Published Jan 18th, 2020, 1/18/20 9:02 pm
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Don't consider this proper counsel or whatever, just some handy personal advice.
The Marketplace is a nice way to earn money, but too often do I see lowball prices for skins offered by Marketplace teams. I'm tired of that and you should be too.
There's any number of reasons why these prices are so low in the first place. Maybe non-skinners underestimate the effort required to make skins, or maybe these teams have gotten greedy. Whatever the case may be, these offers continue to exist because other skinners accept them. That's bad business.
$10 per skin is okay (albeit low) for normal commissions from other PMC users or Minecraft players that want a custom skin for personal use.
$10 per skin is utterly unacceptable for commissions from a Marketplace team that wants to sell content for profit.
I can't stress this enough, Marketplace teams are businesses - they exist to make money from the Marketplace using content you create for them. Let's say you accept $10 per skin for a pack of 10-12 skins - you make $120. Sounds cool, but the Marketplace is a big place with a big audience. That team could make anywhere between $500 to $1500 in the first month of it being on the Marketplace.
That's a considerable amount of money they keep for themselves.
They may, however, tell you otherwise. Maybe they'll tell you that they make something around $250 at most. If that really is the case, they're running a terrible business and that's none of your concern. You should have your own interests in mind, not theirs. Be concerned with the money you make.
Either raise your asking price or ask for percentage of sales.
- Depending on your skill and level of effort per skin, don't go lower than $40 USD per skin.
- Personally I'd always take percentage over flat sum; percentage means you're owed a constant cut of the profits no matter how small or large.
Look after yourself gamers, the Marketplace should benefit us all.
The Marketplace is a nice way to earn money, but too often do I see lowball prices for skins offered by Marketplace teams. I'm tired of that and you should be too.
There's any number of reasons why these prices are so low in the first place. Maybe non-skinners underestimate the effort required to make skins, or maybe these teams have gotten greedy. Whatever the case may be, these offers continue to exist because other skinners accept them. That's bad business.
$10 per skin is okay (albeit low) for normal commissions from other PMC users or Minecraft players that want a custom skin for personal use.
$10 per skin is utterly unacceptable for commissions from a Marketplace team that wants to sell content for profit.
I can't stress this enough, Marketplace teams are businesses - they exist to make money from the Marketplace using content you create for them. Let's say you accept $10 per skin for a pack of 10-12 skins - you make $120. Sounds cool, but the Marketplace is a big place with a big audience. That team could make anywhere between $500 to $1500 in the first month of it being on the Marketplace.
That's a considerable amount of money they keep for themselves.
They may, however, tell you otherwise. Maybe they'll tell you that they make something around $250 at most. If that really is the case, they're running a terrible business and that's none of your concern. You should have your own interests in mind, not theirs. Be concerned with the money you make.
Either raise your asking price or ask for percentage of sales.
- Depending on your skill and level of effort per skin, don't go lower than $40 USD per skin.
- Personally I'd always take percentage over flat sum; percentage means you're owed a constant cut of the profits no matter how small or large.
Look after yourself gamers, the Marketplace should benefit us all.
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Also uh, any advice on how to to go about asking for percentages instead of a flat sum? Or just say it directly?
idk I’ve always taken a straight sum instead of percents but I’d like to change over
As for asking for percentage, you might have to negotiate a lil. I'm not a pro-negotiator at all, but decide on the minimum percentage you'd settle for and a aspirational starting point.
Let's say you'd settle for 70% but you want to start with 80%. Next time you go to discuss a new skin pack and come to pay, just be up-front about it and say you're interested in receiving pay as a percentage of the pack's revenue.
- You can state 80% initially and if you're lucky and they're nice, they might just accept.
- If they're not on board with 80% but still open to paying percentage, try 75%, then 70%.
- If they're not on board with percentage, you could return to straight sum but make sure the pay is worth your while
Also:
- bear in mind you don't have to rush to a deal as you negotiate, take a few pauses to think through what you'll say next or to consider what they've said thus far.
- your primary concern is finding pay for yourself, you don't need to be concerned with the marketplace team's wellbeing, etc.
- if marketplace money is something you're not dependent on, walking away from negotations and not doing the skin pack is always an option. Any money I make from skins just goes into saving up for a rainy day, so I'd rather take no offers than be paid horribly.
In the event that the team offers neither good percentage or a good sum, I'd take my business elsewhere. You don't have to break it off dramatically or burn any bridges, just state you're not interested in taking any offers right now.
Edit: seen a few peers discuss %, anything over majority (i.e. > 50%) is worthwhile, the more the better
applying for individual partnerships is worth a shot for anyone imo - worst that can happen is getting declined and you go on with your life