Help !Advice needed in doing commission work.

O

OrkyDave

New member
Hiya guys, I have had a couple of people e-mail me after seeing work for sale on Ebay in doing some commission pieces for them.

I have agreed a price with one guy, and bounced a few ideas round but have not got a clue how it works now!

Obviously he will need to provide the models for me to paint, but do I take a percentage of the price upfront as a down payment, and if so, what percentage?

I have no problem with doing the project but have no clue about doing the money side of it!

Can anyone help?
 
H

hakoMike

Active member
I\'ve done it two ways:

1. the customer pays 100% up front and I buy the models (for painted army boxes typically)

2. the customer sends me models and pays nothing until the job is done. I keep a photoblog of the WIP, and the customer pays once they approve the photos.
 
Dragon Forge Design

Dragon Forge Design

New member
well as HM stated either have the customer send the models or pay you for the and you get them. If you have to order them make sure they cover the postage cost too.

As for the actual commission a non refundable down payment of about 10-20 percent is all Id take up front. The rest on completition. Take in preogress photos unless its a single figure oine day job then stopping to take pics ever few hours is pointless unless you want to take them for your own record.

Good Luck,
 
D

demonherald

New member
generally I agree the price with the customer.
The payment I take is to cover the cost of models .
keep the customer updated at all times and make sure there happy.
covering the cost of the models means they are essentially your property The money then owed is for your service so it\'s up to you then to provide service for that payment.
This way if the customer pulls out or isn\'t happy or you have trouble completing the money yo owe is minimal and the model can be sold later on ebay...
This has worked well for 5yrs or so for me. I think the key thing is setting the ground rules at the start and keeping the customer informed at all times no matter what.
Also don\'t be tempted by the bucks to take on workyou can\'t handle or won\'t enjoy.
e.g I\'ve turned a few down a lately that want empire soldiers regiments. I know that I simply won\'t enjoy them and the models and therefore the customer will suffer.
Good luck with this and if you get stuck at all let us know.
 
O

Onis Lair

New member
Online commission about 10 to 20 percent sounds about right as a down payment. I\'ve been having to ask for 50 percent up front from the local commissions as i\'ve had multipule people shaft me in the last year.
 
O

OrkyDave

New member
Thanks for the tips guys, you have been very helpful!

Meeting the guy in person next weekend, the commission sounds like so much fun! He wants a chaos defiler arachnid style, with 8 extended legs and a body in 3 segments on a display base!

Really looking forward to doing it.
 
D

darkartminiatures

New member
I ask for 50% up front and the rest on completion. My prices do not include the actual minis or postage but i do offer a discount on orders over 250.00 pounds sterling. I hope this helps ;)

Your commission sounds like fun and quite a lengthy job. I don\'t know what you have quoted for it but don\'t fall into the trap of spending waaaaaaayyyy more time than you can afford to spend. I have done this lots of times in the past. Its easy to put all your effort into a project that you like but that won\'t help pay your bills.
 
D

demonherald

New member
here here..........done that before......
sounds a fun job allright if you want to save the customer a bit or earn a bit extra Ihave half a defiler kit I can send you chief few extra legs and a couple of other parts. p.m me if any good to ya.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back To Top
Top