If you plan to commission a fursuit...
animecat wrote this up about fursuit commissions. It is something that most furs don't think about when they are pricing out suits.
Fursuit-making. It’s a dog-eat dog world out there for makers (not literally!) in market that saturated with talent of all levels. A wide variety of price ranges can be found for bargain-hunters if they search for them, but it amazes me how uninformed some folks are about the costs of things.
Either people are cheap, lazy (usually both) or they’re VERY ignorant of how much materials and labor costs when involved in such a large project as a full fursuit. In a series of e-mails shared from a friend recently, it was brought to light that the average convention attendee that dreams of having a fursuit has no clue how much things REALLY cost, only a twisted personal perception of how much things should cost.
Let’s take “PuppyFur” for example. PuppyFur wants a full fursuit of his fursona, a golden Labrador puppy. He contacts “Magic Mascots,” a fursuit-making studio run by “FoxyFur” out of their own home. He asks for a quote on his chosen fursuit, provides the studio with artwork and a general idea of what he wants. FoxyFur e-mails him back with an estimated quote of what the suit would cost. Say, $1,500, including shipping costs. PuppyFur is confused- the fur fabrics he’s casually seen in stores and online retailers has never been more than about $12 per yard. It shouldn’t be that much, should it?
PuppyFur decides to do some more investigating on his own. In researching fabrics, he finds that many fur fabrics run as low as $5 per yard. Surely his suit wouldn’t take more than 3 or 4 yards of the fur, so why is the price he is being quoted so high?
Now, let’s look at FoxyFur’s budget for suit-making. While FoxyFur is waiting for PuppyFur to make up his mind, he is going to go ahead with the previous project he’s been working on- a skunk suit. So, he starts gathering the materials he will need to make the suit. FoxyFur places an order for a high-quality short-haired black fur. Yes, the high-quality fur is more expensive, about $20 per yard, but because it’s a higher quality and better made than the cheaper fur fabrics, it will last longer and make a much better fursuit in the long run. He also buys a short-haired white fur and some long-haired fur in black and in white for the skunk’s fluffy tail. Since the suit will take about 4 yards of the main color plus a little extra for mistakes, just in case, 1 yard of the white for the suit’s belly, and about 1 yard each of the long-haired furs for the tail, the total for the fur all together comes to about $140 plus shipping and taxes, making it about $165.
FoxyFur then gets in his car and drives to the craft store- he picks up a couple packages of hot glue ($10), a roll of 1” foam sheeting ($20), gets his scissors sharpened, as foam cutting dulls them quickly (another $10) and picks up his sewing machine from the shop where its been undergoing its maintenance- cleaning, oiling, and re-timing. That costs him another $100, but needed to be done to keep the machine running as it should so he can keep making costumes. He also has to put gas in his car from running these errands, which costs him another $20. FoxyFur then goes to another store to buy rubber sheets that will become the soles of the costume’s feet and shoes that he knows will fit his customer to put into the feetpaws so they will be comfortable. He also buys a special glue to hold the rubber on the footpaw. That costs him another $60 total, which brings the total up to $395.
When FoxyFur gets the fur he ordered, he starts on the skunk suit for his customer. Since he only makes suits for a living, it’s important that he includes his hourly wages in his commission prices. He knows that he will spend about 8 hours a day in his workshop. He pays himself about $15 per hour for his work. Most of this will be his own pay, just as if he worked a job for another company. The other part of his money will go towards paying his taxes, which he knows are higher for small, home-run businesses. To get a good, professional job done on a costume can take longer than most folks think. FoxyFur plans on spending about 8-10 days on this skunk suit, taking his time so the suit will look its best when he is finished. Working 8 hours a day for 10 days means he’ll get paid $1200 for his labor. Keep in mind that near 1/3rd of that money will go towards taxes, the rest he has to pay his household bills and electricity and operating expenses. Because FoxyFur takes about 10 days to work on a suit, he can only get about 2-3 suits completed per month if he’s working on them alone. That doesn’t leave him much free time or much money at the end of the month after his bills are paid. So after he finishes the skunk suit he has just enough money left over from his customer’s payment to pay for the shipment of the suit to the customer.
