We did one of these a while ago and I liked it.
Pic related: Please stop being shocked that my products have a price
Going to be the first to say no matter how many times it happens I will never get used to people asking me for a custom, going through the whole commission process with me (price quotes included), and then backing out right as I ask for payment. If you don't have money set aside stop wasting both of our time. And teenagers who want to commission me, don't let on that they're underage, and then tell me something like "sorry, my parents said no so I can't anymore but maybe for my birthday " after a lot of back and forth.
>>8728678
I hope you ask for payment early
>>8728944
I don't officially start a project without it. But it's still aggravating to go back and forth working out details (size, materials, price, etc) for a commission that leads to nothing.
>>8728440
>Trying to sell shit that I could literally make at home with hot glue
>>8728678
>Someone offers to do art commissions at a con for $10
>Explain what I want
>"Oh that sounds kinda complicated (one character with a frilly dress) I'll have to charge you a bit extra"
>wutevs m8
>"That'll be about $100"
>Turn 360 degrees and walk away
>>8729040
> that didn't happen
>>8729040
>money must be exchanged for goods and services
what a concept
>>8729059
i think the issue lies more within the fact that they said "a bit extra" and bumped up the price by 900%
>>8729059
Not that anon but charging so much more for such a minor addition is ridiculous. It makes me not want to buy from indie places when they pull shit like that.
>>8729067
except no artist who offers '$10 commissions' on the spot would raise a commission price to $100, instead of just declining the commission or letting the client know ahead of confirming the commission what the price would be. That, or the $10 commission was for something like a headshot or simplistic chibi and they asked for something that was clearly not that.
>>8729071
Never say never.
>>8729053
Seconding. Unless it was some seriously good artist and their $10 commissions were like on-the-spot doodles and you wanted a real full-body piece of custom art in color on good paper. In which case that's you being dense not them being unreasonable.
>>8729029
I used hot glue once on a plush to test it out and I felt so cheap and dirty. I can't stand artists who do this either but sometimes customers only care about quantity over quality, especially when they're young and only have like $20 for the entire con.
>>8729093
>sometimes customers only care about quantity over quality
I've heard a few times as a seller that someone wants to buy something expensive from me and they go "But that'd be all my money" and someone with them goes "This is literally the only think in the room you want though."
People, you don't have to go home with 10 things you kinda like. One thing you really like is fine.
I do crafts and sooooo many people at cons take my card and talk to me about a commission they want and I encourage them to message me on etsy with their commissions details so I can give them a price.
Not a single person has ever followed up. It is especially disappointing since some of those people are cute and thought it would be a way to start talking to them o.x
>>8729071
Idk, the artist could have known anon and not liked them and charged them extra. I've asked my friends to charge certain people extra for a commission before.
These threads always lack the customer side, so
>vendors who sell meme prints w/ Impact font plastered over their art
>carbon copy prints of art from any show/series/game
>pins/buttons/stickers/shirts/etc. that are pics straight from shows/series/games & not original art
>complimenting an item and the vendor says "you should get it~"
>>8729040
>mfw 360
dude i think you mean a 180, 360 means you turn back to them....basic shit here m8
>>8730210
...you kinda missed the joke there anon
>>8730210
newfag doesn't know memes
I commissioned a girl I knew who makes accessories and sells them at conventions a few months ago. We talked about what I wanted and she sent me pics of the stuff and then I didn't hear from her. I wait a couple weeks and ask how is going. She says she's almost done. Weeks later she says she'll mail them soon. I say awesome, here's my PayPal info, shoot me an invoice. She doesn't reply. I check my PayPal every few days, no invoice.
I send her one last message telling her I want to pay her and get my stuff. She never replies. It's been a month since then.
>mfw she likes my pics and statuses
>mfw she's selling at a con this weekend
>>8730019
>you should get it
Man, if that isn't the quickest way to make me nervous...
I remember one time at ALA I was going to commission this chick to draw a little $8 Saint seiya chibi thinking she had no commissions queued up. When she opened her book and I saw the long ass list of drawings she had lined up I tried to politely back out of it (there's no way she was going to finish all of those and mine in less than 24 hours+ she was already leaving the morning of the last day )and she turned nasty real quick and tried to bully me into paying upfront.
Like I get it that one doesn't want to do work for no money but I started to wonder if she made her money by taking it upfront and leaving cons early...
>>8730244
Can you go to the con and confront her? I know you want her goods, but if she was being that flaky I'd be like fuck off, you can't have my money
>>8730260
Yeah, someone said that to me at AX because I spent a bit longer at her table than usual talking about a game and how neat her paintings were of it. It made me panic and say goodbye. I usually come back to the AA the next day after I've slept on the thought of what I really want to come back & buy.
That sounds really suspicious. Did you take her card or look up her name to see if anyone did or didn't get their commissions?
>>8730389
I wish, but I don't live in that state anymore. I've given up on expecting her to send me anything. I just don't understand why she stopped responding. She showed me finished products and I wanted to give her money.
>>8730414
At least you didn't lose any money. That no responding is strange. If something happen, she should be up front.
>>8730210
>and walk away
I've tried working with artists to get artwork done for different games and it's usually a mess. I offer to pay if they will do work for hire but almost everyone I've spoken to wants to retain the rights "so they can make prints" and get royalties. Other problems I've run into are most can't work to a schedule to save their life.
One person pointed out to me that this isn't a problem with working with artists, rather this is a problem with working with amateurs and I'm starting to agree.
>>8730210
>He doesn't know how to moonwalk outta there
>>8730244
this is the reverse of what happened to me.
>>8730482
work for hire pretty much means artists are giving away all their rights. Unless you are giving them an arm and a leg, it is their right to want to retain some rights.
it's a problem working with amateurs with deadlines, but if you mean the artist wanting to retain rights, then I think you might be the amateur here for thinking it's a problem.
>>8730707
I thought anon was just hiring them to do art for characters they created. The artists cant retain rights for characters they havent created.
>>8730709
yes, anon is hiring them for characters they created. Of course artists can't retain the right of another person's character. What I'm saying is that it is weird that anon think it's a problem that artists aren't willing to do work for hire and instead want royalties. Most people think that all artists have a flat fee, but that's not true. If I'm going to draw a character for a company that wants all rights ( which they can alter, change my style etc) pretty much do anything they want with my drawing ( make posters, pins, sell to another company... the price is definitely going to be much more for a character where the company only wants for say an icon. That why most professional artists are hesitant with work for hire as there are no boundaries with what they can do.
>>8730019
>complimenting an item and the vendor says "you should get it~"
Easy way to make me back off.
Similarly:
>cosplaying X character
>walking by booth that happens to be selling merch of X character
>"HEY. X. THIS IS YOU. YOU SHOULD BUY IT."
360 Nope-Scope
>>8730019
Vendor hear and I keep telling my helpers to please reign it in and that they're not selling a used car. Sorry some of us have no chill.
>>8730260
>there's no way she was going to finish all of those and mine in less than 24 hours
You'd be surprised, I have artist friends who can bang out a detailed, perfect piece in an hour. It makes me angry with jealousy.
>>8730482
Not sure how true this is but I did illustration at uni and I was told by my lecturers the artist always retains the rights/copyright to a piece. If it's not their character, they don't have rights to that character, so can get in trouble for selling art of that character, but they always keep the rights to that one specific drawing. They told us the only time you should sell the rights to a piece of art is if it's a logo/trademark and in that case you should be paid out the absolute ass for it.
>>8729975
>I've asked my friends to charge certain people extra for a commission before
So... you're asking your friends to indulge your grudges for you? That's skeezy as fuck and a little manipulative.
>>8730403
I did, but I was hesitant to post up on here or elsewhere lest I look like some butthurt vendetta-chan
I'd have to dig through all my con shit to find it if someone wanted to know about her
>>8731055
Ill have to keep that in mind and have a bit more faith in people.
