I've noticed there are a lot of people selling and buying art here, but rarely is any of it for USD exclusively. It seems like you have to be really really skilled to get some kind of actual (minimal) wage for your art, otherwise it's all in FR currency. People are really quick to shell out Gems too, but not the same for actual money which is REALLY confusing!! Like if you have gems why dont you just give the person actual money? Or worse if you got the gems through doing art, why don't you draw your art yourself???
I'm just really confused and wanted to start a discussion about it to get feedback from buyers and sellers.
i got offered a few times for one of my dragons a value of (when using a 500:1:1 scale) $30usd in treasure/g and like i would have totally sold it if it was in actual money... idk is that wrong?
I've noticed there are a lot of people selling and buying art here, but rarely is any of it for USD exclusively. It seems like you have to be really really skilled to get some kind of actual (minimal) wage for your art, otherwise it's all in FR currency. People are really quick to shell out Gems too, but not the same for actual money which is REALLY confusing!! Like if you have gems why dont you just give the person actual money? Or worse if you got the gems through doing art, why don't you draw your art yourself???
I'm just really confused and wanted to start a discussion about it to get feedback from buyers and sellers.
i got offered a few times for one of my dragons a value of (when using a 500:1:1 scale) $30usd in treasure/g and like i would have totally sold it if it was in actual money... idk is that wrong?
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earvomit
Hello! :D On the 'Why don't you just give the artist rlc instead of gems?' question, I don't spend rlc on gems ever, actually! So it's not a case of putting money in FR instead of an artist at all in my case! ~ You'll find that a lot of people onsite are that way ^^
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earvomit
Hello! :D On the 'Why don't you just give the artist rlc instead of gems?' question, I don't spend rlc on gems ever, actually! So it's not a case of putting money in FR instead of an artist at all in my case! ~ You'll find that a lot of people onsite are that way ^^
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earvomit
I exclusively take USD commissions but I also participate in events like raffles and Dom pushes so that my art isn't 100% always restricted to RLC. To my understanding many art buyers have been burned in the past by artists on here and feel uncomfortable paying artists real cash, fearing they won't get a piece in the end or the artist will run off with their money :/ part of it is also that they may be hobbyists or are trying to improve their skills more before taking real money.
So I get why lots of artists take multiple currencies, although as an independent adult type person I camt justify accepting dragon money until I can comfortably pay my bills every month. Different strokes for different folks, I wish I could offer FR currency because I feel like it's far more of an accessible payment! I see your point but yeah I think some people just collect gems from the AH and such
Edit: forgot to add that my shop isn't really too active, I get buyers more often than I expected with usd but I think most people come to art sales looking to pay with treasure or gems? I generally buy FR art with gems and treasure myself
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earvomit
I exclusively take USD commissions but I also participate in events like raffles and Dom pushes so that my art isn't 100% always restricted to RLC. To my understanding many art buyers have been burned in the past by artists on here and feel uncomfortable paying artists real cash, fearing they won't get a piece in the end or the artist will run off with their money :/ part of it is also that they may be hobbyists or are trying to improve their skills more before taking real money.
So I get why lots of artists take multiple currencies, although as an independent adult type person I camt justify accepting dragon money until I can comfortably pay my bills every month. Different strokes for different folks, I wish I could offer FR currency because I feel like it's far more of an accessible payment! I see your point but yeah I think some people just collect gems from the AH and such
Edit: forgot to add that my shop isn't really too active, I get buyers more often than I expected with usd but I think most people come to art sales looking to pay with treasure or gems? I generally buy FR art with gems and treasure myself
I think a big thing is that Flight Rising is a pet site, not an art site.
Most of the users on here don't come here to look for USD artists, they'll go elsewhere to see their selection of choices on a site that better displays these options.
I honestly wouldn't ever go to Flight Rising to buy or sell art for USD.
As a consumer, I'd only see a small selection of available artists here (even more difficult when the art sales forums move so fast and offer no real preview until I sift through thousands of threads).
As a producer, I'm cutting out a huge load of potential customers in favor of a user base that A) may not even be old enough to have a job, let alone a PayPal, and B) really isn't looking for USD commissions anyways.
I mean, I can go to DA or any other art gallery/sales site and still draw FR dragons for people... Plus whatever non FR buyers want me to draw. More customers=more money.