PuppyFur, no matter how hard he searches, will never be able to find this information, unless he happens to know someone who makes costumes for a living and has seen it from the inside. All he knows is that he’s being asked to pay a lot of money for a quality piece of workmanship. PuppyFur thinks about this, and decides that he really does want the suit, and places an order with FoxyFur. And the process starts all over again. In the end, FoxyFur will make enough money to pay his bills and make his living, and just maybe put some money aside for a rainy day. And PuppyFur will get his Labrador puppy fursuit, which will turn out much better than he expected, and everyone will be happy in the long run.
Or at least, it will in this perfect little world.
See, the problem is, a LOT of would-be commissioners have the attitude of “PuppyFur”- “Why should I have to pay this much money?” The harsh truth is- someone else is busting their rump to make a professional-quality product that will bring years of enjoyment to its owner. That kind of workmanship doesn’t come easy. Or cheap. If you’re going to ask someone to make you something, be prepared to pay what they charge. You’re going to get your money’s worth out of it.
There’s a saying- Quality, Speed, or Price. You can only have two. You can have amazing quality workmanship and get it really quickly- but you’ll pay out the nose for it. You can have excellent workmanship at a lower price- but you’ll wait a long time for it. Or you can have a lower price and get your item quickly- but chances are it will be rushed and of poor quality. Think about this before you berate an artist or costume-maker, or any person offering a service, really.
These folks don’t HAVE to make your items for you. They could choose another job anywhere else, doing anything else in the world. Be grateful they’re choosing to work for you and provide you with what you’re looking for. But please be aware that what they charge you is what they have to make a living off of. In the end, it’s not price-gouging. They charge what they have to in order to make ends meet and still come out with a little profit for themselves.
Don’t judge until you’ve been in their shoes.
http://animecat.livejournal.com/232089.html
Fursuit-making. It’s a dog-eat dog world out there for makers (not literally!) in market that saturated with talent of all levels. A wide variety of price ranges can be found for bargain-hunters if they search for them, but it amazes me how uninformed some folks are about the costs of things.
Either people are cheap, lazy (usually both) or they’re VERY ignorant of how much materials and labor costs when involved in such a large project as a full fursuit. In a series of e-mails shared from a friend recently, it was brought to light that the average convention attendee that dreams of having a fursuit has no clue how much things REALLY cost, only a twisted personal perception of how much things should cost.
Let’s take “PuppyFur” for example. PuppyFur wants a full fursuit of his fursona, a golden Labrador puppy. He contacts “Magic Mascots,” a fursuit-making studio run by “FoxyFur” out of their own home. He asks for a quote on his chosen fursuit, provides the studio with artwork and a general idea of what he wants. FoxyFur e-mails him back with an estimated quote of what the suit would cost. Say, $1,500, including shipping costs. PuppyFur is confused- the fur fabrics he’s casually seen in stores and online retailers has never been more than about $12 per yard. It shouldn’t be that much, should it?
PuppyFur decides to do some more investigating on his own. In researching fabrics, he finds that many fur fabrics run as low as $5 per yard. Surely his suit wouldn’t take more than 3 or 4 yards of the fur, so why is the price he is being quoted so high?
Now, let’s look at FoxyFur’s budget for suit-making. While FoxyFur is waiting for PuppyFur to make up his mind, he is going to go ahead with the previous project he’s been working on- a skunk suit. So, he starts gathering the materials he will need to make the suit. FoxyFur places an order for a high-quality short-haired black fur. Yes, the high-quality fur is more expensive, about $20 per yard, but because it’s a higher quality and better made than the cheaper fur fabrics, it will last longer and make a much better fursuit in the long run. He also buys a short-haired white fur and some long-haired fur in black and in white for the skunk’s fluffy tail. Since the suit will take about 4 yards of the main color plus a little extra for mistakes, just in case, 1 yard of the white for the suit’s belly, and about 1 yard each of the long-haired furs for the tail, the total for the fur all together comes to about $140 plus shipping and taxes, making it about $165.
