custom work

[Wyvern]

Those of you who do custom work. What ratio of inquiries for pricing to actual payment for work do you get. I seem to be doing a lot of quotes that don't follow through with a commission lately.

[wildrose]

My guess is that if I get 5 inquiries, I get 1 sale. I find once the price comes out, people don't write back. And that stuns me because I'm not what you'd call on the expensive side.

[CitizenKate]

Mine tend to run about 50-60%. Maybe I'm not charging enough. Actually, since my pricing is shown on my web sites (I also explain adjustments for pricing and turn times for custom work), the majority of them are already on-board with the pricing by the time they contact me.

Kate

[DCKNIVES]

I may get about 25%, but all my work is custom.I think many are interested, but have no idea of the cost, and this economy is sure not helping.The funny thing is in the custom sheath world I am in the upper price range, but come over here and see stuff similar in materials and construction techniques from other areas and I am priced very low.Dave

[UKRay]

I guess I'm around the 60% success rate but many of my customers come back ages after I give them the quote - half the time I've forgotten who they are (you get like that as you get older!).

Most of my work is production leatherwork - a far cry from the sort of custom stuff most people take on. For example this week I have priced and won orders for 'whip ends' (the bit of leather that fits on a riding crop) and sets of harness including saddles for rocking horses. Both came from my freebie blog site www.barefootleather.blogspot.com

[nobearsyet]

Of the bit of stuff I've done recently that has been for somebody else (mainly close friends) I've got about a 1 piece made for 2 people that have asked, but here lately most of what I've been doing has been for cost as I try to get back in the swing of things