So, I just wanted to ask, in the opinions of those of you who are non-merchants out there: In what order would you place the priority of purchasing the following packages, from most likely to but to least likely? 1) A high-quality original figure with all the whistles and bells -- poses, MAT poses, hands, bodyhandles, morphs, the works, for $50. 2) A low-quality original figure with nothing extra in the package for $5. 3) A high-quality original figure with nothing extra for $5. 4) A low-quality figure with lots of whistles and bells for $25. 5) A high quality figure with all the whistles and bells and the works for only $5. Also, if you had $25 burning a hole in your paypal account, what would you buy, of the above, just based on the prices and quality, not the specific content (this means assuming that there's plenty of choices for whatever you're looking for).

Hmmmm... hard one. Some of the best money I ever spent was for some of the Utilize clothing. Very high qulity, but you do pay for it. However, I had to weigh each purchase carefully. Some of the worst money I ever spent was for something that looked high quality, but wasn't. It had lots of bells and whistles, but gold on crap still smells like crap. $30 is also my limit on purchasing anything, with very few exceptions. I try not to buy low quality anything. I will get the occassional prop for a specific scene if it's under $10, if I can'f find it for free, fake it, or make it. All in all, I'd rather get something of high quality. Bells and whistles are nice too, but not if they push it above my $30 limit (unless they are really, really good). I think the problem we're hitting is saturation point on a lot of types of goods. I don't need anymore sci-fi/fantasy clothing. I don't need another industrial or sci-fi scene. We've got enough cute charaters to last us until the next millenium. There's tons of Mike textures with goatees. How many elf morphs do we need? (I tell a lie, I just got the new set by Borus, it is great). The big push right now seems to be for V3 clothing and textures. There would be real money in making a V2 to V3 clothing converter, along the lines of Tailor. And a corrosponding one for M2 to M3 when it comes out. I'd pay $50 for those.

I'll pay the "going rate" for whatever it is, but I'll look for bargains, too - hence the Platinum Club and PoserWorld subscriptions. There are some things I have seen for sale (here and elsewhere) that I wouldn't even pay $1 for. OTOH, there are a hell of a lot of good quality items I'm happy to fork over $50 for. It's the quality of an item which decides it for me, more than anything else.

i see...with the exception of steffyzz's stuff....models coming and going each and every week. talulah is the hot one this week....with some upcoming stuff by baron von harkenon....and, next week...it will be something else. it seems the poser community has some good money to throw around. what would i buy? i buy the essentials...v1, 2 and 3...mike, m2, steph....a few pieces of hair...anton's pony, for instance.....then, i have to admit...i had to have both adam and kane for mike. i got a couple of utilities for poser...and, that's it. i bought rhino, and, deep paint, and, bryce....not to mention photoshop 6, photoimpact6, and psp7. i like to try and make my own stuff. i may not get the most comments. i don't even have a store here...selling seems like more trouble than it would be worth. IF i were to buy something, here....yeah, put this on my wishlist....it would probably be a texture by either Steffyzz....or, the DoubleTrouble texture by Dalinese. they both do superlative work.

oh, and, hair...i love that spring couture hair, also

It doesn't matter how high the quality....if I don't have an interest, I'm not buying (which eliminates about 75% of the Marketplace for me off the top). I don't understand the prices put on some stuff. You can sell all this stuff over and over and over again...it's not like you can run out of stock. So is it better to sell 50 $5 or each or 5 at $50 each...that depends on if it is easier to find 50 buyers like me or five buyers who can spend money that kind of money? I don't know about saturation....Vicky has enough lingerie from now to forever and yet people want more of that. Fads drive the market more than need. Catch the latest fad at the right time, and you're going to sell. Have bad luck with timing and you'll fail....one vendor here had a wonderful dragon but it didn't sell because it had the bad luck to be released at the same time that Daz released their latest (and who can compete marketing with Daz?) so price and quality is only one part of a much bigger puzzle. If I didn't buy another thing for a year, I'd have enough to play with for a year. Will I stop buying? Probably not. But I won't buy high priced stuff unless it really has appealing variations. But that's just me. And I've learned I'm no market indicator.

Well I guess I'll add my two cents. I would personally like to see some more high quality, original ideas. I recently came across a minotaur in the marketplace that I may have a use for. I have yet to buy a character set for Mike or Vicky. Yes they look great, but you have to be creative somewhere. Good, photorealistic textures along with Mat poses, are tempting as longs as the Mat doesn't "call" for a .bum when one is not included(I really get steamed over that). Everyone will probably agree, that it isn't worth buying unless the quality is there. Pricing will always depend on the demand, high prices will demand more content. If they are too expensive, you may just find them floating around the peer-to-peers. If you are going for the high priced package, then think versatility, originality, and complexity. Try to put yourself in the buyer's place.

