Question about Bulk Order

[zin103.livejournal.com]

I just have some question to ask. Noting serious here.

I decide I want to bulk order art from an artist but bulk ordering seem more dangerous and hard to me.

So I just want advice on bulk ordering since I never done it before.
I need advice on both type of bulk order:
-the one where you paid for all of it at once
-the one where you pay for each

Also any tip on how to order bulk order like is there a special format I must follow.

Thank in advance for the advice.

Comments

[raeraesama.livejournal.com]

I have someone that bulk-orders from me. Because I've other projects and such(and because it's easier on her money-wise and nice to me to have a steady cash flow), I pretty much ask her to pay for each piece, that I give a bit of a discount on.

It's really something you have to talk to the artist about, though. I imagine this is something that each artist prefers to do a certain way, or something that they'd rather hammer out the details together with you.

[tanginello.livejournal.com]

I've never made a bulk order myself, but as an artist I've done bulk orders for people.

Personally, I think it's better if you pay for each piece one at a time before it gets started. I prefer that because it lessens the stress of having a giant order; this way I know which piece to focus on and I work on it until it's done. And when I finish I ask for payment for the next piece and work on that one until it's done, so it's a very focused process.

It varies from artist to artist, though, so you may want to ask their past clients or the artist directly.

[kiriska.livejournal.com]

I'm also only able to give an artists' perspective, as I've never commissioned in bulk myself. If it's a bulk order of a more expensive commission type, where the total would be over $100, I'd probably go with the others and have them pay per piece as it's less pressure on me and less risk for them. If it's a bulk order of a small thing though and the total is less than $100, I would want it paid upfront as usual (for me) and I'd complete the entire order at once, which isn't usually a problem because my small commission types are just that -- small and easy and fast.

[spiffystuff.livejournal.com]

Check the artist's track record. If they've done orders of similar sizes for someone else, preferably several times, it's probably safe to pay in advance, and they may reasonably ask you do so.

If they've never done an order of that size, you should probably break it down and work out steps. Maybe a pay-as-you-go arrangement where you pay for one, they do one, or you pay for half, you do half... whichever is close to what they've reliably done.

Which ever way you go, ESTABLISH CLEAR DEADLINES AND PROGRESS UPDATE TIMING. If you're paying with paypal, I'd recommend going with 30 day chunks - that way there's a 15 day wiggle room but you can get your money back if the artist is completely botching things.

Lastly, pay with a credit card if you can (also through paypal) and know what the rules on chargebacks are, as a second layer of protection.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

Custom work or existing work (prints etc.)
On custom work I'd advise breaking it into smaller, more manageable chunks. It's easier on you financially and the artist won't feel overwhelmed and/or intimidated.
Understand that unlike with existing work, you might not get a discount on custom work; they charge for the time it takes them to make the work, commissioning more work doesn't mean they spend less time on it.

[ocelotish]

I'm a little confused on the bulk order type thing, but I'll do my best to give advice.

What I would do is try to fit the chunks to the size you and the artist think would take about 30 days. It's a reasonably-sized chunk, and that way if the artist is running a little late, you still have time to dispute if absolutely necessary. Paying for the next 30 days also covers things like prints where it won't take that much longer to do a bulk amount. Finally if it's paid in chunks, the artist has the advantage of being able to say "I just have to do 3 this month" instead of looking down at 30 which is, quite frankly, terrifying. The other thing you can always do is say "half now, half when it's done."

If you're asking can you bulk order from artists, it really depends. If it's custom work, then most (if not all) of the money goes towards time spent. On the other hand, they've just secure work for quite a while (and possibly with repeated subjects) so there may be a small discount associated with that. What I would do is just ask the artist about a large order with whether it will be the same characters or not, and get a quote. If it's just their normal price times how many images, you can ask if you can get a discount because of the large order size, but just don't push it if the answer is no. (If that means you're taking your business elsewhere that's fine, but just be ready to accept the answer "no" and walk away rather than trying to push the lower price.)

[holydust.livejournal.com]

If it's someone I've never worked before (and if you're talking about commissioning a piece, not buying prints), I'll just ask them to "keep it simple" and fill out the form one at a time and work on/pay for each piece one at a time.

I'm currently doing a "bulk order" for a repeat client, who insisted on going ahead and paying for all the pieces at once. I would recommend one at a time just to keep things simple, really.

[holydust.livejournal.com]

*worked with before

[taasla.livejournal.com]

I just got in a bulk order, so this is my .02 cents as an artist. Break it up into smaller batches and have your money on hand. It will be better for you and the artist. If you've never worked with this person before, then you'll lose less in the worst case if they happen flake. The artist also won't feel overwhelmed, and doing items one at a time allows you to think about what you want.

As for a form or what, it depends on the artist I suppose. I have people fill out a form that's easy for me to file and I can pull it up while I'm working. They may have you do one for each image.

Edit: Also, just a tip from someone who likes to commission as much as they do commission work: If you're going to order a lot from someone, you can always order something small to test the waters so to speak. Usually with the artists I find myself going back to, I order a sketch or an icon to see how they communicate and handle business. If I like it, I'll come back 100% of the time.

[zin103.livejournal.com]

thank you everyone, I will take definitely take all your advice and they will help so much in my bulk order.