And FR, being as small as it is with so few people seriously looking to pay real currency, means that I'd have to compete with other artists for their business. Competition leads to lowering prices (And I don't want to hear that "You're worth more/ minimum wage" bullcrap speech.) and lowering prices + smaller selection of customers = less money.
Seriously. If you want to charge USD, get a fairer price, and more customers willing to shell out cash... Don't sell art on a pet site. It's nothing wrong with the users or their"ignorance" or their unwillingness to pay fairly. It has far more to do with the target audience, and this target audience isn't really here to spend real money.
People go to art sites to buy and sell art. People come to FR to play with dragons.
When they go to buy art, they most likely want to use site currency. Why?
Because that's the currency in the game. That's the currency they make by playing and the currency that can be used. If you're selling in the game, then of course people expect you to accept the game currency xD Just because you can't pay your bills with it, doesn't make it valueless. People expect that since you're selling in a dragon game, you want currency of that dragon game, to buy things in that dragon game. If you want to pay your bills then (as I said above) this isn't the best place to do it.
I've never really understood that mindset of "I need to pay my bills and I can't do it with dragon money! I normally open commissions for $80 at the very least!" Cause then... Well... Just go do what you normally do instead of selling somewhere that has virtual currency. If people on FR really want to throw their money at you, then they'll go offsite to do it or send you a PM.
Another thing (and I believe it's already been mentioned) is that many artists on here are hobbyists or just looking to sell their on-site art services for the fun/practice of it. They aren't looking to pay bills, just draw. And of course, this often gets in the way of artists who aren't hobbyists, because it lowers the expected price of art on site. The hobbyists aren't doing it on purpose, but nor are they really required to raise their prices just so other artists can make a real living. I know it's hard to believe for some, but there are artists who know the value of their work and still don't believe they need to price their art at the average American minimum wage.
You asked why people don't pay USD over gems or treasure... And again, because USD isn't the common currency. On FR USD is really rare, and has a much higher value. Even thought the gem:USD exchange rate is 100:1, gems can only be used on FR, while USD can be taken offsite. People would rather spend their gems where it's possible, than spend their real money that can be used to pay their own bills. Since gems can be acquired in ways other than paying USD, there is actually a greater number of gems being put into the site than there is USD being spent, and those gems can't be turned into USD once on site. You can only use them for on-site purchases... And people selling art on FR is an on-site purchase.
As for why artists don't just draw for themselves... Well... Because sometimes it's nice to have art from other people. It's nice to have someone else do the work, to see their interpretation, to see their style... That's not limited to FR or even art.
Sorry if I've ranted a bit, this is a subject that really irks me.
I think a big thing is that Flight Rising is a pet site, not an art site.
Most of the users on here don't come here to look for USD artists, they'll go elsewhere to see their selection of choices on a site that better displays these options.
I honestly wouldn't ever go to Flight Rising to buy or sell art for USD.
As a consumer, I'd only see a small selection of available artists here (even more difficult when the art sales forums move so fast and offer no real preview until I sift through thousands of threads).
As a producer, I'm cutting out a huge load of potential customers in favor of a user base that A) may not even be old enough to have a job, let alone a PayPal, and B) really isn't looking for USD commissions anyways.
I mean, I can go to DA or any other art gallery/sales site and still draw FR dragons for people... Plus whatever non FR buyers want me to draw. More customers=more money.
And FR, being as small as it is with so few people seriously looking to pay real currency, means that I'd have to compete with other artists for their business. Competition leads to lowering prices (And I don't want to hear that "You're worth more/ minimum wage" bullcrap speech.) and lowering prices + smaller selection of customers = less money.
Seriously. If you want to charge USD, get a fairer price, and more customers willing to shell out cash... Don't sell art on a pet site. It's nothing wrong with the users or their"ignorance" or their unwillingness to pay fairly. It has far more to do with the target audience, and this target audience isn't really here to spend real money.
People go to art sites to buy and sell art. People come to FR to play with dragons.
When they go to buy art, they most likely want to use site currency. Why?