I'm just paranoid and try to be really careful with my money
>>8731055
Seconding this, my gf tables at cons regularly and she'll take (and finish) about 8-10 commissions a day, and her commissions are full inked/painted pieces.
If your response to someone approaching your table is to start showing off every item available and listing prices, you're doing it wrong.
I can't believe how often this happens.
It's just a minor annoyance but I really dislike it when people make excuses about not able to buy my art when I just want to talk with them about the fandom. It makes me feel super guilty because I am not 100% out to get your money, most of the time I just want to chill and talk to people.
>>8731119
Right, because the person i'm asking my friends to charge more for commissions stole candy from me before or w/e.
Its not a good feeling seeing someone who lied about me assaulting her. I'm not even asking my friends not to sell to her, just if they do, charge her extra.
AA artist here, question for customers.
I sell small stuff, and a lot of it. If I see someone looking at my table, even if they're only stopped for maybe 10-20 seconds, if they're cosplaying something I often mention "I have some stuff of that character/series!" and point it out.
Most of the time, the person is interested, but there's always that shy handful. Would you be glad someone showed you something you might have missed, or would you rather find it yourself?
(pic related, theyre only 1.5" tall or so)
>>8731826
unrelated, but can I have a link? I need okuyasu, kira and KQ in my life.
>>8731783
You're still involving unrelated people in your drama. Telling them your story and them deciding to charge her more is different than guilt-tripping them into charging her more. It's not like they could refuse you without sounding insensitive, so you're basically cornering them.
>>8731838
Sure thing anon! I sold out of Okuyasu, but I've still got best boy (and his cat)
http://so_charming.storenvy.com/
>>8731843
So should keep it a secret and be ok with my friends selling to someone who lies about being assaulted? I didn't guilt trip them, i told them my story and told them that if they are going to sell to her, atleast charge her extra. I don't want to see her, and my friend's table is right beside mine.
Please, continue to act like I'm the bad guy for asking my friends to not do business with, or atleast charge more, someone who hurt me tremendously.
My friends have even asked the same of me and I didn't even second guess it. I'm not going to sell to someone who stole from or hurt a friend of mine if they ask me not to.
>>8731826
Hmm, I usually cosplay older obscure shit so I'd be interested. But the thing is some people feel put on the spot like they're expected to stop and look and possibly buy. Dunno... it's the same sort of awkward feeling that makes if weird to walk into a small business that has no other customers when you go in.
But I'm sure doing it helps drive up more sales regardless.
>>8731826
Yes! I have an easy time of missing things right in front of my nose so if you know for sure I would like it at least let me go 'holy crap that's cute'
Even if I end up not wanting it it's a nice gesture to show you actually are invested in the series you produce art from
>>8731664
This. Acknowledge me with a hello and be available if I need assistance. When you spew out prices/slogans/"everything is made of x materials! These ones glow in the dark! If you buy seven you get the eighth and my unborn child for free Jesus Christ buy something! " etc it makes me nervous and I don't want it. If you have signs I promise I can read them and if I have a question I'll ask.
>>8730019
>Booth selling pixel bead art.
>Another booth selling pixel bead art.
>And another booth selling pixel bead art
>And another.
>And another.
>>8731997
I was gonna include that, but I tried to list more AA-specific things and not just tired trends. That's for a whole 'nother thread, maybe.
>>8731826
I do like it when a vendor points out merch of what I'm cosplaying, because chances are, that's what I'm looking for. But adding on "YOU SHOULD BUY IT/YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT" is a huge deterrent.
A better phrase would be one that was said to my friend, where a vendor held up a Loki plush and said, "Hey, Loki! It's you!" It made us smile, not run away.
>>8731986
If you think more than 5% of people notice we have a sign/tags/stickers you're in for a shocker
>>8731986
I think the best thing I've found as an opener (as a plush seller) is: "Hello, feel free to touch or hold anything on display. No commitment." (insert laugh or grin here).
Actually, I think the 'No commitment.' line works for a a lot of things. It lets people know they can look interested/gush over something without fearing that you'll be disappointed when they don't buy it. I know when I'm looking at things and I'm immediately leaped on with an aggressive sales pitch it makes me so nervous. I guess it's all being gentle about it, like don't launch into your 3 for the price of 2 stuff the second they so much as glance at your wares. Tell them once they ask the price or say they want to buy it.
>>8731918
Not anon you're replying to, but...I wish vendors like you could be outed so I could choose not to support such ridiculous practices. I know most of the time it's not full-fledged businesses that have tables - but does it hurt to have the least bit of professionalism? I don't see why you can't separate your drama from your business - and other's as well. Shit, I don't want to have to wonder if a vendor is charging me extra because I accidentally stepped on his friends dress or something.
>>8731098
If you created anything in the building at the place I studied then they would have all rights to what was made. Kind of off but I guess you should be focusing on doing class related projects instead of work for you to profit off.
>mfw people go through all the clothes and when i ask if them would like a fly, they sneer
My boss and have made it a drinking game now.
Also
>unsealed body paint
>body paint in general
>>8732408
*they
Jfc autocorrect
>>8731843
This.
>>8731918
No one said anything about keeping stuff a secret, anon. We're saying don't give your friends instructions. You can talk to them about your issue with this person and let them know they make you uncomfortable, but when you start to trot out the specific instructions then it's technically manipulative behavior and is very uncomfortable.
If someone hurts my friend, I want to know. But it should also be my business how I deal with her if she approaches me. I have my own boundaries. You should let your friends set their own, too.
>>8732338
>>8732584
If you want to call it manipulation for just asking a friend to stay away from somene, and keep them away from me, someone who hurt me and would probably hurt them and their business, then fine. I'm not forcing my friends to make the decisions and its not just dumb "drama".
You're obviously new to the business world if you think businesses advising each other who to and not to sell to is an unusual concept.
>>8732292
I'm a print/charm artist mostly and I saw something similar!
I like to let people know that they can feel free to handle the display charms,flip them over, get to know their quality through touch and inspection.
I also try to let people know that they can ask me for anything without being overly attentive. As an artist I feel like it's really hard to balance 'paying attention' and 'watching someone' since you can come off as pressuring or uninterested just by the way you're looking. I'm the kind of buyer that mostly just wants to be left alone when I'm looking. I don't mind if other artists are drawing/playing games/texting or whatever when I'm looking as long as they've given a greeting. I think that's better than being stared at the whole time you're looking at something to bh
I also try to ask if they're looking for anything particular, or pointing out things from a series they're cosplaying, or even just starting up a conversation about it as long as it's slow/they're not blocking the table.
>>8732597
Asking the person be kept away from you is fine, giving your friends instructions on what to do is not. How many times does this have to be said, and in how many ways? You are painfully defensive. No one is saying you can't vent to your friends, or that you were not hurt. We're saying you can't boss your friends around while using your pain as emotional leverage.
>lady buys 4 items from my Etsy but she purchases them individually at different times throughout two days instead of combining them in her cart
>wants them all sent to the same place but Etsy didn't combine her shipping because they're individual transactions
>looks odd to me so shoot her an email to confirm her orders, explain the shipping, suggest she cancel or I can cancel and then have her re-purchase them together.
>didn't know Etsy would let me do partial refunds because mobile isn't showing that option, figure this is easier for both of us
>she only responds back "I just want these two items cancel any others"
>no thanks for catching it and saving her from being way overcharged, no apology, just bluntness, didn't even want all the items she bought so thank goodness I checked instead of being a bitch and sending everything to her and keeping all the extra shipping money
>have to explain the cart thing to her again
>have to refund and cancel all the orders and tell Etsy why I'm doing that
>no response from her after that
>fully expecting her to either not buy the two she wanted, or to buy them individually again
At least now I know there's a partial refund option. Etsy mobile is trash though.