Just an opinion: the problem with charging a high price is that it tends to increase piracy. If you keep the pricepoint low, an individual will likely just purchase said product rather than put forth the effort to find a pirated version.

dialyn does raise a good point. High quality at a low price will sell a lot better than high quality at a high price. The Utilize stuff would triple sales if the price were halved. My buying has really gone down the last few weeks. I haven't really seen anything I think is great. There's also been very few things put out for Mike lately that aren't historic or the same old thing. One other thing, if I know the work of a vendor doesn't work with Tailor well, I probably won't buy it. Some modeling tools don't convert well. I really like the Ren. Angle clothing from rDNA, but it just don't work for me in Tailor. Don't get me wrong, it's well worth the money, but I'd be happier if I could tailor it do the muscle morphs. btw, bells and whistles. Jackets open in the front, so do shirts. Pants sag around the waist, and ride low sometimes. Sometimes they're baggy. T-shirts can hang lose or fit tight. I want morphs included with clothing that reflects this, and I'll pay more for them. I'd also like the clothing makers to try to assign materials that make sense. Sleaves come off, pants can be shorts. Even lines in the modeling at joint points really help a lot.

I shop for quality, but I like a bargin also. I have downloaded Freestuff that is better in quality than some of the stuff in the Market Place.

My Rendo Purchases look like this 9 Items Under $10 10 Items from $10-20 3 Items from $20-30 My purchases at other stores run about the same. Except for maybe DAZ, but I hunt sales there. All of these are quality items. I don't buy low quality stuff. Also I'll never spend over $30 unless it's a CD set (like Davo's sets) for which I've spent up to $60. Basically if you are a merchant and you want my money you have to give me good to excellent quality for a fair ($10-$10) price.

There's an example right now at Daz-- Koshini. I think she's selling even more than she would in normal circumstances because of the price-- full original figure, clothes, hair-- every package a complete package-- $15 sale around 20 off sale. Something that is an incredible value and quality immediately takes the eye and you get sales. Don't have to go to $5 unless it's just textures for something. If I'm going to pay $15 dollars, though, I want something for the long haul-- something I can do series of renders with, something with style. You didn't have a category that I would buy at. I prefer High quality-- high res suitable for closeups-- details and stitching in clothing. some bells and whistles. $10-$15. High quality, with all the bells and whistles-- at least three changes of texture all high res, and not just color, I can do that, adds nothing to the value--$20-25. I'm like the rest, It had better be exceptional for $30 and above. Emily

It depends, if i think I'm getting a good amount of stuff with the pack or set. say if the thing had 4 parts to to and a few MATS. Also i look at what else besides the obvious can I use this thing with? In short, will it look right in a fantast image and them be use in a sci fi or modern day and not look dumb? can i combine it with other things and get a while different look. Some things i have paid 30 bucks for. But lately, if it's got a tag higher than 20-25 dollars it's likley not to get bought by me. and i generally spent about 150-200 a month on poser items.

Also, i look at who it is. some vendors i don't mind paying the bigger bucks because i know, the quality is there and in some cases if they decide to update the item for another figure, or just update it. I get a mail from that vendor telling me they updated it and added function to it and I should go download it again. There are others that don't bother to update or update and require me to buy the thing again. Those that do. don't see my dollars again.

I'd much rather have quality. Of course, price is also a factor - just like anybody, I want to get the best deal I can, but cheap isn't the be-all-end-all; if the low-cost, low-quality item doesn't work, you have to buy something else, maybe spending more. What I do is look for something that fits the look I want to get out of the project. If it's something I really need/want, but too expensive, I try my best to find a way to get the money, or wait and hope for a sale. And if it's cheaper - hey, great! One example - I've purchased almost all of spectre3's textures for Vicky and Mike - and they are fantastic. Most of them only $5.00. They are some of the best. I've also bought the $20 and $30 textures, such as quim2001's. Also excellent. Each texture was chosen because it LOOKED good, it was what I needed for my project, not because of the price. The fact that spectre3's were around $5-$10 is a bonus. So that's my method. I love to get bargains, but I will pay a bit more for something if I have to!

I agree that the line is somewhere around $30 for purchasing anything "on spec". But there is a sort of floor as well.... if something seems to be -much- cheaper than comparable items, it's not necessarily seen as a bargain unless it's recommended by somebody I trust.

