I think if you are talking about a logo that will be used on an ongoing basis and which will undoubtably become an important part of your company's identification and persona, this is the kind of thing you will want to pay a reasonable sum for. Having paid for it you would have the right to control the logo character and fend off attempts to copy or mimic it (within reason). If someone just donates it to you they might feel that the same or a similar logo of their design could subsequently be sold to another entity. I think you are correct to start at places like this however, where there is so much talent that is aching for recognition that you could probably negotiate a pretty cheap price. During a recent visit to London I happened to notice in the paper that one of their oil companies had recently changed their longstanding logo to something more "up to date". It was a nice design but nothing to really jump up and down about. They had paid the designers (apparently a "well established firm) something like $300,000 (American) for this!...... With that in mind, a few hundred bucks here would be a real bargain, nu? Scarab <-(sure you dont want a dancing three button mouse?)