Sometimes the costumes you see in the shop take me months of work, handling the finest stilks and sewing them by hand. Sometimes they require to dye, to spend days searching for the right material or drafting and asjusting patterns and mock-ups. And being this my full time job, this means a single costume may have to cover a month of my wage, plus taxes and materials. So I am the very first to understand that sometimes it is easier to afford the items I create by splitting the payment. This makes my work available to more. And sometimes I have a waiting line that can take months or even years. So why not take advantage of this and spread the payment over a wider amount of time, making it much easier for your bank account?
Over the years I have studied and adjusted a payment plan startegy that can work for both me and my customers.
How it works
Monthly
The first thing you have to decide is how much you wish to pay every month. The smallest amount I take is 200 euros per month.
So if you have a 1000 euros costume you want to purchase, you can pay around 200 euros for five months. Or around 333 euros for three months, or around 500 euros for two months.
There is a small interest rate depending on the number of payments. If you want to split in two, there’s a +2% on the total. If you want to split in 10, there’s a +10%.
After a few times in which the customer had issues or stopped paying after a while, I had to set this way, as the wider the time the payment takes, the more installments, the higher the risk of something happening. I understand perfectly that costumes are not a life-or-death type of priority for anyone, but being this my full time job, I need to protect myself.
Let’s continue with the 1000 euros costume example.
- If you wish to split it in five, there’s a +5% on the total. So instead of being 1000 it becomes 1050. Every installment will be of 210 euros;
- If you wish to split it in three, there’s a +3%. Instead of 1000 it would be 1030 and every installment would be 343 euros;
- If you wish to split in half, there’s a +2%, so you get 1020 euros, 505 euros each payment.
Half
You can also choose to pay half upfront and half before shipping. In this case the +2% applies.
I may require you to cover more than half in the first payment, according to the materials I need to order.
Shipping
Shipping is not included in the cost and will be calculated at the end, according to the exact weight and volume of the item.
If a mock-up is involved, shipping the mock-up to you will be included in the price. If a second mock-up fitting will be needed, you will be required to cover the shipping cost within two days from my communication of the amount to be paid.
Every PayPal payment has to be of the exact amount, PayPal fees need to be covered by you.
I only ship the finished item when the full payment is complete and processed, shipping cost included.
Customs fees
If there are any custom fees, at any point of the process, you will be required to cover them within two days from the communication.
Customs fees may apply to material being shipped to me, the mock-up being shipped to you or back to me, or the final item. Customs fees- especially italian ones- may not be proportionate to the value of the item.
Every PayPal payment has to be of the exact amount, PayPal fees need to be covered by you.
In complience with Italian law, every payment above 77,47 euros will require a 2 euros tax to be paid. This tax is included in one time prices. It will be however added for each separate payment, including if you are paying for shipping separately and it exceeds the limit.
Contract
Before we start, I will need you to sign an agreement. You can find the preview of it below.