Right ockham - unlike a retail store, we're unable to actually "get our hands on it" so to speak until after the sale. Which is a good reason that all merchants should go after product feedback/testimonials. I know it's something I need to work on. :)

I recently purchased an item from a site other than RO, and although the quality of the modeling is superb, it doesn't set up to any camera angles other than those included worth a dang and the lighting was a nightmare. After spending almost an hour trying to set up a scene, I gave up out of sheer frustration. The cost? One of the more higher priced items I've purchased. Totally disappointed in the product...and after having spent quite a bit for it, it's pretty much put a barrier up for me to spend large dollar amounts now for anything else. I mean what do you do...go back to a vendor and say, I really don't like your product, may I have my money back or exchange it for something else? Or, do I just chalk it up to a bad buy?

hmmmm this is a hard question! lol But from what I can tell you from selling crafts, if people like something you have they will pay whatever price you put on it, if you don't go to extremes.I use to sell wooden scissor holders for 12.00, people bought them no problem, I also sold hand painted Wooden Christmas candleabras for 50.00 no problem selling them either, so if people like what they see,they will buy it no matter the price. I also think that the ad images have a lot to do with how things sell.

I am much more likely to drop 8 bucks than I am 12, 20, or 30. I have been extremely impressed with many of the 5-12 dollar items I have bought.

I prefer to buy in the 5-10 dollar range but will go up to the 10-20 dollar range. The only time I go over that is if it is something I think I will REALLY use like the V2-V3 texture converter (Vicky, Mike & the other DAZ figures excepted). I've been really spoiled by freebies, PoserWorld and the DAZ Millennium Club. The main things I buy are high quality skin texures, poses, and hair. Hair is my main weakness (ask Dark_Whisper) but Studio Maya's freebies are making it harder to justify spending a lot of money on new hair, too. Personally, I'd love to find lots of high quality stuff in the 5-10 dollar range so that I can have Poser stuff and eat, too.

I tend to stay within the 10-20 dollar range. I'd spend more on something that looks like it would "knock my socks off", but it would have to be a nice package of things. As far as quality goes, I'm not sure if we're equating quality with mesh density... I'd rather buy a low to medium size mesh that gets the job done (looks convincing enough, bends well) than to buy a dense mesh. I think it's unnecessary to make very high mesh clothing items unless every detail of them are modeled rather than simulated through texture and transmaps. Actually, it really pisses me off to choke through Poser by loading a simple shirt or something that was modeled in such a way that the density was ridiculous. _dodger, to answer your original query, my choices are: 5, 3, 2, 4, 1 If I had $25 to spend, I take any combination of #'s 5, 3 and 2's and preferably 5 #5's.

oops, you said non-merchants... LOL. Oh well, I still buy a LOT of stuff (or do credit, etc).

5, 3, 1. If I know it's low quality, or I've read a review or users have complaints I don't buy it, period. So no 2 and 4 for me ever (if I want low quality I can build it myself). Rarely Spend over $25 unless its a full model like V2, 3 etc or some textures like Steffyz textures. Mostly I buy on sale or items in the $10-$20 range. I would surely try and make my $25 go as far as I can, and buy cheaper, money not quality, things and get more for my money. I agree with the long life scenario some have mentioned. Daz has brought a lot of life back in older clothing with PClub. I would definately buy an item that I could see a future in texture packs, or addons at a later time over say and item I may only use in 1 or 2 renderings.

For me it boils down to this: If it's something I'm looking for, I'll pay more :) Sometimes you just "need" something for a project that's rattling around in your head....so you'll buy it no matter what (well...up to a point of course!) Generally, my limit for a general product will be about $25....but will go as high as $45 if it is made by someone who is known for creating quality products. I will pay more for good textures than just about anything else. The other thing I look for is feedback....lots of positive feedback....I'll pay a higher price. I belong to both Poser World and Poser Style and am a Platinum Club member. They have all paid off in savings that's for sure. The most I've paid here is $39 for one item. Most of my purchases are in the $15 range.

I'm more likely to buy from someone who's work I already know & like than from an unknown quantity. If I have the money available then price is not an issue for me.

Looking at the list, I'm not sure if I see any of those options very often quite like that. Not sure what to think.