>>8732408
a fly?
>>8732584
Also, is no one else finding it creepy that anon's response to someone feeling violated is to profit of it?
"Oh man I totally didn't take advantage of her, which I'll prove by pressuring my friends to take advantage of her"
>>8732778
You seem to be flipping this on the head and making assumptions that anon's antagonist in question "feels violated" and isn't simply spreading shit. That's a pretty big leap that paints anon in a very unpleasant light - while I'm perfectly willing to say she's being inappropriate in telling her friends to overcharge this person, I'm not willing to twist words into her being some predator or something.
>>8732609
Warning my friends about someone and asking them not to sell to that person is being bossy.
ok.
>>8732812
Well for one, you didn't start this by saying you asked your friends to avoid selling to someone, you said you asked your friends to overcharge someone you have personal beef with. Yes, this is bossy. Let your friends decide personally how they want to handle dealing with this person. This concept seems to really not be getting through to you.
>>8732833
Idk why we're all jumping down anons throat? From the way they described it sounds like they said it in a jokey "at least make more money off of them" kind of way - which doesn't come off as manipulative at all.
Anyway everyone spouting shit about ~professionalism~ is acting like AA drama doesn't exist. Why do you think everyone was so pissed when AWA accidentally leaked their AA info to the entire artist mailing list? There are people who specifically ask not to be seated next to other artists out of beef/drama. I've even overheard people giving others wrong/bad supplier info on purpose to "cut the competition".
Anon telling their friends about someone who hurt them and asking them to avoid them is nowhere on the level of shit that usually happens at cons. Tbh I have an ex-friend in the con scene who's made death threats toward me and if one of my close friends who tables with me sold to her at a con where we were both present, I'd be upset too. I totally get you, anon.
By all means, don't force people to hate someone but warning them/giving them a heads up and jokingly suggesting they charge more is not as bad as everyone is making it out to be.
>people going up to our booths and handing out cards/flyers
>can't not accept them because they just throw them at you and leave
The only freebies I'll accept at my booth at AX are the free copic multiliners that copic gives out to artists.
>>8733892
I hate the flyer thing too anon. They know you're stuck behind the table and you can't be rude to them and say no. I just wish they would be more polite about it. I had a guy with a messanger bag full of flyers come up to me while I was working once and it was the weirdest thing:
>greet him like norma; "Hi! Let me know if you have any questions!"
>stares me dead in the face without a word
>uhhh
>whips a flyer out of his messanger bag and holds it out to me
>"O-oh, okay. What is this?"
>take it as he keeps staring
>start to ask him about the event he's promoting only to have him turn around as I'm talking and pointedly walk to the table across from me to repeat the process.
Like, I'm in the business of knowing upcoming events but that right there makes me throw the flyer away without a second though.
>>8733824
Anon never said anything about being joking...
>>8732601
I got chewed out by an artist for not paying her more attention. She kept on saying come back later when I inquired about commissions, the last time she started chewing me out 'you keep on walking away from me when I say I'm not doing commissions! You only like me for my art! You're like 'talk to the hand'!' whilst shoving her hand in my face.
Turns out the reason she kept on saying she was backed up with commissions was because I didn't lick her bum enough and fawn over her enough earlier in the weekend.
The reason I wasn't 'paying her enough attention' and talking to her was because I was ill and didn't want to annoy her by hanging around her table and talking to her.
I complained to the head of artists alley about her and a couple of months later when I mentioned the incident on a forum (without mentioning names), I got a PM from her whining about slander.
Stupid cow, if I wanted to slander her I'd have posted about her on artists-beware.
>>8729093
Hot gluing plush together.
Mecha Con?
>>8734446
Nah, Florida cons. This girl named "tofustache" used to do it for a lot of her plush and I remember a vendor at Chibi Pa used to glue eyes on her squid plush. Then other random artists at university cons like Swampcon, Knightro, etc over the years.
>>8733824
>There are people who specifically ask not to be seated next to other artists out of beef/drama.
Lmao that's pathetic, these people can't play nice? It's not that hard to put things behind you for a little while and politely treat them like a stranger. Unless they killed your dog or something.
>>8734705
Eh, there are some people who are serious assholes. I was next to the art gallery during my last con and the people kept invading my space and hanging things on my display.
>>8734705
I know I can be civil, but sometimes I don't trust other people and I don't need someone who has a beef with me messing up my sales and being obnoxious to my customers like a cunt. I had some table neighbours behind me once that used to be good friends, let's call them Jen and Joe. Jen would ditch her table constantly leaving Joe to watch it. She was seriously gone for over half the convention and left Joe to watch all her things and take care of two tables. Joe was polite. But then every time Joe wasn't around Jen would shit talk her to me and my table mate and would distract customers away from her table because they sold similar products. Joe had better stuff so Jen got jealous and kept trying to get me and my mate to age with her that her stuff was just as good when it wasn't, and she was being a right salty bitch. Joe had a really big following so if she was gone sometimes customers thought Jen's items were Joe's as well and Jen would exploit that for the sale when they thought they were supporting Joe. It's okay to avoid those people.
>>8734733
That's still a vaild reason not to be around anon
>>8734751
If you're in high school.
>>8730019
i once tabled with someone who did that and i wanted to strangle her because there was no faster way to make someone leave...
Im still working on my display to make it obvious to people who i call over to compliment +photo to see my work that has them on it without having to point it out to them because i know thats sooo awkward for the consumer.
>>8731664
i have a deal with a buy 2 get one free, and i usually wait for them to show interest for a minute before rattling it off because reading is hard for a lot of people...
Its a hard balance, if you're a consumer would you like to hear that at all or how long should I wait before mentioning it?
>>8734705
i was seated next to my ex (nasty break up) 5 conventions in a row from not asking for seating. we can play civil but my teeth grind every time i hear their voice and people compliment their nasty art. Im not going to fight but it gets tiiiring after so many times.
Jesus, I just don't get it. Maybe I'm just very nonconfrontational - but I don't understand why it's so difficult to...I dunno, play nice? If I don't like somebody, for whatever reason, I just don't acknowledge them much. I got a table next to my ex, who at the end of our relationship beat me and stole from me. I do not enjoy his presence, but that was 2 years ago and he's no longer dangerous. Why is it so hard to just pretend they don't exist? Maybe this is why I don't have many vendor personal friends - at cons when people start shit talking, I excuse myself and leave. Do people bond over drama??? Aughhhh
Okay.
There's my vent.
>>8734792
Put up a sign, or if the customer seems to be debating buying multiple items, mention it.
>>8734821
>Do people bond over drama?
Absolutely. In every group setting in life.
I agree with you, though, and it's almost definitely why we don't have a lot of friends in the scene. Bleh.
The only thing which truly, honestly shits me is
>People who, in attempt to prove that something isn't 'worth it's price', immediately try to fucking break it.
>Like they'll walk up to a dress and start yanking on two sides of a seam to see if it stretches.
>Or try to bend/snap a plastic charm.
>Like what the fuck, man?
>>8732613
It could be that she's just terrible at getting tone across in writing, I know a couple of autistic people who sound rude as shit because they don't bother with the niceties people normally include in messages.
Or she could just be a raging bitch who can't be bothered to thank people who take the time to help her out while losing money. If that's the case I hope you don't have to deal with her again.
>>8732777
I think anon meant flyer.
>>8734705
No, a lot of artists are batshit crazy. There are so much drama behind the scenes it's kind of funny.
>>8734821
>>Do people bond over drama?
Yes? Especially if it's drama that's affected multiple people in a community.
