I have followed this thread with great interest. When I decided to open an online store (so far only have the one etsy shop) I waffled about whether to take custom orders. There is possibly money to be made there, but no one wants to pay for the kind of work I do. I am not throwing together random pre-cut 10" squares. I put a lot of thought and much blood, sweat and sometimes tears, into the quilts I design and make. Quilting is not just a hobby for me, nor is it just a business. It is my passion and my artistic voice. I believe I am very good at what I do and not ashamed to say so.
And, yes, I'm still waffling about doing custom work. I don't want to get into the rat-race of making things to other people's orders. The few quilts I have sold were ones I had ALREADY completed. I listed them as "here it is, here is the price." If you like it and appreciate its one-of-a-kind hand-crafted artistic value, buy it. If not and you want cheap, like someone else said, go to Walmart.
The problem is when a friend of a friend heard I made one for a mutual acquaintance and wants to know how much I charge, either expecting the friends and family discount, or totally clueless about the price and the process. If a family member or really good friend asked me to make one, I wouldn't charge anything except for materials. I'm not about to risk a relationship over the price of a quilt. But when my DH's coworker expressed interest in having a t-shirt quilt made, I wrote up a detailed list of the materials I would need and a per shirt price list (based on prices I saw on internet). He gave her the list and I've never heard from her again.
And why, when I ask people for advice about how much to charge, is $10/hr. the magic number? Not one of the people who have suggested that to me would work for $10 an hour. No, I didn't go to school for 8 years to learn to make quilts, I don't have a plaque on my wall with umpteen letters after my name, but heck, I made more than than at the retail job I quit last year. I could go on ad nauseum, but I will shut up and get off my soap box for now.