diff --git a/ella/core/models/main.py b/ella/core/models/main.py
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/ella/core/models/main.py
+++ b/ella/core/models/main.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import re
 
 from django.conf import settings
-from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
 from django.core.validators import validate_slug, RegexValidator
 from django.db import models
@@ -14,6 +13,11 @@ from ella.core.cache import CachedGenericForeignKey, SiteForeignKey, ContentType
 from ella.core.conf import core_settings
 from ella.core.managers import CategoryManager, ListingHandler
 
+if hasattr(settings, 'AUTH_USER_MODEL'):
+    User = settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL
+else:
+    from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+
 
 class Author(models.Model):
     """
Support django <I>'s custom user model

Fixes #<I>