Personally fix prices. Always avoid auctions; depending artist, reach hundreds dollars. Would need save over year, if health stable. Fix prices secure, like said, and immediately know can get. If can't, but artist okay hold bit, sure not snatched someone AB.

In general I avoid auctions because they can quickly get out of control. I have seen some bidders drop an absurdly high bid, right off the bat. There are some people that seem to have endless funds for commissions. If there’s an AB option that’s within my range then I will give them a look.

In the case of auctions where there are multiple characters I have in the past contacted others that were interested in a specific slot to split the cost with. It worked out well enough though it did make approving WIP a little more complicated.

I kind of wonder when I see an artist that primarily uses an auction model if maybe they are uncomfortable asking for the amount they feel their art deserves. It kind of shifts the burden of price setting onto the buyer.

My opinions are of course grounded in my own personal likes and dislikes. I am very anti gambling and not a fan of subscription services. I prefer to pay for a specific thing rather than paying for access.

Fixed price can be challenging because if it's priced too high it might just sit unsold for ages when someone who might have $50 or $100 less in their budget would have bid on an auction for it, and if it's priced too low it just gets sold before most people even get a chance to see it.

Depends somewhat on how it's priced. I personally don't have a lot of money - YCH commissions that have fixed prices are something I can save up for, and they often have more than one slot, which is great.

However, an auction can also feel somewhat unfair for the artist if people don't bid on it - for example, I recently got a YCH for five dollars from an artist who normally prices their stuff around 50 to 90 bucks, simply because I was somehow the only person bidding on it and the SB was set so low.
While this is obviously good for me, I can't imagine that it's a good feeling for an artist.

Some artists also set goals in their auctions - the art is only colored if X amount is reached, and extra alt for Y amount, etc., which always has a bit of a weird taste to it, especially if the initial auction picture is already colored.

So personally, I feel like the YCHs with fixed prices are better for both the artist and commissioner. The artist knows that they get as much money as they think it deserves (instead of the possible unlucky SB), and the commissioner knows what they get for what price and can possibly save up for it if the current price is out of reach and/or there are multiple slots.

I prefer fixed price, personally. Sometimes I can get something, depending.
Often times with auctions, the prices go way above and beyond what I can afford. At least when it's fixed, I can plan or debate accordingly and there's no surprises.

I also really like when there's multiple slots to a ych, because it gives a bit more time to save up towards a spot for something I'm interested in.