Issues with custom orders, advice gladly accepted

[TreasuresForAQueen]

I love doing custom orders and will try to go to whatever lengths I need to to make the items just the way a customer wants it. I have done several custom orders in the past and had no problems. However, twice over the past few months I have had people place request custom orders and when I finish them and place a reserved listing, they have hedged about paying. I have asked nicely for these customers to conclude our transaction by paying and I keep getting the run around. What methods doyou all use to keep things like this from happening? I was thinking about making a listing for a deposit on custom orders, like $5 or $10 depending on what supplies I will need to purchase. Not sure what else I can do to make sure only serious people who have the intention to pay get my time and effort.

Thanks,
Angela

[ForgedMettleJewelry]

ALWAYS GET THE MONEY UP FRONT before you even begin to make anything. If you feel more comfortable just taking 50% of front (or AT LEAST enough to cover the materials and some of your time) that will work too. I've done both in the past, depending on the circumstance.

If you do go with the 50% have them choose Other as a form of payment and then send them an invoice for the first half and them another one when you are ready to ship...

[NiciLaskin]

like Amy , I get all my money up front or i am not even sketching out things , I got burned in the past and that was it , i have no problems now with people paying

[ningenheadwear]

I require 100% payment up front before I even start on the order. Mind you, most of my custom orders cost between $20-50 so it's not really that much. But I have had custom orders over $200 & still require that same payment up front. It works for me & I've never had a customer complain about it.

Some people just ask for a deposit up front. I've heard of all the way up to 50% of the order. At the very least, the deposit should cover the cost of all the materials.

[ningenheadwear]

Seems I need to learn how to type faster on my iPhone. Amy & Nici beat me with their spot on advice!

[TreasuresForAQueen]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I have learned my lesson and will be asking for at least partical payment up front. In any case, the custom items can be listed in my shop and sold to someone who appreciates the time and effort I put into every piece of jewelry I make.

[RadicalWorks]

For my custom orders, I have a base deposit. For example:

Woman requests a small Radical Bear.

"That will be $15 to start. If the item isn't purchased by completion after 2 weeks, it will be a public listing for anyone to purchase."

Woman pays $15.

I start, I finish, I list the item and the final price.

"Your item is ready. You have 2 weeks to purchase it until it because a public item for anyone to purchase."

If the woman purchases the listing, great. If she doesn't, that's great too. It only means other people will have a chance at an awesome item. :D

[Former_Member]

I was lucky on my first custom orders, but now I require a non refundable deposit that is large enough to cover my materials, plus fees, plus a little bit more, just in case.

[Former_Member]

Most of my orders are custom. I ask for 50% down usually. I have them purchase the entire cost so Etsy gets their fees and I invoice through Pay Pal.

[PrintablesByPhanie]

Been there, done that. I always make a custom listing first for purchasing before I will begin work. Then, if they don't pay, I'm only out .20.

Good luck!

[GildedXRoseXStudio]

I also ask for at least 50% deposit for custom orders. Sorry this happened to you. I've never actually had a problem with anyone paying up front, if you have someone who is serious about ordering from you, you shouldn't either.

[SavoyFaire]

Remember you can only make 1 listing per item so have them choose payment option "Other" then Etsy gets their fees and shows your listing sold and you just bill them in however many installments you need via paypal.