Why do people retire skins/accents? I'd assume it's something money-wise, but it seems more profitable to always be open to reruns if enough people are interested (which I've seen some sellers do). Wondering for if I ever get into the accent making business someday (and because, y'know, it's pretty sad when I find a perfect skin but it's retired and only being resold for 2000+g ;-;)
Why do people retire skins/accents? I'd assume it's something money-wise, but it seems more profitable to always be open to reruns if enough people are interested (which I've seen some sellers do). Wondering for if I ever get into the accent making business someday (and because, y'know, it's pretty sad when I find a perfect skin but it's retired and only being resold for 2000+g ;-;)
some people do it to make their skincents more special - a limited edition item with a limited amount available allows for a higher price and more sought-after for its rarity.
some people do it to make their skincents more special - a limited edition item with a limited amount available allows for a higher price and more sought-after for its rarity.
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daffydil
daffy, she/her
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I personally do it because when interest dies down, I don't want to keep track of a ton of prints. Also I don't want people sitting on a slot for a run that will take a long time to fill, or one that may never fill up. They will often forget they put themselves down for a slot and may no longer have the funds, or may even hiatus from FR. I know sometimes months down the line I'll get pinged for a skin I forgot I signed up for.
I've only started making UMAs recently and I don't have an extensive pinglist and the popularity to keep getting tons of 10-print runs, as well as re-print interest.
Also my way of making UMAs and my art improves over time so I may no longer want to print old skins with old art.
Some people also like limited edition things so they may jump onto signing up for a skin that will retire.
I personally do it because when interest dies down, I don't want to keep track of a ton of prints. Also I don't want people sitting on a slot for a run that will take a long time to fill, or one that may never fill up. They will often forget they put themselves down for a slot and may no longer have the funds, or may even hiatus from FR. I know sometimes months down the line I'll get pinged for a skin I forgot I signed up for.
I've only started making UMAs recently and I don't have an extensive pinglist and the popularity to keep getting tons of 10-print runs, as well as re-print interest.
Also my way of making UMAs and my art improves over time so I may no longer want to print old skins with old art.
Some people also like limited edition things so they may jump onto signing up for a skin that will retire.
It's pretty complicated and a bit of a gamble either way! Retiring skins can get people sitting on the fence about purchasing a skin to buy it up faster, since there's a good chance they'll never be able to have it at those prices again. You can also get away with charging a good deal higher for limited/retired skins. I myself have sold some custom 5-print skins for 10kg+ due to the exclusivity and retired status.
Meanwhile reprinting skins as long as there's interest generates income, like you said, but reprinting is a massive hassle for skinmakers. For those who aren't into the UMA business, reprints aren't automatically generated once you submit it. You have to wait 7 days again to get the run delivered (which I personally don't understand why it's not automated), and meanwhile you have to keep track of who's paid and who's not, who's still interested and who's decided to drop out of the run. This gets even more complicated when you have a huge catalog of shelved skins and people who put themselves on reprint pinglists for a scattered 1 or 2 among dozens. It's really a logistics issue of how you're gonna keep track of that, and different people have different solutions to it. For many people, the solution is simply not reprinting.
Another reason could be that people simply don't like the art anymore. Artists improve! Some of them hate seeing bad (in their eyes) and old art out there and would prefer not to have it reprinted.
It's pretty complicated and a bit of a gamble either way! Retiring skins can get people sitting on the fence about purchasing a skin to buy it up faster, since there's a good chance they'll never be able to have it at those prices again. You can also get away with charging a good deal higher for limited/retired skins. I myself have sold some custom 5-print skins for 10kg+ due to the exclusivity and retired status.
Meanwhile reprinting skins as long as there's interest generates income, like you said, but reprinting is a massive hassle for skinmakers. For those who aren't into the UMA business, reprints aren't automatically generated once you submit it. You have to wait 7 days again to get the run delivered (which I personally don't understand why it's not automated), and meanwhile you have to keep track of who's paid and who's not, who's still interested and who's decided to drop out of the run. This gets even more complicated when you have a huge catalog of shelved skins and people who put themselves on reprint pinglists for a scattered 1 or 2 among dozens. It's really a logistics issue of how you're gonna keep track of that, and different people have different solutions to it. For many people, the solution is simply not reprinting.
Another reason could be that people simply don't like the art anymore. Artists improve! Some of them hate seeing bad (in their eyes) and old art out there and would prefer not to have it reprinted.
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august
ENG / CN
skin shop
       
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[quote name="9th" date="2021-11-21 19:09:35" ]
I personally do it because when interest dies down, I don't want to keep track of a ton of prints. Also I don't want people sitting on a slot for a run that will take a long time to fill, or one that may never fill up. They will often forget they put themselves down for a slot and may no longer have the funds, or may even hiatus from FR.
[/quote]
This is the big reason why I started retiring my accents. Maintaining multiple pinglists for reprints can be a real hassle. (Although I do more of a 'soft' retire where I'll reprint a copy of my accent for you if you provide the blueprint + a small reprint fee.)
