OOPS! Think i've made a boo boo!

[lynseysorefingers]

Ok, this is how it goes- i was contacted around a month ago by a guy asking for a heavy weight skull ring. He emailed me with a pic of what he would like which i said i could carve in wax and have cast for him. He loved carving and asked for it in silver and gold but kicked up a fuss about me asking for a deposit. i agreed to just get cast in silver without a dep. which, on completion he would pay me in full along with a dep for gold one. The cast cost me £50 with rubber mould being made. i worked hard on it and had it perfect. We arranged for him to come and collect ring on sat afternoonand guess what?! NO SHOW! i'm now left with this ring which i think will be hard to sell on. Any advice about deposit taking and possible web sites to sell on would be great thankx!

[MuranoSilver]

Sorry I don't think you're realistically going to get more than you base cost back you could try putting it on something like Etsy.
I guess it's an expensive lesson (but a good one) for something to tailored, I'd never go past the wax stage without a deposit or even the full amount. You've committed to making something to them at the very least they need to commit the material costs to you.
Hope you manage to sell it
Nicola x

[lorraineflee]

Poor you - hope you manage to sell it. By the way - welcome to the forum, at least here everyone is nice!!

Lorraine

[shelliem]

Hi

I can't help much at all but people on here are very helpful and will probably help you soon.

Although I did used to provide totally different services as a therapist and I always insisted on taking a deposit because there would be many times when people just didnt turn up. If they wanted the therapy enough they would pay up if not then I didnt really want to do buisness with them because I am providing them with something I know is good and worthwhile and I dont feel the need to back down on deposits etc. Also from my many years of sales we always have to ensure the customer felt in control by having excellent communication skills etc. but really we were in control - otherwise it turned into a nightmare and always ended up in disappointed customers.

My friend is a tattoo artist and a painter and he went through similar he now always takes a deposit and cancels appointments and reschedules his diary if people dont reply to his confirmation texts.

Incidentally there always seems to be lots of skulls etc. in the tattoo business, they have fairs whereby they sell belt buckles, jewellery etc. or maybe you could befriend the local tattoo artist in town .... a bit out of the box but it maybe worthwhile to check it out if you get desperate.

And on a lighter note, maybe the guy has got held up - I hope so!

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Friends of mine who create pottery have made some really bizarre stuff for Goths and Druids and suggested that I could make a success of selling to them as they are always into unique silver jewellery. I would say that you would have no problem selling a unique skull ring to them. They didn't actually give me any contact info but I think they did mention that a lot of shops selling such stuff are around the Glastonbury area... It might be worth finding a couple of outlets on the internet and offer it to them...you might even get some repeat business when they see what fantastic stuff you make!!!

Oh!...and Hi by the way!!

[bustagasket]

Hi Lindsay welcome to the forums, i do hope you find an outlet for your ring if the guy doesnt come back to you with a valid reason for not showing up. Any chance of a peek?

[Coco]

If you don't sell it on can't you just melt it down and re-use the metal for something else? Pesky for you though...

[Boo]

I'm sorry that you've learned this lesson the hard way - it's a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. It is of course possible that there's a genuine reason for it.

As others have said, you really need to insist on a deposit that would at least cover your costs, so that you'd only lose out on your time if the customer defaults.

Simply make it a term in anything you publish, like your web site etc. Just adopt the air of it being standard practice and you simply can't start without it. Anyone who is genuine won't bat an eyelid and many just pay all up front anyway. Anyone who is reluctant at that stage probably isn't genuine and they're the very ones you should then insist with.

I don't always ask for a deposit, if it's a repeat customer and I'm making something that would easily just go into stock.

I've been self-employed for over 20 years and have got to learn the signs - usually the ones to really be wary of are the ones who talk it up big, with a promise of lots of later work or sending more people to you - that now just rings alarm bells to me. Not one person who ever tried to avoid a deposit by saying they would send a lot of work my way ever returned. If I lose them at the point where a deposit should have been paid, I consider I had a close shave and am lucky. Once I get that feeling I don't do a stroke until I have the funds.

Ironically, the very people you could actually trust to pay without a deposit are the very people who will be happy to pay up front.

[lesley]

Have you asked him why he didn't turn up? Be interesting to see what he says.

Of course, it's the sensible thing to ask for a deposit, especially if it's something out of the ordinary that might be difficult to sell. However, I know what it's like - I've posted something before the money cleared in the past.

[lynseysorefingers]

hi, thanks for the support guys! yeah it's a lesson learned. left my 5 year jewellery sales job to get back to making and being more flexible for my family- it's like starting all over again and i've made a few mistakes along the way.

i have called and emailed the guy and not heard a word back from him- strange as he has communicated well up til now.
Will look into all your suggestions thanks.