Members flyingcuda Posted April 11, 2014 Members Report Posted April 11, 2014 after months of blood, sweat, tears and many colourful words and phrases, I am so very happy to see this one go. I had to deal with many do overs, because the colour wasn't right or the lacing wasn't what he wanted, the size was wrong and so on. the customer was certainly my biggest challenge. tell me what he wanted then changed his mind when he saw the result. I think I will add a pita fee for the next one. anyways, thank you to all who offered words of advise and encouragement!! Quote
Members pzarkov Posted April 15, 2014 Members Report Posted April 15, 2014 Perfect!!!Good Job!!! Quote
Members flyingcuda Posted April 15, 2014 Author Members Report Posted April 15, 2014 thank you he now wants matching saddle bags I've not ever done them before either. not sure what I should charge for that one...I do know I want to add the pita fee Quote
Members flyingcuda Posted May 13, 2014 Author Members Report Posted May 13, 2014 I charged him $500.00 for the works. unfortunately...not enough Quote
Members Leatherbaron Posted June 13, 2014 Members Report Posted June 13, 2014 thank you he now wants matching saddle bags I've not ever done them before either. not sure what I should charge for that one...I do know I want to add the pita fee Saddle bags minimum $1000 Quote
Members VanDutch Posted June 17, 2014 Members Report Posted June 17, 2014 Hi. I agree with Leatherbaron on this. A pair of saddlebags with that quality and amount of work should be $1,000 minimum. He is obviously pleased with your work so far, but will he pay?.. Unfortunately you set a precedent with the first job, not charging enough. If he wants quality he will pay, otherwise just walk away.. cheers PS.. Great work.. Quote
Members Horseshoe Posted June 19, 2014 Members Report Posted June 19, 2014 I think I would turn down doing the saddle bags. He'll probably wear you out with changes and not liking the color and so on again. You could always quote a high price on the saddle bags like $3500.00 since you did $1500.00 worth of work on the seat and only got $500.00. The seat looks great by the way. Quote
Members dtmdtm12 Posted July 19, 2014 Members Report Posted July 19, 2014 I have noticed that people who aren't in the hobby don't seem to appreciate it fully. I had a guy ask me to do a carved/tooled spongebob belt for his son for $30. I politely told him to off. I have been offended several times by people trying to lowball my art. Quote
Members earthling33 Posted July 26, 2014 Members Report Posted July 26, 2014 Nice job on the seats. Be honest with the guy. Tell him you underestimated the time you put in on the seats. You got a learning experience, and he got a great deal, but now you would have to charge way more for the bags to make it worth your time. Quote
Members Grumbleduck Posted January 21, 2015 Members Report Posted January 21, 2015 I can't comment on what to price leather work at, but as a freelance news photographer I've got some ideas on other ends of freelancing regardless of medium. Get a contract from the beginning, even friends or family. Contracts preserve relationships. Explicitly outline the costs and expectations for all parties in your contract. Extra means extra. Always. That said, this is fantastic work and I'd be pissing rainbows if I could make a final product like that! Quote
Members Hawk Scarbrough Posted October 14, 2015 Members Report Posted October 14, 2015 after months of blood, sweat, tears and many colourful words and phrases, I am so very happy to see this one go. I had to deal with many do overs, because the colour wasn't right or the lacing wasn't what he wanted, the size was wrong and so on. the customer was certainly my biggest challenge. tell me what he wanted then changed his mind when he saw the result. I think I will add a pita fee for the next one. anyways, thank you to all who offered words of advise and encouragement!! The customer is always right, but is often a cheap skinflint idiot. Quote
Moderator Art Posted October 14, 2015 Moderator Report Posted October 14, 2015 Nice seats, ridiculous price, especially for the custom work. On the bags; make sure you get it straight how he wants them hung. With your past experience, make him supply the hangers (if not already there), and Get the money up front. Bags go anywhere from Pony Express to full blown dresser, so get everything in writing up front. Art Quote
Members Hawk Scarbrough Posted October 14, 2015 Members Report Posted October 14, 2015 I have noticed that people who aren't in the hobby don't seem to appreciate it fully. I had a guy ask me to do a carved/tooled spongebob belt for his son for $30. I politely told him to ###### off. I have been offended several times by people trying to lowball my art. Ain't it the awful truth? Quote
Contributing Member JLSleather Posted October 15, 2015 Contributing Member Report Posted October 15, 2015 Nice job on the seats. Be honest with the guy. Tell him you underestimated the time you put in on the seats. You got a learning experience, and he got a great deal, but now you would have to charge way more for the bags to make it worth your time. This is a great response. No BS from him. No BS from you. Since it's "matching", there shouldn't be any confusion on the finished look. Pricing is your own thing, but keep in mind a set of bags can eat up a few hundred $$ worth of leather in a hurry. Quote
Mike Craw Posted October 17, 2015 Report Posted October 17, 2015 You can think of it as a PITA fee, but tell the PITA that it's a "Change Order" fee. You built what he asked for...he changes at that point, he pays! Mike Quote
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