Custom order?

[kittyclarice]

Hi, 

I recently received a request for a custom order. I've never done one before. I asked the buyer for some more information to see if I have the ability to create an offer. 

I was given some basic information and an expected deadline, but the buyer told me that they had further specifications, but would like to get an offer for the gig first. 

Is this normal for a custom gig? I'm interested, but I don't want to create an offer and then have it be outside the scope of the service I can provide or more work than I expected. I also asked if this was for business or personal use (because this may be a potential conflict of interest for me). They didn't directly answer me.

My question is should  I propose an unofficial estimate offer and see how they reply before creating an actual offer or does this sound like a sketchy project anyway? 

I'm not sure how this normally goes and don't want to miss an opportunity, but something seemed off to me. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by kittyclarice

[newsmike]

3 minutes ago, kittyclarice said:

Hi, 

I recently received a request for a custom order. I've never done one before. I asked the buyer for some more information to see if I have the ability to create an offer. 

I was given some basic information and an expected deadline, but the buyer told me that they had further specifications, but would like to get an offer for the gig first. 

Is this normal for a custom gig? I'm interested, but I don't want to create an offer and then have it be outside the scope of the service I can provide or more work than I expected. I also asked if this was for business or personal use (because this may be a potential conflict of interest for me). They didn't directly answer me.

My question is should  I propose an unofficial estimate offer and see how they reply before creating an actual offer or does this sound like a sketchy project anyway? 

I'm not sure how this normally goes and don't want to miss an opportunity, but something seemed off to me. 

Run, run away fast.  You correctly see the potential for abuse here.