Taking comission payments?

[lolkat]

Hi resinality,
Hi, I'd like to start offering doll portraits through my own site and eventally DOA & possibly Resinality marketplaces (is that sort of thing allowed here?).
For 'big' art and illustration comissions, I usually take some payment upfront and the rest when the job is completed but I'm not sure if it's worth doing this for the small amounts I'll be charging ($20-30).
I've had a look at other comissionable artists on DOA but I couldnt find out how other people were asking for their payments.
I'm just wondering what anyone reccomends/would prefer.
Thanks for any advice!
:)

[pbrennan42]

1. I am sure doll portraits are covered in one of the Market Place forums here so no worries.

2. For something on Commission I would be inclined to take a deposit that is taken from the final price upon completion. Even for something as low as $20-$30. It binds the other person into going through with the transaction as people hate to lose money, even with 10% being a mere $2-$3 (although I might be inclined to make it 20%).

I hope this helps.

Phil.

[gloombox]

For art commissions I would definitely recommend requiring a deposit. With your stated price range, I would say 50% would be a feasable deposit - $10 to $15 dollars. Then upon completion, I would ask for the rest.

I've helped a lot of artists with pricing commissions, and it's always a good idea to request a nonrefundable deposit... otherwise you can end up wasting a lot of time and, depending on the cost of supplies, money.

Best of luck!

[lolkat]

Thanks Phil and Gloombox!
Luckilly I work in photoshop/opencanvas/SAI so I wont be spending money on resources but it's my time I worry about wasting (especially when I have other paid illustration work to be getting on with). I think I definately will ask for 1/2 upfront. As long as it's not unheard of I suppose buyers wont mind. ^^