Tailor Archive
Thread: How will you do custom orders after next publish?
aimee
Mon Mar 08, 2004 4:15 pm
#14
This is terrible news to me. My customers have always been able to count on sending me an order and picking it up on my custom vendor. I choose to bag my orders of multiple items and put the name on the bag. It makes it simpler for the customer and usually deters the wrong person from purchasing the itemsI have set aside. Since I almost always have more than one custom order waiting for pick up there is far less confusion.
Taking this option away from us is only going to complicate customization since there is no way that I can guarantee to my customers that their items are going to be there ready for them when they come. I can promise you that if I have loose items on that vendor EVEN though it says *CUSTOMORDER PICK UP VENDOR*others will come and see themand buy them besides the person who ordered them. I still get people purchasing my bagged orders by mistake on occasion which they usually offer them back because once they get it they realize they made a mistake, that or they just wanted to see what was in the bag! But this is going to make being a custom order tailor stressful since I am already crazy busy 
I use about all methods of sales, I keep my vendors stocked, I sell to customers walking in, and I do custom orders. I suggest to the devs or who ever made this decision, that you reconsider.. if something has to be cut back, then offer us another option. Maybe by letting us actually use cargo pockets which only hold 20 items. Or even another bag that we could craft that would only hold 10 that we could use for grouping orders. Most of my custom orders are under 10 items, butI still have crated trim orders.. (that you made chef's require of us tailors) that far exceed10.Being a tailor is already challenging enough keeping up with everything... please don't make it worse.*sigh*
Srednii
Mon Mar 08, 2004 5:35 pm
#15
I'm glad I've retired from business tailoring, cause this woulda hurt me a fair bit. (it's hurting me now with armor, tho it's not such a big deal)
When I was actively tailoring I did a lot of custom work via e-mails, and the big draw to doing these was the ease and simplicity of doing em. Get your e-mail, e-mail back and forth a couple times to solidify the details and then stick it in a bag on your vendor and away they go. If we can't put clothing in bags as a package well then they might as well just browse the main vendor anyways.
If you put up a custom order vendor, and put custom orders on it loose... well you just know there'll be a fair number of people who'll buy from that vendor just so they don't have to browse through the large selection on the main vendor. And if you put your cutom work on your main vendor, then half your custom customers won't be able to find it.
ah well
SueDenim
Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:00 am
#16
Y'all *may* find the pack nerf less of a burden than you think. I've never really bothered with them in general, just putting stuff people order on my regular vendor like everything else. Let the buyer know the specific name of the item, and I've never had a problem. I don't think I've even once had some third party buy the custom item before the buyer got to the shop. And if I think there's a strong likelihood someone *would* buy it, then that is just a signal that it's something I should be keeping in stock *anyhow*, if you follow me.
Occasionally someone might have trouble finding things, but even that I sort of view as a good thing. Everybody should learn how to use a vendor *sometime*.
The only thing that might worry me a bit is high-priced bio-engineered custom orders, but for regular clothes, our stuff is so "individualized" and relatively inexpensive that I don't see this as a really big deal.
Occasionally someone might have trouble finding things, but even that I sort of view as a good thing. Everybody should learn how to use a vendor *sometime*.
The only thing that might worry me a bit is high-priced bio-engineered custom orders, but for regular clothes, our stuff is so "individualized" and relatively inexpensive that I don't see this as a really big deal.
Indigo75
Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:24 am
#17
Never used bags myself, just like Sue, I always put them on my main vendor, and I've never had a problem. 
Statted clothing goes on my statted vendor as well. I send them the exact name of the item(s), and they come and fetch it. I've had maybe one person not know how to use the 'next items' button, but that's about it.
Statted clothing goes on my statted vendor as well. I send them the exact name of the item(s), and they come and fetch it. I've had maybe one person not know how to use the 'next items' button, but that's about it. It does wonders, too. People don't just come in and get their special order. While they're there, they tend to pick up one or two other things while looking through the vendor. I think it's better to have them sift through the vendor, IMHO, cause you get som eimpulse-buy sales.
I hate to say it, but lately it seems that tailors are complaining about anything and everything they can find. It's really starting to put a bad taste in my mouth. Come on, people, chin's up, there's a way around everything!
Srednii
Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:56 am
#18
Indigo75 wrote:
I hate to say it, but lately it seems that tailors are complaining about anything and everything they can find. It's really starting to put a bad taste in my mouth. Come on, people, chin's up, there's a way around everything!
I always love it when people who's playstyle isn't effected by the latest bug or nerf tell the people who are effected to stop whining and that it's not such a big deal.
Milarella
Tue Mar 09, 2004 10:06 am
#19
Usually when people do custom orders from me, they're right there at my shop anyway. I've only had to use a bag once, and it was very convenient to do so, but I could have just as easily met the person. I think I will probably make two of the item if it's something popular, just to be sure they get it, and let them know exactly what to buy and how to filter down to the proper item type.
