RobE30

If someone were to approach you to "build" them a bike, is it acceptable to ask for half the anticipated build cost up front? A girl I work with wants me to build her a bike and I don't really feel like ponying up the cash (just don't have it) to cover all the parts. She wants to be active in the selection of parts etc. I'm not looking to make a ton of money on the bike (I enjoy tinkering on bikes) but, I don't want to be out the costs of the parts if she flakes.... Thoughts?

-holiday76

i've done this. I have the buyer buy the parts. I build it, then if I'm charging more on top of that or I'm using some of my own personal parts I'll charge for those then.

I'm not a bank, I'm doing a favor so for the most part I'm not willing to front money for anyone, unless maybe it were a family member or something.

CardiacKid

I built a bike for one of my best friends and he insisted on fronting the cash for the parts. I would definitely ask for all the money up front if you have any suspicion the person will flake. This isn't your business, it is a hobby. I generally tell friends that if they will pay for the parts, they can just pay me by letting me keep the parts I take off the old bike. Usually they are pretty worthless, but it makes the other person feel better.

liquefied

This is a common practice for anyone providing a service.

cudak888 

Demand cash up front, and overestimate the total bill. Take my word for it. You'll always run into some hidden expense, and no matter WHO you deal with, you're going to get the short end of the stick if you don't stand your ground - folks will take advantage of you whenever possible. WHENEVER possible.

I speak from experience.

-Kurt

RobE30

Truer words were never spoken. Thanks for the input guys

CPFITNESS

yep i agree. btw, I don't like the idea of the girl having a bunch of say in the parts. I can totally see her wanting one thing, then changing her mind and wanting another, so on and so forth. She better come to you with a pretty solid list of what she wants, otherwise, make her buy the required parts and bring them to you.

cinco

I would tend to agree with this with the addition of one qualifier: SOME folks will take advantage of you whenever possible. But, believe it or not, there are still some decent people out there. I doubt there are many, but there are some. I've been wrestling with the idea of requiring some sort of upfront payment myself but I still haven't decided on anything.

Here's my experience in the matter: I don't often custom-build for people because it's a pain in the neck but I will on occasion if I like the person and they don't seem like they're going to cause problems. So far there have been three this year. The first one isn't much to talk about - I built, he paid. The second one, though, wanted a mixte built up mostly with some late-'80s 105 parts I had laying around. Job done, and with a relatively minor personal monetary investment, she didn't pick it up. I was only out about $60 but that was for universal parts that I could fold back into other bikes. The time, however, was a big deal for me - I'd spent about 25 hours on it and now I'll have to rebuild because I doubt anyone around here will want to pay for the 105 parts. The funniest part of the episode was that she would've been getting a killer deal for the whole thing - it ended up being worse for her than it was for me.

The most recent one is a slightly different story. He drove 45 miles to buy a 55cm frame I had and when he got here it was too small. After seeing my collection he wanted to look around at my spare frames to see if I had anything else he liked. We found him something, talked about parts, and he decided he wanted me to build it and teach him how. We decided that the following Saturday would work for both of us and he INSISTED that I take half of the price in advance. The weekend came, we built the bike (thirteen hours), and he just sent me an email saying how happy he is and that he's knocked 9 minutes off of his daily commute. One of the few good people I've ever met in this part of the world and I'd ride with him every day if he were closer.

tl;dr: Trust, but verify.

Fasteryoufool

I built a bike for a friend, from the frame of a mutual friend that had died. He asked me for an estimate and paid me cash up front. Since he was very specific about what he wanted for gears (old Schwinn 2-speed kickback hub) and I don't do wheelbuilds, I told him it'd take me a while to locate one, and it'd be expensive to have the wheel built. He was fine with that. He gave me more money up front than I thought I needed, and I kept an Excel spreadsheet of all my expenditures. In the end I tried to give him the last $20 back and he told me to keep it for all the work I'd done on the bike.

LOL, if that was payment, I made maybe $0.10/hour on that bike. Seriously, the entire frame was rusted. I spent HOURS sanding, grinding and buffing rust off that thing.

Glennfordx4

I do a couple of builds a year for people,nothing special, stuff that I have laying around that needed work anyway so I build what I think will work for them after a good rundown on what type of ridding they want to do and what features they might like on a bike. I now get money upfront if there is something they want and I have to order it and to date I have only had a problem with one couple that stuck me but I had no problem getting the same money from someone else for the same bike,their loss.

Bianchigirll 

if you already have the frame and she wants to help select the parts, I suggest shopping together, in the store or online and let her pay for the parts. then before you start get the money for the frame and as Kurt suggest a bit extra for consumables and unexpected items.

rccardr 

I do custom builds all the time. Never ask for fundage up front. Never had a problem. Ever. But I do it for fun, not to make money.

It's all in the communication and the kind of people you work with. I tell the customer how much it's likely to cost for different levels of component quality, introduce lots of variability up front- color combos, components, etc. almost to the dazed and confused point- then we work it down together to a combination that will fit the customer's budget and taste. Then I wait a few days before buying anything I don't already have. When we get to where things cannot be changed (e.g. when the frame goes to the powder coater), I make sure the customer fully commits to the final package.

Most recent request: a black and tan 53cm 88 SR Cannondale. Color specified: foam on a Guinness draft. All modern 105 (5500 series), new 130mm/8speed wheelset. Lovely.

phoebeisis

Like others said, this is a minefield.
If you aren't careful you end up out of pocket, and this acquaintance will become an enemy. Worse, she will be convinced that YOU are the bad guy.

Best bet get her to buy the parts and deliver them to you.ALL THE PARTS- cables, brake pads, HB tape or grips lube- it all adds up.

Frankly, it is best to not do this for an acquaintance (unless you are hoping to impress her with your niceness and competence and turn this acquaintanceship into something else--some sort of courting-in which case have at it).

I met my wife in 1980 and wooed her by demonstrating how adept I was at trying to fix her POS fastback (mid 1970's) VW with a suitcase engine and early electronic fuel injection). The car work was a complete failure, but we're still married, so the rest worked out ok. The POS actually caught fire(no fault of mine).

Don't do it-unless you have something else in mind.
Luck
Charlie

RobbieTunes

I have procured and built two customs, both 54cm, neither of which fit me, so I had no use for them otherwise. Both were intended for a specific buyer.

Midway through the Felt F70, which was a nice modern build with 2x8 Sora for $250, the buyer emailed me about a Trek Hilo he was interested in, and asked if $500 was appropriate. I thought it was, and since it was a TT/Tri bike, kept on building. He decided he didn't need the Felt.

I began a different project, a Schwinn 564, had to fabricate/modify the seat post, collected the parts, nice 3x8 triple Sora setup, again, about $250, because I'm cheap if the parts are, too. Midway through, I get emailed about a Bianchi Trofeo for $100, and I adv to get it. He came in with it, and it needs about 4x the work the build would take, but it was only $100 and has great potential (9-sp Ergo).. Again, my project gets derailed.

I didn't get up-front money, which would have locked in the deal. My bad. So, no more custom builds without it.

I have built with "pay as I get the parts" and it worked out every single time.