_Dodger, $50 for a high quality figure with bells and whistles is nice. If it's from DAZ. From anyone else, I would never pay that much. Why? Support. I don't invest in figures that don't have support. In kills me in the long run. Say I have a really sweet troll figure. Sounds good right? Now say I want the troll wearing armor. Hmmm. Chances are... I'm not going to find it. Or what if I want a troll wearing a tuxedo? DEFINATELY not going to find it. To me, a "standard" figure is defiantely worth the money. But "special" figure aren't. They just don't have the support to make them fesible for my needs. The exceptions are specialty animals/monsters... like dragons, etc. because there very few times when I need a dragon wearing armor or a tuxedo... or anything for that matter. I know there is a HUGE amount of work that goes into some of these custom figures and in the author's eyes they are worth alot more than what they charge... but for me, I have to consider the amount I've already invested in props, conforming clothing, textures, etc. for the standard figures and then consider the best value for my money. Does this make my options less versatile... yes. Does it insure that I use my money to best effect? Yes. Props, hair, and models are different. They can be scaled, warped, morphed, twisted and broken down and made to fit nearly any figure. I will frequently pay good money for a nice background prop, weapons pack, hair, etc. because I'm continuing and expanding my investment. As far as quality and price. I will frequently drop $20-$30 on what I consider high quality items. Obviously, I look for bargains... but I try not to compromise with quality. To me, it's better to spend $25 on a good item, that $25 on 5 pieces of junk. Luckily, there are alot of talented contributors in the store and it's rare that I find myself disappointed with my purchases! Just my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth.

The ceiling has definitely come down over the last year - I could even buy a Vicki figure with some extras for $30 say 18 months ago. Now I wouldn't buy the same package even for 20. Why? 1. There is a huge selection of stuff to choose from 2. I have enough stuff already to keep me busy for 20 years (how about over 20000 freebies?) 3. More merchants who get better all the time (the good ones) and quality increases, so prices have been forced down. But the number of lemons increses too of course. BUT - I still fall for well presented goodies at a decent price, especially if there's an introductory sale. RDNA, PoserPro and DAZ do that very well, here at R it's a lot less used, unfortunately. It's a killer for selling. I can't say there's a clear rule for what I will buy or pay. It's a unique and new situation every time. But good presentation, good English without spelling mistakes, MAT files, good documentation, high quality images, all make me sit up and take notice. Example: RDNA and DAZ are immaculate, best style and quality. And introductory sales too boot... By comparison R'osity is like a flea market. You have to watch your step. 10 Vicki poses for $12? A basic prop for $16? Sure, come to R'osity.... and there's some really good stuff too or course. :] Fish

Eep, two speling mustakes ther, butt it hapens two the bast of uss :o) :] Fush

A merchant in the market has really got to impress me to make me spend over $20.00 regardless of quality . I bought your new robot figure a few days ago and I thought it was a very good quality figure at a very good price . I would prefer things to be simpler to save time and keep the cost down . Alot of character makers out there place way to much stuff in thier packages which makes it harder to download and they usually cost more than I want to spend for extra stuff that I probably won't use when all I really want is the texture .

$50 for a high quality figure with bells and whistles is nice. If it's from DAZ. From anyone else, I would never pay that much. Why? Support. I don't invest in figures that don't have support. That's a little bit prejudiced. DAZ Has great support, but that doesn't mean someone else wouldn't provide the same support committment.

The biggest factor for me is "How versatile is the product?" If it's cool but can only be used in limited circumstances, then I won't pay as much for it. I debated getting Koshini because I wanted an anime character, but I'm not as much into chibi characters and I didn't want to get sucked into buying yet another whole new wardrobe for a character. I ended up getting her and the first expansion pack because I realized that I could use the hair, with some scaling, on other figures, and the figure can be made male as well, so it's quite versatile. I'll probably end up getting some of the other packs as well because the hair alone is worth the purchase. Anton's earlier clothing, on the other hand, I was a bit disappointed in because the entire outfit was one piece. I had to transparency out everything I didn't want, and in some cases, there were gaps because the outfit was meant to be used in its entirety or not at all. I found ways to work around it, but it lowered the value for me. I've turned down $5 textures that had several eye shadow and lip color variations and bought $20 textures with maybe one each because the $20 texture had a natural, no-makeup texture so I could create my own variations. The same goes for male textures with a clean-shaven texture. Also, certain vendors/companies have proven themselves by way of quality and I know what I'm getting when I buy their stuff. I'll pay the premium to get their stuff. (On the other hand, there's a few vendors I'll never buy from again no matter what the price due to low quality or poor customer service.) Since value for me is how many different uses I can find for a character (a texture, etc.), it's difficult to say how much I'd pay for a hypothetical item. Poses, light sets, etc. don't have much affect on me. If I'm really waffling on a product, it might tip the decision one way or the other, but usually not. Hope it helps, Cres