I know a girl who let one of her friends have a bit of tablespace at her table at a con ("Oh you can just bring some stickers and I'll sell them for you for free!") and then got jealous when the friend's stickers did better than all the stuff she had. So she ended up keeping all the profits from the stickers as well as the leftover sticker stock. She literally stole another artist's profits because "technically it's my table".
Of course this ended up being passed around to several mutual friends so something similar wouldn't happen to them if they ever needed a table partner. Tbh I feel like a lot of AA drama comes from legitimate places because some artists ARE really awful people trying to take advantage of others.
There are cases of relationship drama too but I don't think that's necessarily immature either. If a convention specifically has a spot for seating requests on their forms, asking not to be seated near an ex is really no different from asking to be put on a corner spot or a space by the wall. There's no guarantee that they'll be able to grant you your request but it doesn't hurt to try and it's a civil way to avoid conflict.
>>8729975
>sooooo many people at cons take my card
>Not a single person has ever followed up.
Same here. Sometimes I think I shouldn't even hand out cards, because it's a waste of money if nobody contacts me afterwards. Been doing tables for almost a year now.
Sticking in my nose about artist bullshittery & drama, I've been on the receiving end once because a group of girls didn't like me so they made up horseshit and tried to spread it to everyone.
Although, once people interacted with me they saw that it was a load of crap and in turn cut off the people spreading stuff- but yeah, honestly in the art world, literally all social circles seem to overlap in some way or another. It's kind of scary!
>>8730244
>Commissioned a girl at a con who did artwork
>Paid her the full price at a con plus a tip
>Since she had to leave early she was going to mail it to me
>Send her my address and information
>She mails me that she will send the image soon
>Never hear from her again
>Never receive my artwork
I usually pay 5-20 dollars extra depending on who is commissioning my artwork. Even more if it's something comic/weeby.
>"I was looking at your etsy store and saw you sell *custom made product*!"
>"I'm starting an etsy store too and though that'd be a great addition! Can you tell me where you bought your supplies? Thanks!!!!
I get this question so fucking much.
>>8735632
This. This and spoonfed guides on buying from the Internet and why not everything from China is not total crap.
>>8735667
lol remember that time digit was asking people not to inquire about her sources and every other reply was OMG WHERE DID YOU GET THAT MADE
these fucking people need to learn to use alibaba.
>>8734705
I always ask to not be near a certain artist because I know she either traded sex for help with her products or made her children help and I just can't watch her make money off that
>>8735264
I take at-con orders and offer free shipping like you bought it at the con. So having a card to give out makes people feel safer (along with a receipt)
>Look around AA
>I hardly ever buy anything
>Artist at table starts talking to me if I give a millisecond more of a quick glance at their stuff
>Escape by looking interested in a lot of stuff, asking for a business card and then running off
I always feel really bad. I know you want to sell it but I'm really stingy when it comes to buying things
>>8736130
I'm this way as well. I love to just look at stuff and then usually come back to buy one or two things on Sunday once I figure out what can fit into my luggage.
I get so uncomfortable when artists start telling me about sales promotions they're having and I feel like I have to take a card and mutter an excuse before running for the hills to escape pressure buys.
>>8734733
>I was thinking of "wahhh she stole my bf 3 years ago" tier.
You really don't think to well of Artists if you just assume that is the reason an artist wouldn't want to be next to another artist.
>>8728440
My personal favorite is "can you make this highly detailed custom plushie for $20?" no. "but thats how much it is on ebay..."
>>8736279
Get off your high horse. Some artists are young girls, some are guys, some are elephants, and some are immature enough to whine about sitting next to another person that shares insignificant drama.
>>8736324
>some are elephants
kek
>Getting put next to the really good artist that churns out commissions like there's no tomorrow and has super cheap prints for people that can't afford commissions
The worst part is when they're nice, too. Like great, now I can't even hate you because you fucking bought food and Red Bull for your table mates you angelic cunt.
>>8736324
That is one cute self portrmait.
>>8736388
Portrait god dammit autocorrect
I make props and whatnot, so I like to have things people can pick up and take pictures with. Last year was a 1:1 Power Axe from Power Rangers, and this year I had a few Scouters from DBZ.
>three Scouters on table
>one on custom stand, other two just sitting on the table
>people of all ages came up all day the first day, only picking up the two on the table
>good yes just as planned
>last few hours of the second day
>12~ year old boy comes up with two friends and does the whole 'losing his shit' thing
>grabs Scouter from stand, immediately begins disassembling it
>"lol what even is this"
>"...It's the Scouter from DBZ."
>"lol what even does this do."
>his mother shoos him away from my table
I built them well enough so that they could be handled by 1000+ people over two days, but you don't just run up and start ripping shit apart.
tl;dr keep your shitty kids under control
>>8736397
Should've looked right at his mother and gone "He broke it, you bought it."
>>8736130
nah, don't feel bad. Most people want away too so just say thanks and don't take one of our business cards if you are honestly not going to buy anything.
>>8737042
>don't take one of our business cards if you are honestly not going to buy anything.
But it feels so rude when they've already extended one out to you
how about that awkwardness when you make a second lap around the tables you didn't buy anything from
>>8737062
oh, if that's the case then take it.
original post was asking for a business card and pretending to be interested.
>>8737305
oh haha, I get that a lot. it's a bit awkward but it's actually okay. you just being there helps to bring in people to the table so don't worry about it.
>vending at steampunk con (it was shit, i do not recommend) with a group of friends
>i sculpted a bunch of little polymer clay creatures that sit in jars or boxes or whatever
>they're very obviously not meant to be removed
>people try to fucking take them out anyway
>had to fix broken parts 5 times
>only once did someone actually apologize
>the rest just set it down and walked away, leaving me or another customer to spot it later
>>8737332
You didn't make people pay for the shit they broke...?
>>8736151
>>8736130
I usually just go "Do you think you'll still have these with the same deal later/tomorrow? I just got here and I'd like to grab it on the way out if possible." That way I'm not rude, I express my interest in the item, and they can tell me if they have enough stock that I'll be able to still get it.
>>8737340
The one who actually apologized did in fact buy it. The rest, I didn't actually see it happen, as we were actually really busy because of the variety of stuff we had and only having one or two people behind the table at any given time. I'd just go to fix the display or come back from some other part of the con to switch out places and find it broken.
I'm probably just grouchy at this point, but I'm not too fond of people going table to table trying to promote their in-development games. I try my best to turn them down but they often insist on taking up a chunk of time explaining it. It sucks since you're stuck there listening until they move onto the next table.
Also one con I was at, there were two little kids going around behind artist tables asking for donations or selling candy towards their sports team or whatever. I didn't see any proof or their parents and people were handing them money unquestionably.
>>8737373
I have a half joking sign that says it's $5 per minute to listen to your character's story/whatever your game is about. It's somewhere in my AA box...which is in the garage right now. It's worded kind of cute, but still cheeky.
And those kids sound like real life EEnEs.
>>8730019
>These threads always lack the customer side, so
Not to be that asshole, but the thread's title is literally:
>Artist/Vendor Rant Thread
>>8736360
I think those artists genuinely don't see why it's bad to price so low. I mean I've seen great artists ask little for commissions because "Well I'm pretty fast so it would be bad to ask more!" no it isn't YOU"RE THE REASON THE ART SCENE SUFFERS.
>>8738729
Maybe if it was
>Artist's/Vendor's Rant Thread
I'd agree with you
But at this point I don't think you want to hear criticism from customers
>>8738735
>I mean I've seen great artists ask little for commissions because "Well I'm pretty fast so it would be bad to ask more!"
I hate this. I blame all of those posts on tumblr/wherever else AA advice is posted encouraging people to charge by how much time they spend. You should be charging by how good your work is.
Say we have two artists, each one charging $10 for each hour. Artist A draws lopsided Vampire Knight looking sketches that look like shit. A headshot takes them 5 hours. That's $50 for a sketch. Artist B draws beautiful sketches because they're some sort of art god. It takes them 30 minutes. By this mentality of charge by the hour, Artist B makes $5. Fuck no.
