I've always found it odd in the knife making community this distaste for taking deposits, both from the maker and customers viewpoint. I cannot think of any other craft or trade where its not expected to deposit or pay in full in advance for a custom piece. Having a custom wedding ring made? Yep that jewelers taking a deposit. Custom woodworking? Yep, deposit. High end bespoke suits and dresses? You betcha.. custom paintings? Damn right. Try finding a illustrator or graphic designer(who doesnt suck) that works a project for free until complete. skilled craftsman with solid reputations generally want deposits, just not in knife making it seems. In my previous job we wouldn't move an inch on a clients project without 100% payment up front, be it a $2k project or a $200k multi month long digital marketing campaign that involved anything from graphic design and video production, to hiring voice and acting talent. We earned a repuation of never failing, and that reputation earned us the right to expect nothing less than full confidence from our clients.
That said, As i see it, the problem in the knife community is:
1. Lets face it, ALOT of knife makers are trainwrecks when it comes to time managment and business skills. From beginners all the way up to mastersmiths, skill level in the shop does not always translate to the other just as important side of the operation. This leads to a lot of people crashing and burning by taking on too much, not setting deposits aside in case of illness, emergency, delays etc, poor communication skills. Basic business practices a lot of knife makers seem to forget, neglect or just never learned in the first place. The huge amount of hobbyist and part time makers really doesn't help this either, and it brings down the full timers reps each time one of these guys who isn't doing it right because its not their sole income and passion burns somebody.
2. Knife customers as a whole really are a special bunch ive noticed. Lot of know it alls, and waaay too many in need of instant gratification. Not all of course, not even a majority, but a large enough % to cause more issues than in other collector groups or handmade goods. Plus, lets face it, its knives were talking about. Testosterone of buyers and collectors is ganna be higher, macho bs, etc etc. That NEVER helps. I noticed this very fast in my old job, if it was a sports team, athletic company, gun maker, outdoors stuff, the client was always more in your face and demanding, and always caused more issues. We dreaded them and even had seperate order of operations for clients if they fell into the what we called, roid rage fields. No joke.
Solution for makers:
1. Dont ask for or take deposits until you have a solid reputation, know your limits, and have the right type of system in place to do so. If you haven't thought out how to make it work, including giving accurate timelines (not perfect scenario ones) and how to refund if things go south on ya, dont do it... When you do reach that point though, ALWAYS expect a deposit for a custom job. It truly baffles me that some guys with decades in this game, MS stamps on their work and thousands of sales under their belt, dont demand deposits for a custom piece that takes up days or even weeks of their time. It only assures as some point your getting shafted by someone. And you've earned the right to not let than happen to you...
2. Focus on showing why you expect deposits, and have earned them. Show why your not some guy doing this on the weekends between your kids soccer games. Don't worry if a customer wont agree to a deposit. If they don't, and you've got a proven track record and reputation, then its THEM who has the problem. Let em know they can buy a piece like anyone else first come first serve, but if they want custom work, they gotta lay down some cash. Lay it out in simple terms on your website, make it clear, define how it works, if done right, only customers you DO NOT WANT won't agree to it.
Solution for buyers:
Quit buying knives from people you can't trust. Does their website still look like it was built using geocities(do they even have a site)? How timely was their initial communication, did you research their reputation? Quit looking at only the quality of their knives, and look at the quality of their business and rep. If things dont look good, you can't expect good results. People putting deposits down on makers whose sole web presence is a facebook/instagram page makes me laugh everytime i hear of one getting burned.. if that maker was serious and knew how to run a biz, they would have more to show ya that they are here for the long haul...
2. Realize this is art, crafted by a single person.. delays can happen, blades break, etc. Dont pester constantly. Don't demand gratification over and over with updates. If you did your research, all will work out. Most of all though, dont be a dick, remember these are one man shows, small businesses, not the geek squad at bestbuy who yes you should treat like morons and pester them cause its only way they move an inch.
Anyway, if both sides, buyer and seller followed these simple things, i think the knife world would lose a lot of its stressful points. Still baffles me how it got like this, as like i said, look at ANY other custom made item in a different field of collecting, especially in handmade goods, and you sill be hardpressed to find no deposits being taken.
That's how i see it at least. Likei said it really baffles me how so few high end makers take deposits. Your skilled craftsman! Of course, if you just don't like the added stress a d expectations of taking deposits, thats one very valid reason, but in that case, dont take custom orders at all is my take on it.