Made To Order is a modality of selling toys where, usually, a customer is able to select from a certain number of options. An example would be a listing that allows customers to pick from a dozen colors and two pour styles, or a listing that allows customers to choose from any of five named colors in three different firmness.

This differs from full customs where the customer can dictate all aspects of the toy and its pour (other than anything that would require a new mold be built).

Not all shops use this definition of MTO, and for some there is no difference between a MTO and a custom.

Pros:

The benefit of MTOs is that by sticking to colors a maker knows how to mix, materials that are kept in bulk supply in the shop, and pour styles they are familiar with; these toys can be made faster and with less chance of a flop than full custom sales allow. Makers may take advantage of this to be able to offer MTOs at a lower price than full customs, offer them with faster shipping time than full customs, allow toys to be shipped without requiring the customer to review and approve the pour, or allow customer to get named colors in the design and firmness they prefer rather than waiting for one to show up in a drop. MTOs are also beneficial on ecommerce platforms like etsy that sort search results based on how popular an item is. Items sold in a drop are usually one off and so their number of times sold will remain at one, whereas a single MTO listing may be bought many times, thus boosting its search ranking.

Cons:

Customers often expect a higher level of consistency on MTOs than can be achieved. Differences between the viscosity of different firmnesses of silicone and the shape of the toy both impact how a pour will come out. If a customer has seen "Pink Candy Sunset" done in a medium firmness on a large toy and orders it poured in soft firmness in a mini sized toy, they may be disappointed by just how different it can come out. Because of this, MTOs can create a higher CS burden than drops. Shops using MTOs as the ONLY sales modality may also miss out on customers who want to purchase something immediately and are harder to build hype and interest around than drops or full customs.