Make your prices based on how good you are, and don't be humble. If it's taking you 5 hours to draw a headshot and it still looks like shit, you obviously shouldn't be doing commissions. If you're an art god, charge people for having a commission done by a fucking art god.
>>8734705
There are just some people you can't stand to be around. Sure you can play civil, but if they constantly make dumb remarks or do things you don't like, you're not going to have a very good time.
>>8738745
Do tumblrinas (or whoever else) really not know the classic story about "It took me 10 years to be able to draw this in 10 minutes"?
You don't charge art by how long it takes you to do it, holy shit. If it's taking you 5 hours to do a sketch, then you're a shit who spends most of their money on erasers. I can imagine some weeb being given a deadline at their new job, and then saying "lol wait i need more time to draw! also can I get paid for my overtime?" Yeah, piss off, you're fired.
Sometimes this community is so fucking stupid. "Costume commissioners charge by the hour, I should too!!1!!"
>>8738745
Yeah the hourly thing doesn't really work with so many levels of experience on tumblr. If you're still learning a lot about art/sewing/crafting or whatever, custom stuff is going to take FOREVER and it's not realistic to expect customers to pay you hourly.
Right now I'm dabbling in embroidery and making hand embroidered patches, but even if it takes me 3 hours to embroider 'yuri' and a heart on a piece of felt it's def not worth $30.
Similarly I know someone who can churn out a pony plushie in four hours and her stuff never goes lower than $100 because it's good.
>come up with random idea last second to sculpt grass-type Pokemon inside of those miniature brown clay pots
>the results range from good to eh, but display them anyways
>enter wild Homestuck cosplayer
>"OMGG!!zZ1 BULBASAUR!!"
>picks up pot
>prays to god that their makeup is sealed
>it's fucking not
>"LOL TOO EXPENSIVE FOR ME!"
>pot is now gray and the oils on her hands soaked it into the glass/clay and will not wash out
>cry
>somebody bought the sculpt anyways
>"Thanks for the Squirtle! My husband will love this!"
>pokerface.jpg
>"You're welcome!"
>>8738745
>>8738754
>>8738756
I see the hourly wage as more of a base charge. Like a decent artist should MINIMALLY charge minimum wage. If they get better at what they do, they obviously shouldn't lower their prices. If they get overwhelmed with commissions at that set price, they should raise them.
The minimum wage is just a guide. As for shitty newb art, if you charge minimum wage for your work and no one buys from you, then that just goes to show you're not skilled enough to take commissions yet. But to lower your prices hurts the system, but it devalues the profession as a whole.
>>8738789
>>8738729
To be fair, you can also interpret that as rants about artists/vendors
>>8738745
People tend to forget that prints and crafts are not the same. You get some 12 year old trying to sell their traced dorito-face fanart for the same price as a custom plush from a brilliant artist because some people are too inexperienced to know better, too young to realise that difference in quality=difference in price, or too Tumblr to withstand anything but asspats.
It's like 'working for exposure'. That's bullshit. People still get suckered into it. Only in this case they're doing terrible work and expecting money to start flowing out the ass as soon as they hit up Etsy.
It's frustrating as hell when good artists do it because they're the ones who should be setting the standards for quality and price. When there isn't a correlation between them, people think there's no causation, either. It's why Etsy's full of terrible art and why people genuinely think that detailed backgrounds shouldn't cost extra.
>>8738754
The few who do make decent money from good art. The rest just don't appear to understand the concept.
>>8734705
Actually, privately requesting not to be seated next to someone is one of the most polite "playing nice" things you can do. You don't have to tell that person and they never know, it keeps the peace. It's even more important when there's abuse involved and you just want to stay away from another party. The fact that this list leaked is what caused the drama (And potentially put some abused artists up for even more harassment from their abusers), not that they politely and PRIVATELY asked to be not seated near another.
>>8738812
Fair, fair, I rescind my statement.
>all cons here have a hentai/doujin/boy pillow booth
>thas p cool
>except the dude that runs it is an old creepy dude
I don't know it's sexist or what the feminists will respond with but I'd rather buy from a chick.
I don't even mean so I can creep on her and hit on her, it's just that I would rather have a girl judging me than a weird old neckbeard trying to make conversation about what I'm buying.
>>8741794
Are we thinking about the same guy or are they just a thing now?
>creepy old dude at AWA
>has a booth with nothing but erotic art and figures
>random 'custom' Monster High doll in a wicker chair
>booth was right across from food table areas
>awkwardly trying to eat food while staring at erotic Star Wars Leia art
>>8741945
I'm in Hawaii and for a while we only had one con a year. We're getting more now but it's still the same dude.
Yours sounds way more fun than mine.
>>8741794
Nah it makes sense. In my experience even in actual sex shops, a female employee will be very businesslike and chill and if they make any comment on what you're buying its to see if you need something to go with it (batteries or lube or whatever), but a male employee will always have to make some comment on your choice.
>>8741982
>>8741794
Bit off topic, or is it? But lesbian here and I'd much rather have another woman ring me up for any questionable purchases despite the "Oh please don't judge me for this" factor than a dude who generally I could care less what he thought about my interests/sex life because in my experience the dudes always want to talk about what I'm buying and what I must be doing with it out of either an attempt at finding a friend with similar interests or trying to flirt because lesbian just means I won't do him unless another woman is present.
So yeah, I'd much rather have another woman go "Here's your AssThrasher 3000, we have extra packs of batteries over there and do you want a warranty for it?" than a guy going "Oh, the AssThrasher 3000? You know, I like anal too, giving it that is. You ever get tired of the toy and want the real thing.."
>>8742518
Still offtopic, but last time I went into a sex shop, the worker kept trying to suggest that "I needed to try girls" and gave me her number. It's not a thing exclusive to guys, and it's super uncomfortable. I haven't been to a sex shop since and just buy online, since I came to get an item and not to get followed around being told that "I won't know until I try".
>>8742529
Oh definitely not saying there's obnoxious creepers/over-sharers of both genders. That sounds awful and I don't blame you for not going back since I've had guys do that with me and it's obnoxious and creepy no matter which orientation you are.
Off topic maybe but does anyone else roll in money at con and then selling online is impossible? I gross thousands at every con and have not even hit $1000 in sales for THE ENTIRE TIME I'VE HAD MY SHOP
Meanwhile I have a friend who does very meh at cons who does at least a sale a day, though often more.
>>8738756
People don't realize customers should also pay for the time it took you to get so fast/good
>>8743032
When people go to cons they are in a spending mood. But maybe your stuff looks better in person than online? How is your product photography?
>>8729093
>I can't stand artists who do this either but sometimes customers only care about quantity over quality, especially when they're young and only have like $20 for the entire con.
Frankly, if you're a mediocre or even bad to an extent artist, but you pander to my small fandom I'll probably blow my money on your stuff.
>>8731826
>ould you be glad someone showed you something you might have missed, or would you rather find it yourself?
If it's smaller stuff that I might not have noticed like charms or tinier buttons, or in the event you've got a LOT of shit going on at your booth and it's filled with merch galore, I'd like it if someone showed me things I didn't see as long as it's more of a "hey I've got x from y series!" instead of a "YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GET THAT"
>>8741794
>I don't know it's sexist or what the feminists will respond with but I'd rather buy from a chick.
>I don't even mean so I can creep on her and hit on her, it's just that I would rather have a girl judging me than a weird old neckbeard trying to make conversation about what I'm buying.
Yeah, I'd rather have a younger looking dude/a woman ring me up for a hentai purchase than an old dude in all honesty for those same reasons.