As for outfits, I don't do these in bags at all. I'll name the outfit and give each item in the outfit a number. I'm doing mostly movie outfits right now, so I'll name it something like Padme E1 Tatooine (1 of 4), for example. I do this so that people can look at the item before they purchase it (I don't have much space for examples right now). This works pretty well, and also allows people to buy just one or twoitems from the outfit, if they so wish. I always have at least two copies of each outfit on my vendor, so if one or two items are purchased from an outfit, the next customer can still buy the full outfit.
Gyopi
Tue Mar 09, 2004 11:48 am
#20
SueDenim wrote:
Y'all *may* find the pack nerf less of a burden than you think. I've never really bothered with them in general, just putting stuff people order on my regular vendor like everything else. Let the buyer know the specific name of the item, and I've never had a problem. I don't think I've even once had some third party buy the custom item before the buyer got to the shop. And if I think there's a strong likelihood someone *would* buy it, then that is just a signal that it's something I should be keeping in stock *anyhow*, if you follow me.
I think I can get around the problems with regular custom orders. Customers who are in a hurry and just have time to drop by for a few seconds to pick up their order may be inconvenienced a little, but usually that doesn't happen. What might be a problem is all these trim orders! I have a contract with one chef who is a friend and my guild asked me to make trim for another chef, which means that I am going to have to have a vendor devoted to trim with a huge number of individual crates and all the email spam that comes with that.
Mystyrys
Tue Mar 09, 2004 12:22 pm
#21
I think I can get around the problems with regular custom orders. Customers who are in a hurry and just have time to drop by for a few seconds to pick up their order may be inconvenienced a little, but usually that doesn't happen. What might be a problem is all these trim orders! I have a contract with one chef who is a friend and my guild asked me to make trim for another chef, which means that I am going to have to have a vendor devoted to trim with a huge number of individual crates and all the email spam that comes with that.
Exactly. My situation is similar. I don't have all that many custom orders that I can't work around the no items in bags thing for those in one way or another. But the trim crates and RFPs for armorsmiths, now that is a problem. Especially with the vendor limit nerf coming, I am not going to wish to devote my limited space to 120 crates of trim for one customer, for example. Letting that chef buy bags off a custom order vendor was so convenient. Or dropping the bags off at his vendor. But if I have to list or offer them as singles... omg. What a pain! And if I offer them to his vendor, I can only list 25 at a time, till he picks them up. He buys, on average, 120 crates. I don't even want to think about how much shuttle bouncing and what-all that would take.
With a Chef/trim contract with a guy who is rarely online the same times I am, this will be a no go. And that is for only one chef customer. I cringe when I think of needing to do this for all of them. And I am not THAT popular/busy of a Tailor! I don't advertise on the bazaar or forums or shout in towns or anything. I am just on the map and get referrals from wherever. I feel major sympathy for any famous tailors who deal in crates as well as regular services.
The Chef I deal with the most (and is currently the most famous/popular one on our server, which is how and why he goes through so much trim) doesn't have the points to spare to take enough tailor to make his own trim, nor lots to spare for a wearables factory and buy schems to make his own either. (A few chefs I know do one or both of these options). I do have a contract with an architect to make Master Artisan comps and he has admin on my equipment factory so he can access the finished goods himself, then he bank tips me... but there's that trust thing again. I would rather not have to do that with every customer I get with a large order for crates.
Our city will either need to retain UPS for our delivery services, or I may hire them myself, or I will need to set up a bulk order pickup house with admin rights reset after every order. Gah. My head hurts. Oh well. Every feature pass requires another adjustment to playstyle. I'll find a way. Just it's getting hard to doit and still have fun too.
I have so many houses now, just for resource storage it ain't even funny. I am seriously searching for ways to downsizethe amount of everything I have to keep track of and maintain, without having to give up my business to do it. Heck, I have friends letting me use their lots so I can stay in business. I am screwed if one of them wants to quit. There has got to be a way to get around these things without it making the process of playing the game a major pain in the keister.
Geddyfan
Tue Mar 09, 2004 12:45 pm
#22
I don't mind them taking away this ability if they give an alternative.
I make a lot of complete outfits that I bundle in packs. It is my second favorite thing to do as a tailor. My first is to have a live person in front of me in my shop picking out combinations and colors, but for the players who just want a nice matching or custom look, the complete outfits are a great choice for them.
They fly off my vendor.
Dex1138
Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:01 pm
#23
I'm not really affected by it (see the sig) but I'm not happy right there with you guys. I *was* going to do a grab bag vendor, but now I guess not. Just as well, I don't really have the spare points to put into Merchant anyway.
TimSpork
Tue Mar 09, 2004 6:00 pm
#24
Hmm this will be horribel as it's how I give my guild mates thier uniforms. Each uniform being 5 pieces it's just easier for both me and them to put them up in one package.
Iwra
Wed Mar 10, 2004 7:10 am
#25
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=in_testing&message.id=6682
Good news
Or did i totally misunderstand what he said?
