Steve Dalton on wed 29 aug 01
Greetings,
I've been burned...badly. When I first took the commission, I had only been
making pots full time for about a year. A local small business owner
ordered 300 planters. Since he 'was' a friend of mine I figured why bother
taking a down payment, stupid thought on my part. I made up the 300 and
took them to his shop for him to buy. He refused to pay me the wholesale
price...the average wholesale price per pot was about $8.00. He only wanted
to pay me half of what we agreed upon. His reasoning...He could get cheaper
pots at a cheaper price from an importer.
Here is how I handle comissions now...a 50% non-refundable downpayment
before I even begin. If a customer wants a special glaze or a different
color(than normal stock), 100% deposit with a $200.00 minimum order. Hard?
Yes, but I don't like wasting my time with customers who want to waste mine.
I was lucky enough to sell all of the 300 planters for the retail price I
had asked in several local sales.
Another catagory to be added to who not to take comissions from...friends.
Returns...luckily...knock on wood, I've never had one. How would I handle
it, I guess the personality of the customer. I've made exchanges...price
for price, but I've never taken money out of my pocket to give it back.
Steve Dalton
Clear Creek Pottery
Snohomish, WA
sdpotter@gte.net
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