>>8741794
Anyone ever encounter the yaoi guy? Dark haired dude who yells 'Get your yaoi!', 'Get your hot sweaty man love here!', 'You look like you need some yaoi!', 'Your girlfriend looks like she needs some yaoi!'
I heard he's also yelled at cosplayers that he has yaoi featuring the characters they're cosplaying as
>>8743447
>the yaoi guy
Holy shit, the one with the rainbow flags hanging up in his booth? He used to have yaoi/yuri paddles too. It was always him and the bootleg Jrock merch dude back in the day at every East Coast convention I went to.
>>8743447
He has. 15-year-old me was very confused and embarrassed.
>>8743447
D...did I?
I recall something similar to that happening but I can't remember what con it was at.
>>8743475
read this as
>I am the yaoi guy. D... did I yell at cosplayers that I have yaoi featuring the characters they're cosplaying
at first
>>8743447
I've seen that guy at so many cons. He shouts at every girl who passes the booth lmao
>>8743383
Deets on this mythical money-making obscure fandom.
>>8743689
Not the same anon but it depends on the fandom. I'll throw down on some SamuFlam or anything LOSH because they are that obscure.
Realize that anything obscure will make less money than anything not obscure. I remember seeing the KnB and Haikyuu merch run out day one at a con including the posters meanwhile things that were really obscure were still in stock in many artist's booths.
Also for lulz I randomly buy people's commissions no matter how crappy it is and leave at least a 5-10 dollar tip on top of whatever I order.
>>8743689
Persona 2 shit will make me throw all my money at you, hands down.
>>8743701
...legion of superheroes?
>>8743447
I miss the yaoi guy. Haven't seen him in awhile, but it was always funny to hear him advertising his 'wares' to the crowded dealer rooms.
>>8743447
I bought some madoka yuri dressed as Homura and he was amused
>>8743842
Yep. DC's forgotten silver age stepchild and one of the most obscure series due to a lack of publicity and reboots. It's a damn shame because it has potential to be a good series.
>walk up to booth
>girl has super cute art style
>half of her prints are variants of BOYS R GROSS or SMASH THE GENDER BINARY
>>8744431
>implying Legion of Super Heroes didn't have a series before New52
>implying Legion Lost wasn't a thing
What
>>8745237
You're joking right anon. Legion isn't popular at all. It's obscure and not well known. It's been out since the Silver age but most people either don't give a damn about it or don't know it. Compared to all of the other Silver age series it doesn't get DC publicity. And for good reason because New 52 LOSH sucked badly.
>New 52 sold the worse out of all of the series before it was cancelled. The top selling ones hands down are Threeboot and Lo3W if you ignore Paul's stuff and Shooter.
>Was rebooted several times due to bad sales or because writers wanted to be special snowflakes and/or had boners for that one version
>DC said themselves that they didn't want to make a cartoon at first and decided to do Teen Titans when asked by CN and executives because none of the characters are well known
>Has one cartoon to it's name and it was cancelled. Barely had two seasons.
>No movie
>No video game
>No tv series and has only appeared in a few 'crossovers.'
>No plushies or action figures for that matter outside of really old and hard to find Silver age ones
>Little to no fanart outside of the cartoon
Considering that Teen Titans still has a running cartoon, Batman had several seasons and a movie, Superman had several, JLA had several, Hawkman and Hawkwoman are showing up in the tv series along with Atom, the list goes on.
Only thing worse might be Young Justice and that's pushing it because half of the people from YJ still have running comic book series. If you ask any comic fan most of them couldn't even name half of the Legionnaires. A guy didn't even know who Saturn Girl was when someone said that a girl from a Judge Dredd comic reminded them of her. If it's well know then why is it that most people don't even know about it?
The only thing more obscure would be L.E.G.I.O.N.
But this is off topic and this isn't /co/ If you want I can discussion the whole thing with you there.
>>8743689
I will buy anything that is
>Persona 2
>Naoki's Monster
>Game of Laplace
>Samurai Flamenco
>Shin Megami Tensei
>Punchline
>>8731918
Don't worry about moralfags, lmao. Faggots.
>>8743689
Princess Tutu, Utena, basically any show that girls like with barely any AA presence (don't bother with Madoka and Sailor Moon when the big bucks come from other magical girl shows). This category also includes kind of obscure otome games that aren't so obscure that no one knows about them (Amnesia comes to mind) and josei series.
>>8745631
> moralfags
> not the vigilante who insists on charging someone more because they went against her own morals
>>8745594
Don't worry about it, anon. I appreciate you and your in-depth knowledge of a severely underrated series.
ValleLator is a shitposter, so don't mind anything he says.
>>8745594
SPEAKING OF FORGOTTEN FANDOMS
Please give me VLR/999 stuff I want it
On the topic of talking to people while they're browsing, i've found that "can I help you find a specific series?" or "anything you're looking for in particular today?" usually helps, and doesn't come off too pushy.
But on another note... My girlfriend and I are tabling at a small local con this weekend, and we weren't confirmed until about a week ago. It's my third time tabling, and her first.
Is not having a huge selection of prints discouraging to people? We were thinking of doing a few different sizes of specific ones, but really we just don't have the time to pour out more than one more print each before we do our print run. We're looking at about 3 prints each right now? The rest is all keychains, buttons and stickers.
>>8745729
It's discouraging if they don't like what you're drawing but they like your art. People are going to be drawn to their fandoms so you're not going to please everyone but you're not going to be able to predict that.
If you have enough stock to fill up your table and make an attractive display then people will come look but you're limiting yourself depending on what three things you're drawing each.
>>8743032
Riding this off-topic train, but is anyone else's online store doing terribly this holiday season? I had tons of sales in late October/early November and then as soon as people started gift shopping I had LITERALLY ZERO despite huge spike in traffic from ads, features, etc.
>>8745967
What's your online store? Might buy stuff from it in the future. I'm broke now but I keep my promises if it's anything I'm interested in.
>>8743447
This guy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWx8da9MJto
I loved the shit out of him. Too bad he hasn't been at any conventions in my area recently.
>>8743447
>>8743454
Oh my god is it this guy? This photo is from 5 years ago at a con in the UK.
>>8746139
I think that's the guy. I know I see him around at Acen sometimes. Or maybe it's another guy because he seemed older.
>>8745832
We're hitting a few main fandom's, a couple more obscure, and we're offering commissions on site. We'll also have a box of finished sketches that people can snag for 5$.
Do other artists get a little sandy about selling very old left over prints at a large discount? I kind of just want them out of my house, and it's been 3 years since I tabled last, so my art style has changed dramatically.
Mostly, I don't want to piss other people off just by being there with only a week and a half's notice.
>>8746186
Nah, most people have a sale section. Artists only get mad if you're drastically undercutting market prices, everyone understands the need to shift old stock.
>>8746199
Sorry, that should say "if you're drastically undercutting market prices with your whole stock".
>>8746186
Nah. I see the AA people sell stuff on Sunday at various prices. One girl straight up said that she wasn't going to make anymore of a print because she's not doing anime anymore and sold posters for $5 a pop. I was disappointed but understood.
>>8746138
Fuck this guy 2bh.
>>8746131
I never said it was popular, I just pointed out it had continuing series when you made it sound like it had as much action as Amalgam.
Nu52 in itself is shit, I like how they tried to revive old heroes with DCU Presents but trying to keep things like LOSH was just clinging to bare threads.
>>8745967
I had a drop last month even with advertising a coupon but I picked up a few orders this week so hopefully the trend goes up. Might be the fact that I'm out of stock of a popular item.
>>8746186
Nah, I see a lot of artists that cut the prices on old stock, it's pretty normal especially if you're not going to reprint. I just keep a little section in my portfolio book for sale stuff.
>>8730414
Maybe someone else liked it and bought it when she showed it to them
>>8746131
You should do it anyway. I have plans for Luna, Phi, and Clover so fuck it
We need more love!