FoxyFur then gets in his car and drives to the craft store- he picks up a couple packages of hot glue ($10), a roll of 1” foam sheeting ($20), gets his scissors sharpened, as foam cutting dulls them quickly (another $10) and picks up his sewing machine from the shop where its been undergoing its maintenance- cleaning, oiling, and re-timing. That costs him another $100, but needed to be done to keep the machine running as it should so he can keep making costumes. He also has to put gas in his car from running these errands, which costs him another $20. FoxyFur then goes to another store to buy rubber sheets that will become the soles of the costume’s feet and shoes that he knows will fit his customer to put into the feetpaws so they will be comfortable. He also buys a special glue to hold the rubber on the footpaw. That costs him another $60 total, which brings the total up to $395.
When FoxyFur gets the fur he ordered, he starts on the skunk suit for his customer. Since he only makes suits for a living, it’s important that he includes his hourly wages in his commission prices. He knows that he will spend about 8 hours a day in his workshop. He pays himself about $15 per hour for his work. Most of this will be his own pay, just as if he worked a job for another company. The other part of his money will go towards paying his taxes, which he knows are higher for small, home-run businesses. To get a good, professional job done on a costume can take longer than most folks think. FoxyFur plans on spending about 8-10 days on this skunk suit, taking his time so the suit will look its best when he is finished. Working 8 hours a day for 10 days means he’ll get paid $1200 for his labor. Keep in mind that near 1/3rd of that money will go towards taxes, the rest he has to pay his household bills and electricity and operating expenses. Because FoxyFur takes about 10 days to work on a suit, he can only get about 2-3 suits completed per month if he’s working on them alone. That doesn’t leave him much free time or much money at the end of the month after his bills are paid. So after he finishes the skunk suit he has just enough money left over from his customer’s payment to pay for the shipment of the suit to the customer.
PuppyFur, no matter how hard he searches, will never be able to find this information, unless he happens to know someone who makes costumes for a living and has seen it from the inside. All he knows is that he’s being asked to pay a lot of money for a quality piece of workmanship. PuppyFur thinks about this, and decides that he really does want the suit, and places an order with FoxyFur. And the process starts all over again. In the end, FoxyFur will make enough money to pay his bills and make his living, and just maybe put some money aside for a rainy day. And PuppyFur will get his Labrador puppy fursuit, which will turn out much better than he expected, and everyone will be happy in the long run.
Or at least, it will in this perfect little world.
See, the problem is, a LOT of would-be commissioners have the attitude of “PuppyFur”- “Why should I have to pay this much money?” The harsh truth is- someone else is busting their rump to make a professional-quality product that will bring years of enjoyment to its owner. That kind of workmanship doesn’t come easy. Or cheap. If you’re going to ask someone to make you something, be prepared to pay what they charge. You’re going to get your money’s worth out of it.
There’s a saying- Quality, Speed, or Price. You can only have two. You can have amazing quality workmanship and get it really quickly- but you’ll pay out the nose for it. You can have excellent workmanship at a lower price- but you’ll wait a long time for it. Or you can have a lower price and get your item quickly- but chances are it will be rushed and of poor quality. Think about this before you berate an artist or costume-maker, or any person offering a service, really.
These folks don’t HAVE to make your items for you. They could choose another job anywhere else, doing anything else in the world. Be grateful they’re choosing to work for you and provide you with what you’re looking for. But please be aware that what they charge you is what they have to make a living off of. In the end, it’s not price-gouging. They charge what they have to in order to make ends meet and still come out with a little profit for themselves.
Don’t judge until you’ve been in their shoes.
http://animecat.livejournal.com/232089.html