Because that's the currency in the game. That's the currency they make by playing and the currency that can be used. If you're selling in the game, then of course people expect you to accept the game currency xD Just because you can't pay your bills with it, doesn't make it valueless. People expect that since you're selling in a dragon game, you want currency of that dragon game, to buy things in that dragon game. If you want to pay your bills then (as I said above) this isn't the best place to do it.
I've never really understood that mindset of "I need to pay my bills and I can't do it with dragon money! I normally open commissions for $80 at the very least!" Cause then... Well... Just go do what you normally do instead of selling somewhere that has virtual currency. If people on FR really want to throw their money at you, then they'll go offsite to do it or send you a PM.
Another thing (and I believe it's already been mentioned) is that many artists on here are hobbyists or just looking to sell their on-site art services for the fun/practice of it. They aren't looking to pay bills, just draw. And of course, this often gets in the way of artists who aren't hobbyists, because it lowers the expected price of art on site. The hobbyists aren't doing it on purpose, but nor are they really required to raise their prices just so other artists can make a real living. I know it's hard to believe for some, but there are artists who know the value of their work and still don't believe they need to price their art at the average American minimum wage.
You asked why people don't pay USD over gems or treasure... And again, because USD isn't the common currency. On FR USD is really rare, and has a much higher value. Even thought the gem:USD exchange rate is 100:1, gems can only be used on FR, while USD can be taken offsite. People would rather spend their gems where it's possible, than spend their real money that can be used to pay their own bills. Since gems can be acquired in ways other than paying USD, there is actually a greater number of gems being put into the site than there is USD being spent, and those gems can't be turned into USD once on site. You can only use them for on-site purchases... And people selling art on FR is an on-site purchase.
As for why artists don't just draw for themselves... Well... Because sometimes it's nice to have art from other people. It's nice to have someone else do the work, to see their interpretation, to see their style... That's not limited to FR or even art.
Sorry if I've ranted a bit, this is a subject that really irks me.
I think Haven covered everything I was going to say!
As for "Why would you pay Gems but not $USD??"-- Gems can be earned on-site without spending a penny of real cash, and they can also be easily used on-site, so it's a more accessible and useful form of currency on FR.
People can sell dragons, accents, items, etc. for Gems and rack up a ton of money without spending anything IRL. If a 10-accent pack is 2500g and you sell the accents (funded via preorders) for 500g each, that's a 2500g profit, no USD required.
As an artist, if I wanted USD commissions, I'd go elsewhere. FR is a dragon game; using it to try to pay bills when a big chunk of users might be too young/not allowed to spend IRL cash online would seriously cut down my customer base. :'V Besides, since I'm on here, I'd mostly be looking for Gems and Treasure to spiff up my dragons, aha.
I think Haven covered everything I was going to say!
As for "Why would you pay Gems but not $USD??"-- Gems can be earned on-site without spending a penny of real cash, and they can also be easily used on-site, so it's a more accessible and useful form of currency on FR.
People can sell dragons, accents, items, etc. for Gems and rack up a ton of money without spending anything IRL. If a 10-accent pack is 2500g and you sell the accents (funded via preorders) for 500g each, that's a 2500g profit, no USD required.
As an artist, if I wanted USD commissions, I'd go elsewhere. FR is a dragon game; using it to try to pay bills when a big chunk of users might be too young/not allowed to spend IRL cash online would seriously cut down my customer base. :'V Besides, since I'm on here, I'd mostly be looking for Gems and Treasure to spiff up my dragons, aha.
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 Ashes | F
+4h FR time
Feel free to ping me!
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Haven
*awe-inspired clapping* you said everything i wanted to say in a much better, thorough, and easier way to understand
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Haven
*awe-inspired clapping* you said everything i wanted to say in a much better, thorough, and easier way to understand
I'd actually be more likely to commission somebody who doesn't offer USD for art prices because It feels more professional to offer a RL currency. Nothing wrong with having options on how you want to pay either. Artists usually sell over multiple websites because having your work more places than one is a good way to get noticed. I don't think anybody here that offers gem/treasure payments alongside USD expects you to pay in USD, but like Heaven said, you can't pay the bills in dragon money.
TL;DR I'd probably pay in gems if somebody had gem and USD prices, but they probably aren't only selling art on FR. It's easier to get gems anyways!