>>8729975
>>using commissions as a way to hit on people
You sound like a creep.
>>8746901
> I just pointed out it had continuing series when you made it sound like it had as much action as Amalgam
You brought up Nu52 Legion and talked about Legion Lost (I'm assuming you were talking about V.2 and not V.1.) A cancelled series isn't a continuing series. There's plenty of series that are not popular and/or obscure in Marvel and DC. LOSH is one of them. Read everything I stated in >>8745594
I have no idea why you brought up old school Amalgam Universe when things like that continue to get fanart at anime conventions and Comic cons.
>but trying to keep things like LOSH was just clinging to bare threads.
If you don't like the series then why bother to respond? Did you reply because you felt bitter of whatever series and wanted to prove that your series was more obscure or something? This isn't a contest. I just expressed that I liked seeing LOSH and SamuFlame stuff in general and that they are obscure when it comes to other things in the same medium. And they are. That's a fact.
>at con, see decent artist, have spare money
>she has thems fightin herd fanart in her sketchbook, we have a nice talk about the game
>ask for humanized version of the reindeer
>wander off while it gets drawn, its just a headshot so it doesn't take long
>the drawing has monster girl fangs
>the humanized reindeer is drawn with fangs
>i just collect it and leave
i feel i should have said something, but it was just a headshot...
>>8749133
Some deer do have fangs though.
>>8749141
Not reindeer. Musk deer and water deer are the ones that have fangs.
>>8749150
desu maybe it identifies as a water deer?
>>8749152
It should stop appropriating water deer culture, a reindeer with fangs is going to be treated better than a water deer. Suddenly it's trendy and edgy for all these deer to have fangs, but natural deer fangs get you targeted by law enforcement, smdh.
>>8728678
I love how amateur hacks don't learn. Charge for quotes if quotes take time.
>>8749159
>>8747178
I have not had a sale in 35 days. At my last con (which was only two days) I grossed $5100. I am super lost as to what I'm doing wrong.
>>8751110
post shop
>>8751183
this твн
>>8751110
It could be any number of things. Bad photos, unpopular hashtags, poor descriptions. It's always easier to make a sale in person. Post your shop and I can try to help you. I promise to be gentle.
>>8751110
Are you shooping your photos? Even if they look great already, just playing around with contrast and light will make them look 10 times better. I don't mean lolcow-level shoop, just brightening the pic and removing blemishes on the backdrop so you don't distract from the item.
Also, you might be using the wrong keywords. If you're selling a simple resin necklace, go all out- 'glitter sparkle fairy pastel decora lolita kawaii harajuku resin jewellery ooak handmade necklace cabochon' if you can get away with it. Think eBay Chinese sellers, basically.
And, stupid as it sounds, you might be pricing your stuff wrong. Too expensive is dumb, yes, but selling too low makes people think your products are bad quality. Look at the average price for the items and add a bit on if you have extras (again with the necklace, you can sell resin charms for less than half the price a charm with necklace would go for, even if it's cheapass ball chain).
But yes, please post your shop. It's a lot easier to see what's going wrong that way.
>>8754288
>you can sell resin charms for less than half the price a charm with necklace would go for, even if it's cheapass ball chain).
This is a true and very strange phenomenon. If I put a resin charm on a chain instead of a brooch, it's an extra 8 cents. If I charge any less than $10 extra for the chain, they won't sell. It's fucking bizarre.
Definitely reconsider how you're advertising your store. Think about the demographics of the people who are buying your stock at conventions and how you can appeal to them every other day.
>>8730210
lurk moar
>>8735607
This is why I only do commissions on the spot at a con and verify that people can come back to get their stuff. I know that I'll drag my feet outside of a con and resent having to do the work while it sucks balls for the customer to have to wait on me.
Well, I was >>8745729.
Just popping in to say we managed 430$ in the 6 hours the con ran for on Saturday. Not too bad for only having a week and a half's notice that the table was for sure happening.
I made the mistake of being friendly and asking if a girl needed any help finding anything (we had a fuckton of stickers and she was plucking through them one by one). she proceeded to list off about 10 different cutesy girly animes she'd like to see me draw, because 'video games and Steven universe suck'. God bless the homestucks that cut her off and scared her away so I didn't have time to be overly miffed about it.
>>8754578
Where do you get your stickers done?
>>8754767
I admittedly get them printed at Staples because it's super cheap around here. They're not real durable but people seem to like them anyway, and I can sell them fairly cheap.
I'll likely look into doing better quality ones for a bigger con.
>>8754818
Hey if it works, it works! Does that mean you have to cut them out yourself?
>>8754849
Yeahhhh. it takes a while, but its something you can do while watching a movie or even on lunch breaks at work.
I found that putting them in little baggies and then kept everything fairly organized and made it so i could do other things while cutting out a page. i could just slip the cut ones in a bag and be done with a set until the con.
>>8751704
Is it always better to have actual photos of your items? I usually don't because my photos suck so much but I wonder if that makes a difference.
>>8755157
Yes...what else are you using?
>>8755187
Oh I meant like, actual product photos, notjust your artwork (for example, printing out your stickers and taking pictures of those). Does this make sense?
>>8755317
it does. if you have a picture you know if it's matte or not, you have a real idea of its size etc. so i would take a picture even if its not the best.
>>8755792
Cool, thank you! I'll try to take "decent" photos asap!
>>8754322
I guess it's because people think crafting is hard? Idk, whenever I look through craft books in the library they're full of the dumbest shit you can think of (eg, hotgluing old sweet wrappers to a hair comb for a 'wacky chic injection' or threading plastic beads onto a piece of twine for your very own personalised bracelet) and they're aimed at adults. If people are that eager to pay for instructions on how to switch on a glue gun, they will be more than willing to pay for the convenience of having someone else stick a metal loop on a charm and add a chain with a clasp.
I swear they think it's witchcraft or something. I've had relatives watch me make bracelets and accuse me of lying about making the same bracelets. Because you need a degree and a blood sacrifice to use pliers, apparently.
Sorry for the rant, but Christmas means I have to deal with this shit a lot more than is good for me.
>>8738800
Agreeing roughly. There's a certain price you should never charge below; it's hard enough to keep the art market steady when you're facing competition from artists living in poorer economies, you don't need undercutting in your own back yard. That said, if you're unnaturally slow then charging for your time just makes your work unreasonably high, unless you're some art god with the skills to back it up. Everything in moderation?
I can sell my art for a pretty good price but I'm still a slow ass. I'll charge cheaper for a sketch but past that if I tried to factor in my time for a complete piece I would be pretty much asking to be paid a Damien Hirst wage.
>>8756038
I will never understand why people will legitimately buy candles covered in hot glue and rhinestones at craft fairs.
There is who comes into my work place who 'creates' blingy candles and I shit you not, a least ten people have commissioned these health and safety hazards from her as Christmas gifts.
>>8756071
what happens to the rhinestones when the candle melts? are rhinestones flammable?
>>8757242
They probably just sag into the melted wax, I don't think there's much risk of them catching on fire. It's still a dumbfuck idea though. I know a terrible "artist" who started making soaps and she uses real glitter and tiny shells inside them. I keep thinking about people getting cut up by the edges of the shells as the soap gets used up, or having a bathtub and random areas of your body covered in glitter after trying to get clean. Or tiny shell bits clogging your drain. None of it sounds like a good idea.
> sells a comic to a guy at a con
> guy adds me on facebook and compliments my comic
> He says he has become a fan of the comic > When talking about the comic he says a random comic name
> He was not talking about my comic all along, he was talking about another comic that was being sold at the convention
> Not sure how to respond
> I ignore and feel terrible
Its not much, but made me feel terrible
>>8757481
O-oh no. Maybe he got you guys mixed up, but he added you on facebook as an opportunity to know you because you're a qt? Think positive! Unless he is a terrible hambeast....Either way you should probably tell him that's not your comic.
