Comments on: How to Keep Your Favorite Vendors and Brokers Alive

By: FWHS Designs

FWHS Designs — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:29:50 +0000

I personally will buy from the vendor directly if they sell that way. I sell my self and never had anything over $10 on my site. I too was a member of 3dcommune and sold there only due to the hassles of having just 5 or 6 products at one one time on my site in a store. I will now be selling through my site only. 3d is a hobby and not a primary income source for me.
I do not buy a bundles unless there are more than 2 or 3 things in that bundle I would buy. I buy bulk when I do my groceries, but when it comes to 3d I cannot see that being a buying trend for me.

By: Chikako

Chikako — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:30:31 +0000

Hi Icprncss,

I was speaking in more general terms because most people do not have a clue how much of a really small ($1.99 for example) transaction gets eaten up by transactions fees. For example, a credit card charge (and PayPal isnt much different), takes a base fee of around $.30 or so, plus a percentage of the transaction. This transactional cost can even be more of its done with a business card or an international sale. Most Meshbox products start at around $5, with an average cost closer to $10, and sets much higher. On the other hand, the complete editions are often closer to $40-$50 each, but it works out that each model is much less expensive – ie $40 (pre-release price) / 8 models = $5 each. But the total transaction is high, so the fees are a non-issue for us. However, for those vendors trying to compete with big brokerages and offer $1.99 deals, they are often losing money on a transaction.

We changed our model with our “R2″ releases for a few reasons. If you buy the R2 release directly from Meshbox, then you also usually get the .3DS version, too. Previously, this version was the basis for all other versions of the model, so if you really wanted to have a Bryce version, you could use this intermediary version to recreate it.

With the individual R2 versions, the model goes to a second artist that hand modifies it so its better attuned to the target platform. For Poser/DAZ | Studio, this means most buildings are not simple props any more, but characters with dial driven doors, movable/removable furnishings and the like. So if you really want the smart Poser version, but also work with Bryce or Vue, you can also get the .3DS version and import that into those products; there is work that goes along with that process, but if you are reasonably familiar with them, you can do it. What you get with the R2 versions though are a superior product to what we shipped before.

We made this change because customers were asking for it. For our R2 spec, we took the most popular requests from our customers and then tried to figure out how to deliver on it. What we found especially is that the most expensive to produce versions were for Poser, and that Poser / D|S customers do their final rendering in Poser or D|S. We also added a new platform – Shade – which also has its own rigging system, too.

One other problem we had was that some partner brokerages have file size limits. Some of our most complex “R1″ releases could push 400 MB or higher, esp because some file formats aren’t very svelte. There are many models that it is simply impossible to ship the same way through our partner brokers because of these limitations.

By: Icprncss

Icprncss — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:13:56 +0000

I have no problem buying directly from vendors I trust. You suggest we buy the more expensive bundles. Ok, I went over to Meshbox because I have been debating on the 4th of July bundle. I was less than thrilled to see that instead of getting the Poser, Bryce, and Vue formats in the products, they are now being sold as individual formats. I used to consider Meshbox products an excellent value because of this. In the end, I put off making the purchase because I have to rethink which app I will use it the most in and if I will use it enough even in that one to justify the purchase at all. Is the the new trend at Meshbox?

By: Juniper Chew

Juniper Chew — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:35:44 +0000

I’m strictly a customer. I can honestly say over the past year, I’ve noticed that a lot of so-called “new” products are just more of the same-old same old. Trust me, not all USD 1.99 sale items get my money either. In these hard times, customers who can still afford to support their 3D art hobby or small business, are going to be even more discerning in what they buy. Speaking for myself, I prefer to focus on my very specific area of interest for 3D renders. Products which don’t fit my specific interests, no matter how cheap, will not be acquired.

By: Buyer

Buyer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:30:31 +0000

I like how honest your post is. As a buyer, I’ll tell you my POV. I buy from a few trusted brokers because they sell with licenses that I can use in my business. I need to be able to resell the images I make and not worry if my buyer will violate a sellers odd terms (like no televised usage, etc). Also, I notice some sellers are rushing to get their products to market and they appear unfinished – so it makes me double take and fence sit. This is not just a hobby for me – it’s a business. I try to support as best I can, but I need to be able to use what I buy license to – so it has to be ‘finished’ as I don’t care to buy into all of the spin offs, and it has to have full commercial usage that only restricts redistribution of the 3D model and textures.

I hope that doesn’t come across snooty. I just wanted to let you know one buyers POV.

I reponded because you care and because I care too!

By: Chikako

Chikako — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:19:55 +0000

Before considering any of my points, whatever is created and sold should be high quality product that’s interesting to someone. Also, the premise is that you care if the indies stay alive or not. If you are unwilling to shop outside of the mall and the mall has everything you could want, then it doesn’t sound like it really matters to you.

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:12:19 +0000

Honestly, this makes it sound like the vendors expect the buyer/consumer to do all the work. It should be the other way around. Make me an offer I can’t refuse. Give me a reason to buy from you. It has to benefit me the buyer first. If you are selling something I don’t want/need/can use then why should I jump through hoops to get it? If I find something I want and I can afford it then I buy it; simple as that. But money is tight and buying from unfamiliar vendors or stores is not an option unless I can’t do without that item and that’s not likely. So if I have to go out of my way to find you I’m probably not going to buy.
All this to say the vendor has to at least meet me halfway and not expect me to put in extra effort. That’s why mega malls and Walmart run small businesses out of business all the time, convenience. They make it easy for the consumer. It may not be fair but that’s life.