Tailor Archive

A couple of weeks ago, I started tailor. As to this moment, I have Formal Wear I and II and am working on Tailoring Experimentation I.

I have a small shop on Naboo and have had quite a handfull of customers that have bought clothes from my vendor. I was hoping for a few custom orders (for business, more customers maybe and fun) but I didn't get any. "Okay" I thought, "I'm new, not many people know me yet, so I'll just wait" I waited and waited and waited. I even put on my sign "Email Tamahira for custom orders" for a while. I made a dress that said "Email Tamahira with clothing name(s) and colours" and dropped it next to my vendor. I thought that might help to influence custom orders, but it just isn't working. Sure I have gotten a few tells (I just got 2, but only 1 I could make) for orders, but what about the emails?

Does any one have some tips for me to help with my business? Or maybe it just DOES need time and more leveling.

Tamahira Lo'tem
Novice Tailor
*Tam's Terrific Trends*
Outside Theed, Naboo, Ahazi (sorry I don't remember my co-ordinates I know, that doesn't help much either. I'll re-post my co-ords once I remember them )

I don't get many custom orders via email, except from regular customers. I'd say that I get maybe five a week from new customers - and lately they've mostly been asking about BE clothes. My vendors are pretty heavily stocked so that's where most my sales come from. Emailed requests tend to ask for an item to match something the person has just purchased.

Since you don't have a ton of things you can make yet, I'd say keep your vendor nicely stocked. If you like doing custom orders you'll probably get more face to face than via email. Hang out in your shop, at starports, cantina's etc. Wear some nice outfits. Use the bazaar as an advertising medium as well.

I think it's about building momentum over time - I know for me it seemed like I was worried about slow sales one day, and drowning the next. And to be honest, my business skyrocketed a week or two after I made master.. it was solid up until then, but that was the turning point. Master items themselves are not a large part of my sales, but the master colors (including the missing 55) are huge.

I hope that helps!

"" Ri'a Ocoli
"" Master Tailor, Kettemoor
"" Fine Attire by Ri'a is 1km north of Keren at 1190, 3770
"" .. my door is always open, stop by any time!

Thanks alot, that does help. Just 15 minutes ago, I got a face to face custom order, so I guess that'll be the kind I'll be getting for a while. I'll just have to wait and level up. Thanks. Darn I forgot my co-ords again! Lol, I gotta get a better memory

Tamahira Lo'tem
Novice Tailor
*Tam's Terrific Trends*
About 830m S of Theed, Naboo. Ahazi
"The little house atop the hill"

My best advice is to hang out in the cantina and make friends with the entertainers. Listen to the conversations around you and keep your eyes out for newbies--and offer to make them clothes. But generally, I didn't get many custom orders until I hit master. The few requests I did get as I was working up the line I often couldn't fill anyway. =( I think most people just do a search for master tailors and order strictly from then. I did sell a lot of items through the bazaar in the early days and eventually through my bazaar advertising I started driving traffic towards my shop and did a lot of vendor sales. Good luck!

my policy is ake my best clothes put them on my shop vendors, put a few teasers ont the bazaar, aong with lower spec clothing and then jus thang in the cantina. my cantina policy is to make clothe for free for totally new players. and discount the regular friendly dancers. this has made me a good rep and lots of friends

but like the other said, a custom order by email is rare, face to face or tell by referral is much more common, and id strive for that formal wear 3 box as thats wen you start to get the really nice gowns and jewellery

Custom orders are great, that is the heart of tailoring imho, so trying to increase that business is important. That is also where you are going to build customer loyalty, so those people (and their friends) that you work hard to please, face-to-face, are gonna be the people that are your biggest, highest spending customers in the future.

If you're wanting to drum up new custom orders here are some suggestions:

1) Look at yourself from the customers perspective, and use the "search" feature yourself.
Are there a bunch of other tailors that come up on the search at that given moment? Do they have "advanced tags"? If so, and you don't, you're very unlikely to get any new "random" customer orders that night at that city. Look at it as an opportunity to travel or do something else, and if you need money it's a good time to stock those bazars.

2) Wear the best "tag" you can, and if you don't have one, work towards one, they are important. I've always thought the "field marshal" tag was way too confusing, and probably does more harm than good, but "clothier" or better yet "expert tailor" if you have them will instantly distinguish you from other novices. If on the search there are two "novice tailors" and one "expert tailor" guess who people looking for a tailor are gonna call?

3) Be seen. Your shop, as much as it might feel comfortable to you, and as conventient as it might be for you with all your supplies and such, as a novice, is probably the worst place you can hang out if getting more business is your goal. A lot of people may not know they want clothes until they see a tailor, lol. Starport and Cantinas are the best places. I actually preferred the starport as a novice since you get "humbled" a lot at cantinas as a novice, but that is personal preference. Banks are also decent spots to "be seen".

I'm unconvinced that the bazar is at all useful as an advertising gimic, but a lot of people do use it. *shrug* give it a try, but I think the above tactics are likely to give you better results.

The other thing working against you is when most people are shopping, they want it NOW.
See if you can find another tailor that doesn't have/isn't interested in the line you're building. Maybe you can run a shop together. One specializing in X Wear, the other in Z Wear.
Right now I'm 3-4-0-3 and haven't opened a shop yet. Not looking forward to vendor fees I do very well on the Bazaar. Th etrick is to find your niche and make what's NOT there already, people will buy

The main problem I see is that for orders people will not send you an email asking if you can make something, they will just send the email to a master because they will be sure the master can make them. I personally almost never got any order until I reached master.

I am two boxes away from Master tailor. I sign on and receive three or four tells from people wanting custom orders. This is aside from the several emails in my inbox from people wanting custom orders.

• I can be hiding inside my clothing crafting station as I restock my vendors, and people will find me and ask for custom orders.


• I can be burst-running from a pack of angry gurrcats with only 3 health points left, and powerful hunters will run alongside me and ask for custom orders.


• I can be sitting behind a large rock, underwater, on the most desolate part of Endor, with a Homemaker title and AFK flag, and people will find me for custom orders.

I long for the days when I could be shouting my heart out about my tailoring wares in the Cantina on Friday nights and everyone ignored me.

Enjoy the peace while you can, Tamahira. It's not going to last

Quechli
-99, -5836 on Corellia
Intrepid Server

I'm was like Songe ... I didn't many emails for custom orders till I got Master either.

Now I get tons of emails ... from good customers and from folks I have never heard of. I even get emails from folks asking for a time to set up an appointment to work on somthing complex.

While it probably is hard to appreciate now ... enjoy your time now as once you get Master, you will never get a moments rest

I got one or two email orders. And I get quite a few tells just by standing around in the cantina grinding with me NOVICE tailor on. Then I made a macro that said: "Selling Clothes, Send a tell!" and usually I get quite a few tells in a crowded cantina . . . Kind of annoying though since I am only novice tailor and everyone wants to know if I can make master junk or dusters or paramilitary camos. You can get some perty decent cash off of that though.