I wrote this as a response to a thread about custom design nightmare, but thought everyone might like to read it, especially as holiday season comes up!
I used to work as a designer in a stationery shop that did almost every wedding invite as a fully custom creation. When I got hired on, it was my job to create these custom orders, and in the beginning it was a trial, because the shop had no custom design policy in place, But I quickly learned the importance of
1. Getting at least a 50% deposit before beginning ANY work, even sketches.
2. Getting paid for design time.
I'll reemphasize that - get paid for your time!
In my experience, folks are way less likely to give you the run-around if every one of their revisons is billed at $50 per hour, and it gives people more incentive to fully form their ideas of what they want BEFORE you start charging them for your time.
I also have a limitation on free revisions (you get two rounds of free revisions, limited to three versions each time) in my policies, which you can read here, if you're interested. (under additional policies)
www.etsy.com/shop/ConcertinaPress/policy
***oh, just be be clear here, I don't mean "customized" orders, like changing the wording or font color in an invitation, or swapping out one charm for another on a necklace - I'm talking about starting from scratch work***
WHY?
You might think "I am happy to have ANY orders, even if they're custom, I don't know why I'd charge more than usual - what if it scares people away?"
I totally understand this feeling! But here's the thing. Custom orders take a LOT of time - you have to email back and forth MANY times, you may have to do a special order of supplies, rather than buy in bulk as usual, you might have to sit down and sketch something out, tweaking it a few times, and you'll be taking time usually dedicated to making maybe 2 or 3 or even 10 of something of your own design.
It's almost certainly the case that it won't be a product that you could mske more of to sell in your shop - for instance custom orders I've done include a wedding invite with drawings of the bride and groom, giant sized birthday cards with horseshoe crabs and save the dates with an illustration hand colored by the mother of the bride. All lovely but not something I'd make lots of to sell in my shop.
So -
1. Plan out how much it will cost and charge 50% as a non-refundable deposit so you won't be left high and dry on the cost of materials if they decide not to buy it
2. Charge for your time, (I charge $50 per hour in 15 minute increments) and be upfront about it, and add that on to the fnal deposit so you can charge accurately.
And if you're the type of seller who is simply covering his or her supply cost, and not paying yourself....well...cut it out! You deserve to make money for doing what you do!
If you found this helpful, leave a comment so it'll stay at the top of the thread so other folks can read it - if you have a question, leave a comment and I'll reply to the best of my ability!
