"The best designers aren't going to pay for references because they have jobs coming in all of the time while the poorly-established people don't have the money

"The best designers aren't going to pay for references because they have jobs coming in all of the time while the poorly-established people don't have the money to spend, hence you'll be left with the designers of middling quality." Great point. I hadn't thought of it quite this way before, and I think you might be right. If the traffic keeps flowing, big firms that overcharge will stay on with paid spots and decent-to-poor small design shops and individual freelancers will take up the free spots.