‘It depends’ is not a dodge, it’s the answer

Ask what something costs, a website, a logo, an app, and “it depends” can sound like an evasion, a polite way of avoiding a straight answer. Usually it is the opposite. It is the most honest thing anyone can say before they know what you are actually asking for.

A number with no explanation is just a guess dressed up as certainty. It might be right. It is just as likely to be wildly off in either direction, because it was never actually attached to your scope, your timeline, or what you already have versus what needs building from nothing.

The useful version of “it depends” comes with a list: here is what changes the number, here is what we would need to know to narrow it down. That is not a dodge. That is someone refusing to lie to you with false precision.

Distrust the confident number that arrived before anyone asked a single question.