[S/I]Bribes?

[Mameha Otome]

So sitting here reading these, I got to thinking about bribes.

From what I understand, colorists open their bribe slots when all their work is done/caught up with and they possibly want a chance at something fun to do. That's cool, it's a nice thing for them to do when they don't have a MASSIVE work load to stay busy with.

I think my only concerns are as follows.

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Part 1

From what I've seen, bribes are only opened once or twice a year. In each case it's one person getting a chance to win a pretty much anything goes custom (with certain restrictions still there of course) or a breeding where they can request certain traits, genders, etc.

In the case of Big Bribes, I think I've only seen a couple opened ever in my time being at the shop (which is albeit, a short amount of time really). These give a chance for people to win a ton of customs/breedings and keep them for themselves or spread them among friends/newbies/etc. Awesome idea. This also sort of lets groups of people pool funds to go towards offering a big bribe.

What I'd like to see is more chances at bribes, be it a couple more opened a year, or the colorist being comfortable enough to accept more than one winner for regular bribes depending on what people are trying to bribe for.

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Part 2

What is an acceptable bribe offer? I don't think anyone really knows.

I was once told to take the base price of what you want, then add extra for what you think is acceptable for edits etc. Does this still hold true? Or are people just throwing out arbitrary amounts? Are the winners offering absurd amounts in upwards of 100 million, or are they winning with normal things like 100k?

Staff, what is a decent amount. Do you accept the insane offers you must get like the 100m, do you just ignore anyone who doesn't bid more than a certain amount. Or do you only look at concepts and what appeals to you?

I guess if you don't want to publicly throw out numbers, you can PM me, I'm honestly just curious. That and it would probably keep down the number of people left broken hearted because they'll see that and go "I can never afford a bribe D8" and leave.  

[StarieMichie]

I would like to see more bribes also, because I have a mutant that I desire to own strongly. I have no idea if it didn't get picked because my offer was too low, or if it just wasn't a liked idea, or if the other ideas were just that much better.

But yes, more bribes, or even a raffled off bribe slot? Everyone who has the funds and the willingness to pay can be entered and try? Although, that kind of takes the fun away from it for the colorist getting to choose.  

[magnadearel]

I too would like to see more bribes/big bribes. smile  

[Manda]

Speaking as an owner, and not staff XD

I would also be in support of more bribes offered in some way. It only makes sense that they can only be offered when a colorist is done with work/has time to do extra.

But at the same time, the very nature of a 'bribe' indicates a special thing that may be offered for at any point for exorbitant amounts of money/favors/etc in exchange for something. Not that I feel Soq bribes should only be available to people with millions and millions of gold XD But to me, that's kind of the definition of a bribe.

Maybe there could be a way to lighten the load for some colorists so they are -able- to finish normal work and offer bribes more frequently? Especially since a lot of new colorists just got hired~ :3  

[Sirenz]

Part I
It would have to be up to the colorists if they want to do more bribes. We have the minimum requirements now so it takes up more time and gives less time to do bribe slots. So in conclusion, it's not up to me but up to the colorists if they wanna do more bribes. :3 It wouldn't hurt to ask about it when we have another staff meething, though.

Part II
That again, is up to the individual colorist. Some may be looking for gold so will accept the highest offer they get. Others may want to see what is the coolest pet they get in so will take much less. No one but the colorist knows what offers are given but I do know that the accepted bribes vary from a few hundred thousand on top of base price to 30m +. If I was to do a bribe slot personally, then I would be looking for the pet design that would be the most fun to do.  

[Kaitaia]

From what I've gathered in a lot of places, shops, personal experience, and even art shops, it's usually a mixture of both gold amount and the concept. I know that even a lotlot of gold wouldn't make me want to work on something I didn't think I'd enjoy doing. I'd be tempted, but I'd probably pick something I know I'd enjoy.  

[Sirenz]

Yes that's what I've experienced too. Like 3 years ago I bribed a shop for a very complicated character that I cringe to think about to this day. It was down right crazy and difficult so to offset that I offered a Sept 03 letter that went for like 10-15m. I didn't get the slot or even hear back from the colorist as to why I didn't get the slot. It might have been that someone else bribed higher or had a better character. I'll never know! XD  

[Manda]

*nods* If/when I take bribes at other places it's generally kinda a mix for me too...


Maybe it would help for colorists to kind of post a little 'guide' of things they would accept as bribe-amounts? For example, my Workshop in Kitsu lists items that are on my wishlist. And I also have on there that generally offering at least double the normal price for something is a good place to start for a bribe.  

[Kaitaia]

Exactly! Art shops are like that a lot. xD I've seen a lot of artists pick lower bribes cause they liked the character better.

And I've seen them pick the highest amount too, with a shitty character. It all depends on the person, and even what they need at the time. If someone needs gold, they're likely to pick the biggest offer.  

[Sirenz]

I wouldn't want to post bribe values in public for all to see because it may discourage people from bribing in the future. One if a colorist simply wants to do the coolest concept and gold isn't an issue? Then that discouraged person would have missed out if their character was what the colorist had in mind.  

[Manda]

Well I mean it would be a personal choice per colorist... XD

Like if you didn't want to post anything, Si that's fine. But I think if it was me, I would probably post at least a rough guide. But also add in something like 'I also sometimes pick cool concepts regardless of gold offered so please don't be afraid to offer lower than 'x'!' or ..... something lol  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

I think for me, I wonder what is the minimum I can offer for something?

And I dont' mean that to sound cheap, so I'll explain. Let's say you're going for...a regular soq- heavy edits. That's 850k. Now you don't have much past that 850k. So if you can only offer another 50k, should you not even try?

Obviously this is a lower scale of what I mean. But it applies to what I mean, if you don't have much beyond the normal custom price but you really wanna try how much should you at LEAST have?  

[Sirenz]

Again, there isn't a concrete answer for that. It's up to each colorist. I like what Manda is saying about the colorists posting a statement that reflects their desires. They certainly don't have to as some may just want gold but not to be thought of as greedy to the general public. It's up to you if you think you have enough or not. I feel that winning bribes is based on luck, whether or not you have the right price and right concept.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Makes sense ^_^

I'm just very self-conscious and feel I'm offending someone if the offer isn't enough. But that's just how I am.

Thanks ^_^  

[Kamiki]

Raffling for bribes, imho, defeats the whole purpose of a bribe.

I really think people sometimes stress too much over what to offer and how much. I've won a few bribes before so I always have a LOT of people ask about how I did it. And, really, there is no straight answer.

I think even setting a "minimum amount" is a bit... complicated.

Because it's a BRIBE... its' absolutely comes down to whatever tickles the colorist fancy. Generally speaking, the more the better.... but it's about what appeals to them. It could be a concept or simply the gold. Or a mix of both. I once offered over 27million gold for a breeding bribe. Lost to someone who offered SIGNIFICANTLY less. Why? The colorist simply liked the couple more - she was very inspired by them and wanted to do them.

Basically... it comes down to you having to decide how much you can afford, and how much the pet is worth it to you.