I don't like auctions in general because the disappointment of being outbid but for an artist, you can potentially get a lot of money so it definitely benefits the artist.

Thanks for the feedback! And I totally understand your disappointment in auctions. It kinda sucks to bid on something to have the auction go past your budget. :(

But, ah, to specify, I don't think I'm going to take auctions for actual money. Instead, I plan on doing some auctions on FR for FR currency just to test the waters. I kiiiiinda undercharged like crazy last time, so I really need to see how much I could get for one of my pictures. The people on FR seem pretty willing to pay a decent amount for artwork, so it should be a good analog to what I could get for real money? /shrug

I love your artwork and would totally shower you with FR currency if I was into that but unfortunately I'm not. :( However, it's nice to test things out to see what people would be willing to pay since your artwork is really amazing

Personally I don't usually go for auctions because I feel guilty if it doesn't go for much and I end up winning (but hey, that's what tips can be for!), and when the auctions go quite high I can't always justify putting that much into one piece. BUT that said, I honestly like seeing when an artist's auction goes for a lot! Most artists really don't make much money at all, so any time I see a high-running auction it makes me feel good even though I may not be able to participate much in it.

I don't see it as annoying when an auction is held, and regular commissions are taken even at the same time. To me the auction can be an opportunity for commissioners with more funds to help the artist make a better living, while the regular commissions can be there for those who can't afford the higher price tag of the auctions. Doesn't always happen, sometimes the auctions go for lower depending on how they're run, the bidders, etc, but it's one thing I see that does happen.

For the last point I don't really have a strong opinion on that one way or another, whatever works best for the artist and makes customers happy I suppose!

Aw thanks! I love seeing people like you who support artists. There wouldn't be nearly as many awesome artists on here if it weren't for the awesome commissioners supporting them, so thanks! <3

So what if an artist holds an auction and then takes regularly-priced commissions a few months later? I would imagine that most people would want the cheapest option available, so they would avoid the more expensive option (whether that's an auction or a flat-priced commission).

Forgot to add:
But would people mind paying a little extra if it means that they got their artwork sooner? Like, let's say someone wins an auction for $50 in January, and then the artist opens for similar commissions for $30 dollars in July. Could the person from January cause a stink about that? 0___0

I know some artists who add bonuses when the auction reach a certain amount.

Here are random examples:

Under $50, you get a character with simple background
if it reach $50, you get a detailed background
At $70, you get an extra character or an icon
...

Of course, it works if you can deliver the extras :)

Since we know that some people can become pretty nasty and unreasonable for the pettiest of things, I'd say that it certainly is possible that people could do that unfortunately. Personally I see no issue with that whatsoever, the only thing I would recommend is to make it VERY clear that the higher price tag means you get it sooner, so that you've got your own butt covered in case someone does get nasty!

And that means a lot to hear! I love seeing all the awesome art and meeting the people who make it, and one of the best ways I can think of to keep all you awesome artists around is to pay well, I now just need to make some more money once I graduate :P

As for running an auction and doing commissions later, I'm honestly not really sure! There are lots of ways to run an auction, one of them being mentioned by Stygma there, and ultimately the auctions themselves *should* make you more money than your standard commissions (at least in my mind), and you're right about many people going for the cheapest options often, even if I'm not one of them :P With that in mind, I guess your best bet would be to get input from others that currently or have run both at some point. I have no issues how they might be run, some have restricted content in their regular commissions but their auctions are more open-ended, like how Eski only really does adult commission work during her yearly adult auction and such, and others might only have certain grades of quality in their auctions, and lower grades like speedpaints and such for regular commissions.

I'm not a big fan of auctions because they're hard to win if you're in the wrong timezone.
I'm willing to bid so its not a total put off, but never winning would likely make me give up. I've never gotten to that point but I think its inevitable.
I don't see how that'd be annoying outside of me not liking auctions.
I don't have a strong preference here.


As a side note I don't really like ladder auctions. They tend to go for one of the top few ladder rungs. Often the last couple rungs are things that don't fit what I wanted to commission so they're essentially unwinnable.

1-Would you avoid commissioning an artist if they only hold auctions for commission slots?
2-Would it annoy you if an artist sometimes holds auctions for their slots and sometimes has flat-price commissions?

1. It would make it a lot harder to commission. Quite often, the auction price starts at a "low-for-this-artist-but-still-reasonable" price and only goes up over time. I am less likely to get a slot that I can afford (and will not know if I can afford a slot) since it's winner-takes-all and my timezone is not very FA friendly.

2. I have seen YCH slots go for several times the artist's listed commission price for an "original" piece of the same quality. And I've seen one pose in the same YCH earn 2-3 times the cheapest slot in the same picture. I think the more savvy buyers would stick to low-bidding auctions and asking for a normal commission when it gets too hot.