Apparently you don't have to pay for work! Who knew!

[Dreamstalker]

The thing with clients is they know there are people out there who will stupidly do a shitload of work for pennies an hour. I know because I'm one of those stupid people...I've done writing work (500-word original articles) for less than a dollar each because it was a matter of either bust your ass for a little change or demand a more worthwhile wage and make no money because clients are cheap little dickbags.

I've done that as well (for the family friend who wanted the mittens); at least I got something. The downside is, now she thinks I'll petsit for peanuts. I was able to "raise" my rate to 2/3 of my norm and I have plenty of other clients who will pay the full rate.

[NateTheChops]

Yeah, yeah, I know. Just tired of juggling idiots. This person was offering me something that worked out to about $1.50 an hour, tops. Just plain rude.

Hey, hey. Lets be fair now.

If this were 1850, you'd be getting paid rather well at that rate.

[AccountingDrone]

ah, the creative process; complicated and time consuming. some people just don't get it; in order to create that piece they just gotta have, the person has to research, conceptualize, draw, refine, present, refine again and over and over until the buyer is satisfied.

how many hours? sometimes a few, sometimes so many, you lose count. any fool who thinks a piece is 'on the spot' has never had a creative cell active in their brain.

LOL I am about 20 hours into a hall costume for a friend to wear to a con, and I am finally starting on putting together part of the headpiece for it [I am actually making it instead of just using a drawing because I intend to use it for me. So far I am out just under $50 for some pretty flash jewelry components and a couple bucks of repurposed from a dead costume black velvet, and a bucks worth of plastic mesh. Probably going to have another $100 or so of materials in just the headgear before I am done. Yes Ill post a picture]

If/when I were to make the costume once it passes inspection and approval? Probably around $1000 or so. I am giving her a deep discount because she will be walking advertising for me. I have worked the SCA crowd, but never the furry cons/SF cons before. I will charge materials but not the labor.

[protege]

Cheap bastards are why I don't build models for people. Several years back, I had someone want me to do a car for them, specifically a Bugatti EB110. Ugly as hell, BTW. Anyway, I happened to have one on my workbench (for my own collection, BTW), and this guy tried to tell me that he'd pay me to build it for him. I cracked up in his face since the $20 he was offering...wouldn't have even covered the kit! Neither would it have covered the paint, glue, and other materials that go into one of my cars.

Why? Well, the kit had just gone out of production, and most shops were charging well over that. I got lucky, and bought mine when I did. Either way, $20 wasn't going to cut it. He was pissed about how I was 'ripping him off.' Considering that I hadn't been commissioned to build anything, how I was I doing that?

So far, there's only one person that I've built cars for free. I did an MGB roadster in bright yellow...for a girl I was dating some years back

[wagegoth]

Hey, hey. Lets be fair now.

If this were 1850, you'd be getting paid rather well at that rate.

But my bills are at 2011 levels, so that's not gonna work for me.

[42_42_42]

I've gotten the same attitude from people about the things I bake. Um, yeah, I'm sure you can get a cake from the groc. store for about 50 cents a serving, but it won't be made from scratch using premium ingredients, nor will it be custom-designed just for you. Heck, just the ingredients alone often cost what the groc. store charges for a completed cake and that doesn't take into account the time and skill it takes to bake from scratch and decorate.

[zombiequeen]

I get this all the time for what I make, because "anybody with a sewing machine" can make what I do...sure.
If they don't want to pay they can
1. come up with a feasible design
2. Draft out a pattern
3. Test the pattern by prototyping
4. Adjust the pattern
5. Repeat testing and adjusting as necessary
6. make the product to a specific standard of quality
7. Market the product and sell it.

Another thing, NO I WILL NOT SELL YOU MY PATTERNS! I hate when lazy people want to sell my hard work as their own.

[SuperRTL]

Heh, I had somebody ask me to make an "authentic" kilt for them for about $50. I laughed at them. That doesn't cover the taxes to get the fabric imported, much less the fabric itself. I did one for a friends son for $350, which just covered parts and taxes, because she promised to send me business. They usually cost between $600 and $700. I'm pleating and sewing by hand, with wool, you'd best bet I'm being paid for my time.

I made a corset for myself for $50. I'd gotten designer samples of lace from a store that was discontinuing the line for $1 a piece. The ones I used for the corset cost $150/yd, minimum 1 yard order, to buy at retail. Somebody asked what it would cost to make them one and nearly had a heart attack when I told them $400. Yes, I do make simpler ones for much less but they're not nearly as flash as the expensive ones, and most people who want a corset want flash. Not my fault they have expensive tastes.

[dendawg]

To the OP: Would it be out of line to require a 50% non-refundable deposit for a commission?

[Taboo]

To the OP: Would it be out of line to require a 50% non-refundable deposit for a commission?

Actually I do require that already for more complex pieces. Depending on the project, it's 25-50% up front when someone decides to hire me, and that pays for my time researching, coming up with concepts, etc. I don't consider it out of line because I am spending the time doing those concepts for them whether or not they decide to go through with the final piece.

After that I give them 3 options (they can pay an additional fee if they want more than 3 sketched concepts, or if they just want a ton of concepts generated then they can offer me x amount for x number of sketches or pay me hourly instead). When they pick a sketch and tell me any alterations they want, they're paying me the rest.

I'll do small alterations on the final for free sometimes, major alterations for free IF they were my fault (someone asked for their character to be carrying a sword, I accidentally made it a mace, etc), major alterations for a fee if they just want changes.

I just get paid near the end though if it's a doodle-ish thing and it's under $30, I do those very rarely but it's not worth the extra time and so on to split up fees for something that cheap.