New tip added
Don't give your work with a promise of later payment
About a month ago I had a return client come to me, multiple project history, 100% trustworthy. It was a mail script for a smallish amount of money. When I complete his paypal isn't working, since he outsources me he has a deadline and needs to relay this to his client. He offers me hosting in return for the money, but I don't need hosting so I decline. I then tell him since I trust him I will give him the files if he will pay me when he gets it fixed. We agree and he gets the files, he stayed in contact for about a month with excuses I didn't really believe, but didn't want to start a fight. It has been about a month now and he doesn't reply to my messages. I got scammed by a client who I had a rather long history with. The moral of this story is never give out the work until you are payed, even clients you trust could go bad over it. I should also add that the amount was $35; yes, he went dark on me even with a extensive history over $35.