ran a small dtc brand for 3 years, sat down last month with every ugc invoice since january and the gap between what the internet quotes and what we actually paid is embarrassing. the medium articles still cite $150-300 per video like gospel. the agencies pitching us in q1 started at $1,200 per asset, $1,800 if we wanted scripting, $2,400 for a creator with more than 8k followers. one sent a deck with a $9,500 minimum for a 4-video pack and called it a 'starter package'. starter for who. the marketplaces are a different planet. creator-direct, no agency markup, we paid $62 for a clean unboxing, $90 for a problem-solution script, $140 for a creator who actually owned a ring light and shot in something other than her kitchen. the real spread in 2026 is $50 to $500. anyone telling you the floor is $300 either hasn't sourced a creator themselves since covid or is the one billing you the markup. the villain is the senior strategist at the agency we almost signed in february.…