The price point is a hard one. Typically, I'll get whatever I think I would use, and in some cases, stuff that just plain 'looks cool'. But to answer some of your questions-I'd much rather have a high quality figure with no extras compared to a low quality with lots of extras. Something that's high quality with addons would be cool, as I would be able to choose what 'bells and whistles' I wanted. Say the basic figure for 20 or so, and the extras, i.e. poses, extra textures, extra props (armor, clothing pieces, left hands(heh)) for around 5 a pop. That way I wouldn't have to pay a large price for everything if the only 'extra' I wanted was different textures. Another thing is the vendor him/herself. If the person makes high quality stuff that works well, it's easier to spend more for their products, because you know they are going to work. For example, and not to kiss your ass, but I was waiting for JICC to come out, and would have easily paid 20 for it because I know your products are very nice. The 5 dollar price point was just an extra bonus. Another example is sixus1. His creatures are really cool. I only have his Minotaur, and it's a great model. I would have liked to have some poses for it, as I'm not too good yet at making my own poses. However, that can be provided from him as an add-on, or from someone else in the community. I like high quality products, and am willing to pay a higher price for them. But again, it all depends on what it is, and who makes it. And to specifically answer your first question-5,3,1,4,2 To answer the second question-Most likely, 5 5's, but possibly add to that amount, and pick up a 1.

From the merchant's side, the answer is "Whatever they can get"! ;-) I like doing sets, I seldom do anything that is a one trick pony, mostly I have sets with 4 items of footwear, or clothing sets with 2 shoes, 2 tops, two bottoms and a dress, things like that. I spend a lot of time on my stuff, and I'm absolutely sure that my $30 set with 6 items is getting compared unfavorably with another merchants one-trick pony for $15. "Jim's stuff is so expensive", they say, Gee, look at the GV set, I think the clothing would be a steal at $20, which means I only charge $5 for the character. There is no justice! I do make my living doing this, so good sales are nice, but still, I like doing sets. Look at it another way, each set goes in a folder in Figures, don't you hate seeing those folders with one item in it? But you might only need the one item, you say- to which I reply using the other stuff might give you options, or even change your mind on what will be in the next render. Plus it is going to take just about the same amount of your time to install a big set, read the notes and look at the items as it would in an 1-item set. So don't expect to see many under $20 items from me. ;-)

Money doesn't matter to me. I don't buy low-quality stuff. I don't buy stuff which doesn't interest me. (There goes 99.5% of the RMP stuff.)

I am not a marketing strategist, but I believe that someone would be more willing to buy 2 items at $19 than 1 item at $35. People are more likely to fudge the numbers when it comes to budgeting if they feel they are getting a little more. If I were a merchant, and hope to be someday, I would keep my prices on the low side. "For that price you can't go wrong" is the attitude that sells the most product. Since it doesn't cost anything to duplicate the merchandise you can't lose if the item is quality. Create something that everyone wants and is willing to spend the money on, even if they don't need it, and you will do better than those that charge a mint that only a few buy. The more expensive work at the marketplace is worth the cost, but not everyone will be able to justify the purchase price. How many people go to Payless and buy just one pair of shoes? Don't forget about the "Pet Rock"! People will buy anything if it is cheap, even though it is useless.

Hey Jim!! Whatcha worrying about?! Your stuff is excellent and I buy it cause it's great. And so do a huge number of other people. You make great stuff, support it well and present it beautifully :o) :] Fish

Ditto to Fish Nose's last line, Jim.

Think about it like this. Think of the price of something like Vicky. Think of the amount of use that represents - how many pictures' worth do you get for your money? That gives a sort of benchmark for value. If I'm looking at the MP and assessing whether to buy something I do think about how often I'm going to use it. I'll only buy a high-price item if I think I'm going to use it extensively. But I might pay $5 for something I'll only use once or twice.

I think it depends on both the product and the price. price plays a 55% factor, esp most parts of the world are having recession now and in some parts, the US currency is twice or more of theirs(it may cost $50 for a us$20 tex pak) .. so potential merchants hint hint Lower price and good quality product usually gets my attention. There's a price range which I go by. For instance $20-$25 for a skin texture pack is expensive for me. It might take some time before I buy them. i.e I had wanted to buy Mortebella and a number of other deviant design's stuffs for some time, but haven't bought any. Where else I got the Koshini pack for $16 when Daz just released it. Same for Philc's dragon huntress at $5, got it once I saw it on 3dc. No offense, but this is just me. But alot of best selling items are usually both good quality and cheap. And if I like sci-fi stuffs, I would get dodger's JICC too. :)