And personally, I'd rather spend my limited gems on printing new accents than reprinting older ones. I'm not exactly a brand name in the accents market, so I often have to dip into my own savings to get accents printed since I don't get runs with full slots. It can take a very long time to sell off the remaining copies. I still have two copies of [gamedb item=29216] hanging out on the AH from the single run I did in [i]2019[/i].
9th wrote on 2021-11-21 19:09:35:
I personally do it because when interest dies down, I don't want to keep track of a ton of prints. Also I don't want people sitting on a slot for a run that will take a long time to fill, or one that may never fill up. They will often forget they put themselves down for a slot and may no longer have the funds, or may even hiatus from FR.
This is the big reason why I started retiring my accents. Maintaining multiple pinglists for reprints can be a real hassle. (Although I do more of a 'soft' retire where I'll reprint a copy of my accent for you if you provide the blueprint + a small reprint fee.)
And personally, I'd rather spend my limited gems on printing new accents than reprinting older ones. I'm not exactly a brand name in the accents market, so I often have to dip into my own savings to get accents printed since I don't get runs with full slots. It can take a very long time to sell off the remaining copies. I still have two copies of
Accent: Icebrood hanging out on the AH from the single run I did in
2019.
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daffydil Yeah that makes sense! That was definitely my first thought for why people would retire skins.
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9th Oh that makes a whole lot of sense. I'd never considered the whole 'long wait pinglist means people may no longer have funds' thing but yeah that absolutely tracks. Good to know, thanks!
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brightmyth Geez I knew skins had to be checked/delivered but 7 days is SO long I had no idea. And yeah keeping track of payment is difficult even for just my art shop so I hear you there haha. Thanks for the info! That's all really useful to know.
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daffydil Yeah that makes sense! That was definitely my first thought for why people would retire skins.
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9th Oh that makes a whole lot of sense. I'd never considered the whole 'long wait pinglist means people may no longer have funds' thing but yeah that absolutely tracks. Good to know, thanks!
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brightmyth Geez I knew skins had to be checked/delivered but 7 days is SO long I had no idea. And yeah keeping track of payment is difficult even for just my art shop so I hear you there haha. Thanks for the info! That's all really useful to know.
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arcaneidolriots oof yeah the cost of printing vs accents not guaranteed to sell is definitely one of the things discouraging me from getting into accent making. Good luck selling yours though! They're lovely <3
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arcaneidolriots oof yeah the cost of printing vs accents not guaranteed to sell is definitely one of the things discouraging me from getting into accent making. Good luck selling yours though! They're lovely <3
[quote name="arcaneidolriots" date="2021-11-21 19:33:35" ]
This is the big reason why I started retiring my accents. Maintaining multiple pinglists for reprints can be a real hassle. (Although I do more of a 'soft' retire where I'll reprint a copy of my accent for you if you provide the blueprint + a small reprint fee.)
And personally, I'd rather spend my limited gems on printing new accents than reprinting older ones. I'm not exactly a brand name in the accents market, so I often have to dip into my own savings to get accents printed since I don't get runs with full slots. It can take a very long time to sell off the remaining copies. I still have two copies of [gamedb item=29216] hanging out on the AH from the single run I did in [i]2019[/i].
[/quote]
Yeah I also had a lot of leftovers from runs that never filled up all the way. Some are slowly selling on the AH, others aren't selling at all. I sometimes had to buy gems with USD to fund those prints, and they're just sitting. So those will be skins I never will consider reprinting.
Accent making can be fun and rewarding but sometimes a design just doesn't do well and can be disheartening.
Sometimes a design just clicks with people. I have seen a lot of beautifully drawn and unique skins from others that were also just sitting with tons of leftovers on the AH.
arcaneidolriots wrote on 2021-11-21 19:33:35:
This is the big reason why I started retiring my accents. Maintaining multiple pinglists for reprints can be a real hassle. (Although I do more of a 'soft' retire where I'll reprint a copy of my accent for you if you provide the blueprint + a small reprint fee.)
And personally, I'd rather spend my limited gems on printing new accents than reprinting older ones. I'm not exactly a brand name in the accents market, so I often have to dip into my own savings to get accents printed since I don't get runs with full slots. It can take a very long time to sell off the remaining copies. I still have two copies of
Accent: Icebrood hanging out on the AH from the single run I did in
2019.
Yeah I also had a lot of leftovers from runs that never filled up all the way. Some are slowly selling on the AH, others aren't selling at all. I sometimes had to buy gems with USD to fund those prints, and they're just sitting. So those will be skins I never will consider reprinting.
Accent making can be fun and rewarding but sometimes a design just doesn't do well and can be disheartening.
Sometimes a design just clicks with people. I have seen a lot of beautifully drawn and unique skins from others that were also just sitting with tons of leftovers on the AH.
If I feel my art is better now than it was then, it retires. I have some that aged well and others that did not. But if someone provides a blueprint I'll print anything honestly.
If I feel my art is better now than it was then, it retires. I have some that aged well and others that did not. But if someone provides a blueprint I'll print anything honestly.
Yeah I don't think I would mind doing single reprint requests of retired skins if someone pays for the blueprint + a fee. It's something I'll think about.
Yeah I don't think I would mind doing single reprint requests of retired skins if someone pays for the blueprint + a fee. It's something I'll think about.