>>8757481
He made the mistake so you shouldn't be feeling terrible for him. You should have just corrected him in the first place because now you look like you don't care about a fan or if you correct him now you look strange for doing it so late.
>>8757525
> unless he's a terrible hambeast
Women folks
>>8757673
>implying men don't have standards or preferences
Here's your (you).
>>8757263
THIS. People think that crafting changes the fundamental nature of the objects used. No, you should not stick tinfoil into bath bombs, that's beyond moronic. No, bronken glass and mirrors will not become safe to use for your DIY upcycled OOAK fairy mosaic table, you dumb fuck, it's goddamn broken glass and needs to be sealed with something so bits of it don't break off. And no, you should never make soap with small children. Idgaf if it's all-natural and you kids are protected by the power of no vaccines, it's lye and it's hot and bad things will happen.
I've seen so many crafting disasters from people who are old enough to know better, it's super depressing. The weird thing is that they never seem to realise you have to work your way up to things. They're the Pinterest mum type who see anything but plastic beads and organic twine as a danger to their lifestyle. No, fuck you, don't yell at me for selling 'dangerous' jewellery when your precious babby got hurt that one time they tried to eat a bracelet, that's your own fucking fault for being a dipshit. Let me do my thing in peace, ffs.
On the topic of soap, I remember going to a craft fair that had was a woman selling goat milk soap. She was being questioned by a girl who wanted to make sure the soaps were 'all natural, vegan, and free of man-made ingedients'. The girl kept coming back every so often, asking the same questions, and eventually bought soap from another vendor, because it had sand and apricot kernels and was therefore more natural. The kernels were about half the size of my fingernail. If she got shredded it's her fault for buying the soap equivalent of a cheesegrater, but I have no idea how that bitch managed to sell anything.
Yes, I mad. This is why I hate Christmas sometimes.
>>8751110
Kind of on the same boat, although I have yet to sell at a con. I managed to sell some items when I first set up my store about a month and a half ago, but I haven't had a single sale for the past 4 weeks. My store does get a decent number or views each day, but not a single sale. Although I do this because I love to draw, it's still is a bit discouraging when no one else likes your stuff.
>>8738745
If you're aiming not to be a hobbyist all your life 50$ for a sketch isn't realistic anyway. But I get your point.
>>8757673
Derision towards hambeasts isn't a gendered thing, anon. It's a beautiful disgust that unites the sexes.
>>8732400
how the fuck would they prove it though? like, if you're at a lecture and knitting under the table, they're not going to know whether you're planning to sell it or not.
the same goes for art or smth, how would they prove that you made it there
I live in a small, almost conless country and the AA at our events is sad
>milanoo tier lolita dresses
>hot glued accessories
>companies with overpriced shit tier teemo and cat hats (I bought one that cost something like 10€ and was literally a layer of the thinnest fake soft fur ever and a layer of really thin polyester or smth)
>fake, overpriced figurines sold by companies
at least the artists are pretty cool
>>8758150
>crafting disasters
Oh god please share your favorites, I must know
>>8758862
Right? I sold at least one item a day in October, then 4 in November and NOTHING in December. I guess it's hard to compete with big name stores having crazy 75% off sales and shit?
>>8754288
>>8751704
My traffic is great and sales in previous months were amazing. I've even added new, popular fandom stuff since then, but nothing sells. My pictures are shooped, and actually one of the new things I added. I used to post cell phone photos and vector art, and now I have uniform product photos. Last Christmas I didn't do amazing sales, but I certainly didn't have literally none.
I have a con in a month and if I do anywhere near as well as last year I'll gross a couple grand again, so it's not like the stock I have isn't gonna be put to good use soon, but it is odd.
>>8732597
>You're obviously new to the business world if you think businesses advising each other who to and not to sell to is an unusual concept.
Yeah, when the person is a shit buyer, not over personal drama. Plus, it doesn't exactly help your case in these assault claims to be a vindictive asshole like that. Telling people to mess with the victim for "lying" is classic abuser behavior. I know two guys who have had false assault accusations and both of them explicitly told us not to do anything to the girls because it would make them look bad. You don't behave like an innocent person.
>>8757673
Because men never belittle women over their appearance or weight. You never see that online, especially on 4chan.
Seriously, though, you're really dumb.
>>8760652
Are you kidding me? Try harder with bait.
>>8760688
... Did you seriously not get that I was being 100% sarcastic?
>>8760700
>I was just pretending to be retarded
>>8760183
Too tired to go through my folders and phone rn but if you think about Regretsy, that's the sort of stuff I mean. Blogs like Crafts for Assholes and the now-dead Ugly Crap on LJ are other excellent sources of inspiration for 45yo stay-at-home helicopter mums.
>>8760536
It might be because people are buying presents for family, or because of huge sales in large shops, or just because nobody has any money left. Maybe try linking it to your blog? If you have things like progress pics and tutorials people tend to feel closer to the product. It might be hard to get sales around December and January, but it should pick up soon. Best of luck, anon, I know it's disheartening. Try seeing what sells, who tends to buy it, if they have social media you can follow (again, makes them feel closer to you) and structure things accordingly, and you should get better sales this time next year, if only because people feel like they're buying from a friend/acquaintance instead of a shop.
Sorry if I sound patronising, I'm just super tired and going through cgl distracts me from the fact that I'd really like to strangle several family members.
>>8758150
>goat milk soap
>vegan
Aren't those mutually exclusive, or do I have a misunderstanding of the fundamentals of being vegan
>>8760941
Different anon, but if you didn't realize they were being sarcastic, the retarded one here is you. No really, not getting extremely obvious sarcasm is a sign of autism.
>>8761686
Autism
U
T
I
S
M
>>8761238
I'm not an artist, so I can't post progress or tutorials. My tumblr and Facebook combined have a little over a thousands followers, so while it's not 10,000 I still have a decent reach.
At-con sales are great and getting better every con, and they're the important part, but I just wanted to vent about how last year I had a shitty etsy shop with bad pictures and a poor selection and still did some sales, but this year I have professional product photos with a great selection and my own website and I can't even get one.
I'm glad I said something though, because ya'll have had great ideas for other people. Keep the advice on holiday sales (and sales in general) coming in case someone in the thread needs it.
Did anybody apply for Acen AA? After submitting the lottery form, I didn't receive a confirmation email sonI'm getting anxious. Is not receiving a confirmation email normal?
>>8761238
does the crafts for assholes actually think her non-I-fucked-a-tutorial stuff is nice?
>>8738789
is it common for HS cosplayers to be so awful? that's the vibe I get whenever they're brought up.
>>8762533
It's baby's first fandom. They're usually the fairly new/young types who are still overwhelmed by the whole atmosphere. HS fans can actually pull off some pretty cool shit if they have imaginations, but /b/ is to 4chan as trolls are to cons.
>>8762533
Nah it's just like >>8762785 said. It's filled with young/cheap kids using their allowances to make a cosplay. It's like how Death Note was back in the day.
Super simple costumes (aka plain clothes) + new to cosplay/too cheap to cosplay kids = bad cosplayers making others cosplaying that series look bad.
>>8762420
My website is WellPlayedClothing.Net
Not the most beautiful product photos, but they have accurate colors and show you how the shirts fit and where the embroidery is. I actually just started to finally get some sales! Guess people were procrastinating.
>>8763946
>those $5 clearance shirts
Usually I don't wear polo shirts but I can't pass up $5 and subtle fandom wear. I'm definitely going to buy one tomorrow.
>>8763946
Do you do well? Do nerds actually buy shit this nice? I've been worried about busting out the high-quality supplies because they mean high quality prices.
