When it's unique thing with sketch that can be altered to actually feature my character properly and maximum of couple made, they are amazing because then the idea phase is skipped and I just get what looks like it could be hot or to get something from artist who usually has no comms or they are much more expensive.
When it's unlimited, cropped to crotch area only, only bucket filling lines, no alterations to linework at all, etc. etc. then it's just soulless product that's cheap.

Thanks for stopping by and giving feedback!

Regarding the cropped YCH stuff, I think I would generally agree. I could see how that could benefit maybe a newer artist, or perhaps clients that really like to fixate on a particular part of anatomy. But speaking broadly for most cases, when I see a dozen quickly done pallet swaps, it does kinda wear on my nerves lol.

I get YCH's fairly often, actually. I agree with Mario I like them most when the character is customizable (I've seen a lot of people that will only like allow a wolf character and it shuts out a lot of people)
I'm actually really bad at poses so YCH's help move over that hurdle that I have the hardest time with, and I really love when they involve R34. I also am cool with both super unique or limited multi-slot. I usually seem to get multi-slot more often because unique/one-piece only YCH I usually get wrecked by people who have way more disposable income than I do. I also will agree that I don't really find closeup or cropped YCH's that attractive either, it's nice being able to see your unique OC being part of the action.
But yeah I'm cool with YCH's!

I am primarily a rule34 artist, so that would likely be my main focal point. Price-wise, I think I would probably just go with a set price based on the complexity of what I was going for since I don't really like bidding wars or gambling.

But multi-slot do you mean several characters within the piece? Or several versions of the same YCH, each with a different OC instead?

Nice! Set prices are my personal preference cause it gives everyone a chance to get a piece and not be knocked down by more uh... Financially privileged people.
As for multi-slot, I was more referencing several versions of the same YCH, gives more people an opportunity to get one they want, and usually is a little more lucrative for the artist as well.
I usually get nervous taking part in YCH's with several characters cause I'm not sure how other people would vibe with my OCs

I would probably limit YCH to 2 characters. I've always sorta cringed at the idea of buying into a YCH and ending up with a bunch of random people. Not really my scene at all lol.

If I wasn't poor, I might. I've been priced out of every single one (that I wasn't the only bidder) I've ever participated in. Considering you have a fanbase, I'm probably never getting one from ya.

That's okay, I appreciate you chiming in anyway. I will probably mention this again later once I get more opinions, but I'll mention here that I am open to payments for people who need that as an option. I do generally tend to prefer that folks take care of themselves first before spending it on my work, but I also try not to get too into people's business who aren't forthcoming about it.

Personally, YCHs are hit-or-miss for me. I'm generally only preferential to "exclusive ones"- i.e.: Single instance of a preset image at either a fixed price or at auction. YCHs that allow for multiple individuals to pay in for a variant of the same initial pose/scenario are a huge turn away for me. When I go for purchasing artwork, part of my reasoning is I'm getting something that's "mine", the elation from knowing this is, in essence, a one-of-a-kind. When YCHs are multiple batches/slots for the same initial pose/scenario, it loses its luster and appeal in my eyes. It's devalued, and so I just lose interest very quickly.

I can understand that. Speaking personally, I do tend to lean more towards the exclusive side of things myself. I was never a huge fan seeing or doing a dozen alts of the same image. Fixed pricing would also likely be a thing. I kinda despise bidding wars.

I'm open to them especially when I'm clueless on poses or ideas. Though can suck when it's a bidding war that you immediately get priced out of something you like. It's also nice when it can be adapted to fit your character and not just a flat "they must fit what's already here" kind of thing. Can be difficult if I want a certain character of mine featured but they won't work because they aren't the right species or build.

Yeah, if I were to do an occasional YCH, first off, I would be doing set pricing. I don't really agree with bidding wars or gambling generally. As far as retrofitting characters into the scenes goes, there are certain types of characters that wouldn't work in most pre-drawn scenarios without redoing the composition of the entire image essentially (thinking characters like nagas/half serpent characters, centaurs, or probably characters with hyper proportions as examples) , but for the most part I would try to make it a point to make sure a fairly broad range of characters types could work; or at least that's the hope anyway. Sometimes that's easier said than done when it actually comes time to fit a character in there.

Yeah, I mostly am thinking of times where I've seen like "only canines allowed" or "it must be a skinny character with this shape" sort of deal. I understand having some set restrictions of how far you can go with changes, that much is reasonable if it's a lot of work. Some of the examples I look to will usually just have a placeholder character to give a general idea where or what you'd be doing and they'll work you in to that position, but the limits tend to be what the artist is able to do.