Commission work and pricing?

Carnet

Well-Known Member
Is there any kind of scale or guide for pricing my services? I am starting to get people asking me about doing pieces for them...I have no idea what to charge? I want to be fair to myself and them.
 
Take some time and figure the actual cost of materials involved. take an Educated guess at home many hours it will take you do complete the requested commission. figure out what you believe a fair hourly rate is and do the math.

Alternatively you can look at what others charge for similar items and price accordingly.

I've only done a couple of things for other people. When I do I find I drastically under-price myself - BUT I mainly do it for the challenge and my enjoyment anyway so I got to build a few things I never would have otherwise... and had my own fun doing it. If you're planning on doing this for a living or to REALLY supplement your income, you'll likely find that building models for others is an expensive thing if you're going to reasonably charge for your own time... and I mean more than minimum wage... Even if you do work quickly.

Jedi Dade
 
A lot of clients have no idea what is involved or how much it costs for commissioned work. Many years ago when I was involved with a local Star Trek group someone came up to me after a meeting and wanted to hire me to do a build up of the TOS-E (the biggest kit was the 18" AMT at the time). Not just a build up, they wanted it to be separable deck by deck with detailed rooms.
I was running the job through my head, considering different ways to pull it off when he smiled and said "Money is no object!- I have $50 set aside for this"

I just looked at him...
 
This varies from person to person... Here's a simple equation some people / makers use

Add cost of all material
Add any time on tool(s) (laser cutter, 3D printer, power tools, etc)
Choose an hourly rate

Add together then multiply by 3.

Again, each person is different and their hourly rate is dependent upon their individual expertise, affordability and availability. Hope this helps. :)
 
I've done both commission work AND built replica props for sale.

IMHO....commission work is poison. It is some much more commitment in time, resources and energy, focusing on pleasing one certain individual......unless you have a commercial shop dedicated to it...forget it. The clients expectations are usually so incredibly high....I would not recommend it.

I've found it much more rewarding, personally and financially to MATCH what you love to build, within a market that wants to purchase that build.

I build what I love and offer it for sale when I have a few in stock. It's both enjoyable and rewarding.
 
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