Do you sell all custom made to order?

[Former_Member]

My shop is totally custom-made-to-order. Everything is personalized in some way. I don't have anything stocked except the raw materials I use to design. I love it that way. I feel nothing is wasted, materials or time. Items are paid for before I even begin the designing process.

Anyone else only sell custom items? How do you like it?

[Former_Member]

80% of my items in my shop are custom. I honestly like it a little more when a ready to ship item is purchased. But I do like custom orders w different colors etc that I probably wouldn't have picked.

[AllieBlankets]

Almost all of the items I sell are custom or made to order. I like that I get to create exactly what the customer wants, or that I can have a ton of stock in my shop that I haven't wasted the time to make yet (or don't have the time to remake). On the other hand, it frustrates me that I have to work REALLY hard to get each order out. It can be very stressful knowing the customer is waiting for the item they paid for. For example, Last week I had 4 afghans and 2 scarves needing to be made in my sold orders list. Those blankets take weeks to make, so I stress my customers will get frustrated with the long wait. I always love when my ready to ship stuff sells!

[WintergreenDesign]

I don't sell custom made items but everything I make is made to order... I sometimes have stock of made items but this year a local shop purchased the lot of them (70 ornaments) so now I make every order from scratch when it is purchased : )

[Former_Member]

I have about 50-50. Some of my items I prefer not to customize (like the crayon wallets), because it's too time consuming to cut and piece one crayon wallet to order.

[AuntBsAttic]

Last year I had about 80% of my listings as "made to order" - and got hit big all during one night - and had to cut off Christmas Delivery the next morning. This year I went into Sept with over 100 Floppies pre-knit hoping to extend my Christmas sales. Most of my sales are still custom orders or knit-to-order, but I've had several large sales that included 5-8 of the ready mades at a time. It's given me a little breathing room (and gotten rid of LOTS of stress!) - and hopefully when I no longer offer guarenteed Christmas delivery for custom items - I'll still have some inventory to sell!

[bapsicrafts]

i'd say my shop listings are half/half.

my home is extremely tiny, which swayed the opinion for made-to-order only, but i discovered vacuum storage, and also love to be able to ship items immediately and make one-off pieces that will never be recreated.

i love making designs with the customers having the option of customization, but some of my things i want to see as one-of-a-kind.

with school/dayjob coming soon, my one-of-a-kinds or ready to ships will be a lifesaver and stressbuster for me.

[Former_Member]

Except for some clip art and Facebook covers, all of my items require some amount of customization.

[Former_Member]

My knit hats are made to order and the rest of my items are ready to ship. I am happy with it that way. The yarn I use to make my hats is pricey so it is better for me to be able to make them as the orders come, plus they take a lot of time. However, there is something nice about when I sell one of my ready to ship items. I can just wrap it up and put it in the mail without much stress.

[HoookedHandmade]

Everything in my shop is ready to ship but I do accept custom orders.

[Former_Member]

yes it is the same for me too. the items in my shop are ready to ship but all the bracelets can also be custom made with your own lenght and colours

[Former_Member]

I think I am about half and half

[ForgedMettleJewelry]

I've got a couple custom items in my shop. To be honest I like my items that are ready to ship better. less work...

[Former_Member]

Alisa,

I feel the same as you! However, I've always been very upfront with the customer about time frames. I have a link in each of my listings that takes them straight to my POLICIES section to show them the time needed to complete their item. Having the link allows me to go in and change the time frame as I need to during slow/fast times of the year instead of having to change every listing.

None of my customers complain either. They all seem patient and appreciative of the time it takes to complete a handmade/custom item.

Best to you!

TOnya