Quote - I would think someone used to the tools could do most of the stuff inside of a day, no? So I guess it comes down to how much they charge by the hour.

that really depends on the level of quality you are expecting.

as i said in the V4 theoretical physicist thread,  many full commissions can become cost prohibitive.  however, if the vendor can put the item in their store afterwards to recover more development costs, then rather than paying them for all of the work, you can often give them an incentive to make something you like.  in this way rather than hiring someone fulltime for a week, youre paying them a smaller amount just to hijack their creative direction.

for example, commissioning someone to make you a quality, custom flightsuit for Vicky is going to cost you over a thousand dollars.  however, if you are OK with that merchant putting that flightsuit and modified versions in their store afterwards, then perhaps you can get them to make it for $0-150.  the reason i say for nothing, is because if its a really good idea im sure many merchants will waive the fee.

this way, you get what you wanted, you can be involved in the creative process and help shape the product, and you get advance copies and perhaps a few free copies to give your friends.  of course all of this depends on your agreement with the merchant:  i would recommend, for both parties sake, to go over every aspect of the deal in advance so there are no surprises (such as the client thinking they have the right to also put the item in their store, or freely distribute, etc).