments for why one product is worth more than another.

Really. I think "you get what you pay for" is usually true.

Then the client ended his relationship with Somebody Else (who in turn ended his with Us) because they want to save money. So they are pulling it in-house and adding it to some unlucky soul's workload.

Just so I understand, there is a worthwhile premium attached what they sell, but what everybody else sells is more or less a commodity, so we'll just hand it off and everything will be copacetic. The agency's job is to do everything in its power to get their clients' customers to pay top dollar for a product, but the agency is supposed to do it at bargain basement rates, or we'll find somebody else who knows how to type or has box of crayons to do it.

That is to say "my product is worth the extra cash and you need to make sure my customers know this, but your product is something a chimp can produce, so I don't want to pay much for it."

This is not a point of view unique to this particular company. Whether it's a car, a hotel, home furnishings, a restaurant, clothes or anything else, it's surprising how many people have a one-sided view of price/value relationships.

I seem to have said the same thing, more or less, four times in a row. And if that's not talent worth paying extra for, well I damn sure don't know what is.

You get what you pay for.