Tony Gill

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I understand the dilemma re. the 50% deposit, it does seem a lot. When researching the bespoke furniture making business before setting up, I too was taken aback by the apparently large deposits that makers who make a success of their business charge. Further investigation showed that there was more to it than I had supposed. 

It’s all about risk and trust. The idea is to spread any risk fairly between client and maker. When a client orders a piece, they take a risk in trusting that the maker will make what they want and deliver on time. The maker, however, takes a risk in trusting that the client will actually pay up when the work is completed. The risk should be equally balanced for trust to be justified and a 50% deposit gives perfect equity. 

The deposit insures the maker for some of the work he will have done should the client change his mind or default for any reason. However, 50% is not enough to remove the maker’s incentive to finish the job on time. That is the clients insurance. 

As the cost of the wood and materials comes out of the deposit, and this cost can be 30% of the final cost of the piece, then a 30% deposit means that the maker is shouldering 100% of the cost of making the piece, and should the client default he will not have been paid for any of that work.

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