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Haven I disagree with you on the whole "it's a pet site not an art site". I think FR is an extremely legitimate platform for people to peddle their art though. Most of this game is based around things looking pretty and especially with the whole selling skins and accents, art is a huge deal on here. Dragons with art sell for more than ones that don't. I agree that USD isn't a common currency and a lot of people who sell art here are probably hobbyists than people who do it for a living or a side job. I also agree that FR isn't the place you should come to if you are looking to get a RL currency commission.
I'd actually be more likely to commission somebody who doesn't offer USD for art prices because It feels more professional to offer a RL currency. Nothing wrong with having options on how you want to pay either. Artists usually sell over multiple websites because having your work more places than one is a good way to get noticed. I don't think anybody here that offers gem/treasure payments alongside USD expects you to pay in USD, but like Heaven said, you can't pay the bills in dragon money.
TL;DR I'd probably pay in gems if somebody had gem and USD prices, but they probably aren't only selling art on FR. It's easier to get gems anyways!
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Haven I disagree with you on the whole "it's a pet site not an art site". I think FR is an extremely legitimate platform for people to peddle their art though. Most of this game is based around things looking pretty and especially with the whole selling skins and accents, art is a huge deal on here. Dragons with art sell for more than ones that don't. I agree that USD isn't a common currency and a lot of people who sell art here are probably hobbyists than people who do it for a living or a side job. I also agree that FR isn't the place you should come to if you are looking to get a RL currency commission.
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Haven @
Ningyo @
SpookTunes @
PrincessParrot
Having read these past comments, I never realized people saw anything wrong with exclusively USD shops! I am somewhat surprised. I felt a bit wary about opening one myself (because I was certain no one on FR would pay USD) but I decided to because I felt that people enjoyed my art and wanted to give them a chance to buy it outside of dom events.
Hopefully you guys don't mind answering a question of mine, because I'm curious about your opinions. Do you guys feel it is greedy to offer USD commissions on a game website like this? Sort of like taking advantage of a fun place and turning it into a work place?
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Haven @
Ningyo @
SpookTunes @
PrincessParrot
Having read these past comments, I never realized people saw anything wrong with exclusively USD shops! I am somewhat surprised. I felt a bit wary about opening one myself (because I was certain no one on FR would pay USD) but I decided to because I felt that people enjoyed my art and wanted to give them a chance to buy it outside of dom events.
Hopefully you guys don't mind answering a question of mine, because I'm curious about your opinions. Do you guys feel it is greedy to offer USD commissions on a game website like this? Sort of like taking advantage of a fun place and turning it into a work place?
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mewiyev - I don't think it's greedy, but it does seem... kind of weird to offer USD commissions on a pet site, imo. :'0 Especially with how diverse FR's userbase is and how awful the USD/any other currency exchange rate is (ie. I'm Canadian; a $50 USD commission would cost me $70). Just doesn't feel like the right place for real-money commissions.
If you were going to offer USD commissions on FR, maybe have it as a payment option? Like, people can either pay in Gems, Treasure, or USD, or you could offer USD "bribe slots".
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mewiyev - I don't think it's greedy, but it does seem... kind of weird to offer USD commissions on a pet site, imo. :'0 Especially with how diverse FR's userbase is and how awful the USD/any other currency exchange rate is (ie. I'm Canadian; a $50 USD commission would cost me $70). Just doesn't feel like the right place for real-money commissions.
If you were going to offer USD commissions on FR, maybe have it as a payment option? Like, people can either pay in Gems, Treasure, or USD, or you could offer USD "bribe slots".
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Ashes | F
+4h FR time
Feel free to ping me!
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mewiyev
Like Ningyo said, I don't see it greedy at all. I see it as professional like I stated before hand. And also only users would have to be over age 18 (or at least they are supposed to be) to pay you in USD over Paypal. So only offering USD prices limits your selling base again. But I can understand that some people might feel safer paying USD for a more expensive piece of art (contracts and the sort) than with pet site currency.
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mewiyev
Like Ningyo said, I don't see it greedy at all. I see it as professional like I stated before hand. And also only users would have to be over age 18 (or at least they are supposed to be) to pay you in USD over Paypal. So only offering USD prices limits your selling base again. But I can understand that some people might feel safer paying USD for a more expensive piece of art (contracts and the sort) than with pet site currency.
