I will throw my opinion into the ring here.

I have a lot of experience with customs here on UMD, most on OF, a couple on MV (recently). In total over the past 4 years I've hired for dozens of customs ranging from $185 to $1100 (top pornstar). Most in the 300-400 range. I have been screwed over and needed refunds. I have waited months at times to hear back. I got better at vetting producers and knowing my boundaries/when to walk away.

5 of these many customs have come from MG and ALL have been excellent. One of them had some deviations from my original request but it was more than satisfactory to match what I asked for.

If you are hiring for a custom you have to be patient! You have to be somewhat flexible and you want TRUST with the producer. Yes, lack of communication can suck, it happens. Yes, you are puting your money at risk. If that's uncomfortable they're probably not the right producer for you.

Again, I have enjoyed my final products as delivered by MG. There have been bumps in the road, sure, but the results have always been worth it to me.

On the topic of producers selling your custom... I assume they will. I welcome the idea that my fantasy can earn them some money. If anything my assumption is that when a producer agrees to certain prices they do so with the expectation that they are earning something to keep their business going. Why would anyone make a business decision with a 0-sum gain of only making the meager profits catering to a specific niche within a niche within a niche? If anything it makes me happy knowing that my inspiration can fuel their business and keep them going to make more amazing content in the future.

I can corroborate absolutely everything stated here via a few experiences that I have had as well. This pattern of behavior is exactly what I experienced with the last few customs with MG, which is why I stopped reaching out for customs altogether.

That said, just speaking of the history, I also ordered a few in the Amy/Penelope era that didn't follow this pattern--communication was great, scripts were followed, and the end product was fantastic.

Sorry to hear my negative experiences are a shared and somewhat common experience nowadays. I genuinely like MG's product, love the models, and appreciate the quality of their scenes. Just not when I feel ripped off or taken advantage of...

With all due respect, that isn't how it works.

Unless you are paying for the privilege of having that scene exclusively YOURS, it is under the understanding that the scene can be sold online and this is laid out for every custom we have done. The custom pricing is a way of sharing the burden across both parties, otherwise if we priced in accordance to what we REALLY pay (both physically and monetarily), we would never sell a custom.

I do give a grace period in this as I don't just drop the scene the day the client takes delivery as I feel some exclusivity is warranted and I also toss in bonus content/bts as a "thank you" but you are not the producer simply because you pay for a commissioned piece. We are. You are the client. You didn't finance the gear, the lighting, mics, modifiers, the grip, the xtra hands on set, the studio costs and you are certainly not accountable for any equipment rentals, repairs on wear and tear that may apply during a shoot etc.

We are hiring the talent, we're going through the headaches in scheduling, we are putting in the man hours ordering outfits and props, using our equipment, cleaning up after and then we still have editing to look forward to. And people wonder why producers and models need to take a step back because they suffer burnout lol.

I know some producers make this look like it's a walk in the park and they make hand over fist but it's been said many times over: If a WAM producer breaks even, it's a good day after all is said and done. Bonus points if they still have a functioning back and knees at the end of the road.

That being said, would a producer be willing to do a strictly "for your eyes only" shoot? Absolutely and many do but we are going to charge as if we are never going to see another cent for our efforts again, because we won't.

Wow, I never imagined all the stuff you guys have to deal with. People should certainly be more patient with issues such a hurricanes, pregnancy and someone's mother passing away.

Just throwing my thing in there in regards to customs and MessyGirl.

Obviously, you should be cautious. I have something like a dozen customs I've done/attempted throughout the years. I don't do them too often because you really do never know what you're going to get, it's a gamble. Sometimes you're better off just waiting and hoping a producer puts out a video that meets your satisfaction...BUT...Sometimes it pays off to get something you wanted tailored to you. Sometimes producers will make it right if you're not satisfied, and sometimes you're left with a custom you're never going to watch. I collect art, and it's the same thing with that as well. Commissioning an artist can go good or it can go bad. You gotta do your research before hand. Find out about time frames, see past work, see what other people have said about them if you can...But, even then, sometimes things go wrong and not the way you expect...so unfortunately you really gotta go into this with the frame of mind that you could not get what you want...If you can't do that, then you should just buy something that's already done.

