Con season deadlines: when to commission for the next big con
Makers' queues fill in the same order every year: January for spring cons, May for summer, August for fall. If you post in the month before a con you're competing with everyone who did the same thing.
Work backwards
- Shipping: 1–2 weeks within your own country, 3–5 international. Large armor ships slow.
- Build time: props 2–6 weeks, armor pieces 3–5, full armor 8–14, full builds 10–16.
- Queue: a good maker usually has 2–6 weeks of work ahead of yours.
- Fitting and fixes: a week, if anything needs adjusting.
A full armor set for a con in mid-March should be posted by early November. A single prop for the same con, by mid-January.
Rush is real, and it costs
Under four weeks is a rush, and rush work often costs 30–50% more. Some won't take it at all. The estimator on the home page adds the rush multiplier so you can see it before you post.
What to do now
Post early with a realistic date, and give the maker a "done-by" that's two weeks before the con. That buffer is what turns a stressful commission into a boring one.