Custom orders are where unpaid minutes pile up. A buyer asks for a name on a mug, then a different font, then a second color, then a rush. Each request is small, and each one costs you minutes that never made it into the price.
The fix is not to say no to custom work. It is to price the extra time before you start, and to set a few simple rules about proofs, minimums and deposits. This guide shows how, using the pricing calculator.
The figures below are example numbers, not market prices. Use your own costs and your own timings.
Custom work is mostly extra labor
A personalized item usually uses the same blank and the same supplies as the standard version. What changes is your time:
- Reading the request and asking questions
- Creating or adjusting the design
- Making a proof and sending it
- Making changes after feedback
- Checking spelling, dates and placement with extra care
All of that goes into the labor minutes in the calculator. Because the calculator adds labor to cost before it works out the price, those minutes also get their share of fees and margin.
A worked example: one proof and one round of changes
Start with worked example A from the sublimation mug guide: $6.00 of materials, 15 minutes of labor at $20 an hour, $0.50 of overhead, $6.00 shipping charged and $6.00 shipping cost, sold on Etsy at a 30% margin. The standard mug has a suggested price of $23.67.
Now suppose a personalized version needs a proof and one round of changes, and that this adds another 15 minutes, the same time the mug itself takes. Time your own proofs; this is an assumption for the example. Change only the labor minutes from 15 to 30:
| Standard mug | Personalized mug | |
|---|---|---|
| Labor minutes | 15 | 30 |
| Cost per item | $11.50 | $16.50 |
| Suggested price | $23.67 | $31.94 |
| Charm price | $23.99 | $31.99 |
| Profit at suggested price | $8.90 | $11.39 |
| Earnings per hour at suggested price | $55.61 | $42.77 |
The personalized mug needs to sell for $8.27 more than the standard one to keep the same 30% margin. Look at the last row too: even at the higher price, each hour of your time earns less, because the extra minutes add more to your wage than to your profit. If you charged the standard price for the personalized mug, you would be paying for the proof out of your own pocket.
Set what the price includes
Write down what a custom order includes and put it in the listing. For example:
- One proof, sent within the time you state
- One round of changes
- Spelling and dates exactly as the buyer typed them
Then decide what happens beyond that. The cleanest approach is to price extra changes by time. If another round of changes takes 15 minutes at your $20 rate, that is $5.00 of labor before fees and margin. You can offer it as an add-on, or simply build a second round into the price if most buyers need one.
Ask buyers to approve the proof
A written approval protects both of you. Ask the buyer to reply “approved” or click your approval option before you press anything. If they approve a spelling mistake, your policy should say that a remake is a new order. If you make the mistake, you remake it. Either way, the cost of a remake is a real risk on custom work, so count occasional remakes the same way you count misprints: spread their cost across your custom orders.
Minimum orders
Some custom jobs have setup work that does not depend on quantity: designing a team logo, digitizing a sketch, preparing a file with many names. That time has to be paid for whether the buyer orders one item or many.
There are two simple ways to cover it:
- Spread the setup time. Add the setup minutes divided by the quantity to each item’s labor minutes. One item carries all of it; a larger order shares it.
- Set a minimum. Decide the smallest order you will take for jobs with heavy setup, and say so in the listing.
The calculator works per item, so for spreading, work out the setup minutes per item first and add them to the labor line.
Deposits for large or expensive orders
For a big custom order, ask for a deposit before you buy supplies. At the very least the deposit should cover your materials, so a buyer who disappears does not leave you holding blanks with their name on them. In worked example A, that would be $6.00 per mug. You can ask for more than that. Ask yourself whether you would be comfortable if the order fell through after you had been paid only the deposit. State in writing whether the deposit is refundable once you have started.
Rush orders
Rushing an order means moving other work around, and sometimes paying more for faster shipping or supplies. If you offer rush service, price it as an add-on: estimate the extra minutes of disruption and any extra costs, run them through the calculator, and list the difference as the rush fee.
Keep a custom order log
For a few weeks, note the minutes every custom order really took, including messages. You will quickly see which requests are quick and which are not, and your labor minutes will stop being a guess. Update your listings once you have the real numbers.
Questions sellers ask
Should I charge for a design the buyer sends me ready to print?
You still spend minutes checking, sizing and placing it, so count those minutes. Also make sure the buyer has the right to use the design they send.
What if a buyer asks for a discount on a large custom order?
Run the order through the calculator at the bulk quantity, with setup time shared across the items, then look at the profit line before you agree to anything. You will know exactly what a discount costs you.
Do personalized items need a higher margin?
Not necessarily. Counting the extra minutes already pays you for them. A higher margin is a separate choice, for example if custom work carries more risk of remakes.