I tried a custom with MessyGirl a while ago. They'd announced they were working with a model I liked, so I submitted my idea, and details of what I wanted. I know MessyGirl is famous for COMPLETE coverage and facials and whatnot, but for my custom I'd requested a focus on hair coverage with no looking up and with little to minimal facial coverage, it was chocolate syrup and green batter that I wanted in the video.

Everything was all set up sometime later (I don't remember how long, but it wasn't a ridiculous long wait or anything) I got the video, and it started off in the right direction with chocolate syrup going on her hair, and then the looking up and full coverage happened...and there were pies, which I never asked for, and I don't think green batter even made an appearance.

I knew going in that all that stuff that happened in the video was what they're basically known for, but I'd requested something else specifically.

Anyways, I told them all this, and they gave me no fuss and offered me a refund, I was a little sad I didn't get what I wanted, but I bare no ill will towards them, in the end they were professional and respectable towards me and made it right. Mistakes happen, nobodies perfect.

Some thoughts on pricing, and selling to the market:

We've always offered people the choice between having their custom scene exclusive to themselves, or having it on our sites and stores afterwards, no-one has ever asked for a strictly private scene, in fact most people want their scenes to then be sold, as if it does well it proves there is a demand for that type of scene. Our standard offer was that it'd be exclusive to the customer for six months from completion, but we've had people actively ask for their scenes to be released ASAP, because they want to try and nudge the market to make more similar content.

Our best example of that was the original "Rainwear Mess Test". That was done as a custom, and went on to sell well, to the point we've now shot four or five different versions of it, I think one of which was another custom and the other three we shot off our own bat. Looking back, it's obvious that workwear style rainwear fits very well with our existing lines of girls in boilersuits and overalls, but at the time I'd not thought of it, so the custom was a good way for that customer to encourage the production of more rainwear scenes in general.

When we price a custom, we charge the customer the full costs of the scene, in terms of model fees, materials, any clothes that have to be specially bought, an allowance for sundries like snacks and drinks during the shoot, and fifty quid profit on top, and then VAT on top of that. This makes it quite expensive, BUT, we will then aim to follow the customer's instructions to the absolute letter. A custom scene will always be the first shot, unless there's a specific reason to shoot it second (this once happened because the customer wanted the setting to be the already-messy, not-cleaned-up dungeon from a prior scene), so everyone is fresh and concentration levels are good. And we absolutely will not deviate in the slightest from the specification. If customer wants someone's face to stay clean, it stays clean. If they want one model to start with boots filling and work her way up, while the other starts with a custard shampoo, that is exactly what will happen.

At the moment we aren't taking customs, as due to external factors I can't currently be sure of being able to devote the time and resources needed to them, so this isn't meant as an advert. But I have always felt that when someone pays for a custom, a) they should be charged enough that even if it never sells another copy the producer still makes a small profit, and b) the resulting scene should be as close as humanly possible to what the customer asked for, and should absolutely NOT have on-the-day changes made to "make it more sellable" - any changes the producer wants to make should be negotiated in advance during the specification stage. We've occasionally suggested variations that we think will improve a scene, but only as suggestions, and only ever implemented any of them if the customer agreed they wanted those changes.

If a customer ever did want complete exclusivity, we'll sell them the scene plus the copyright, so it becomes theirs to do with as they wish. That would generally double the price though, and so far no-one has ever asked for it.

Basically a custom wam scene should be a very exclusive made-to-measure product. Think of the difference between buying an off-the-peg suit in M&S vs going to a bespoke tailor to have one custom-made, and the price difference between the two.

I've ordered multiple videos from MessyGirl and can honestly say I've spent thousands of dollars. That's not a boast that is a statement of trust. I've also commissioned Jayce several times. And a few videos with a few other producers. And I'm generally I'm always satisfied. Would I say 100% of the time? No but I think of it like this sometimes I go out to eat and the food aint the best, but do I complain? Nope because I didn't have to cook.

I'm not going to defend or dump on anyone. WAM producers provide a luxury. For myself it's a luxury I'm always appreciative of. Every video I ever received I felt the producer did their best to satisfy my expectations. Whether they did or not, well that did vary. But I'm grateful for every video I have.

When it comes down to it WAM producers create videos that I am not able to create myself. So I'm going to continue commissioning MessyGirl, Jayce and any other WAM producers I feel I can trust.