A previous customer of mine wants a price quote on a custom but I’m not sure what to charge. She needs a 3 month Joseph stripped, painted, and rooted. She already has the kit that needs to be stripped, weighting materials, and stuffing, and doesn’t need a box opening. How would I price that?
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If you have a fee for these services on a new kit, I would use that plus add something for stripping that kit. These are WAY more work than just starting a new kit because you may have to work around staining or whatever may not come off of the vinyl. For that reason, I no longer take on this kind of work.
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I’ve never done a custom 
I sell my regular babies for around 500 dollars. But don’t know what I’d charge for a custom
I charge the same for customs as for regular babies unless they want a more expensive kit than I normally do.
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I’d probably charge about that amount. What you would have spent on the kit could be your stripping fee.
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My thoughts exactly.
Way too much work. You’d have to charge me more to strip it all.
If you do decide to take on the challenge I would charge at least the same amount as a custom order. AT least. Because even if the customer says “I am providing the body, kit, all of that” you still have to do extra work to it.
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I also avoid these types of requests… what if her kit gets damaged? You’ll have to refund her the cost of the kit.
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I agree with the others. It’s not worth the work of stripping and cleaning it before you even begin to start your painting. Do you know what kind of paint and varnish was used to paint it? This can have a great effect on the amount of time and work involved in the stripping. Tell her to buy a new kit, as your cost in stripping would be about the same. Plus, it would be less toxic than dealing with the stripping fluid.
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I hope it’s not that 3m Joseph I just saw posted on a FB scammers page. That doll is a hot mess.
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good point, if it is air dry paint, good luck!! I ruined a few kits that got trashed while learning… Also, I would be afraid of a knock off kit, unless it is a long time trusted buyer.
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Right!! If it’s air dry with varnish on a BB kit, I toss it. I have sat here scrubbing these things with pure acetone and it’s still an event. It would have to be a kit like Mazie Arcello before I would bother.
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I saw that one also.It needs to be a practice baby now IMO.She really did a job on that one.
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Thank you everyone for your input! I decided against taking on a kit that needs stripping. But I did offer a custom with a new kit so we’ll see!
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It’s work just to strip a kit, and especially one that size. Then you will have to repaint it and then root it, which requires time and expense. I would charge no less than $400 for the whole thing.