Trade Advice?

[starrywolfpaws.livejournal.com]

Hey, just asking for advice here.
I've done a few art trades over the years. I collect MLP and I am involved in a MLP collecting forum and was thinking at some point in the near future of offering art in exchange for ponies.

I'm just wondering what is the usual way to do these? Does it tend to be art first then whatever is being sent?

Comments

[lazer-the-hyena.livejournal.com]

Most people are going tow ant to see some sort of art before they ship a product. I would draw before receiving the item but watermark the HELL out of the image/sketch/preview and wait or the package to arrive before giving them any sort of image that would be usable.

[fionacat.livejournal.com]

This, alternatively if you can find an easy way to do it a deposit (that also helps cover the cost of postage/packing) might be the way to go with it.

[ocelotish]

To be honest, what I'd recommend is just doing a paypal transaction so it's trackable/refundable/claimable if necessary.

You can handle the paypal the way you normally would for art, then send them the same amount when they send the item you're trading for.

Now I'm not claiming it's standard, but it might be safest for all parties.

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

Wait, so how does this work? Ask them to send like 2 bucks over along with the MLP thing and then when the art is done, mail that along with 2 bucks?

[supershycritter.livejournal.com]

No, you send the $2 to paypal, then send the pony once the art is done, pretty much an insurance the artist's time is not wasted and can be refunded if the buyer wants and nobody feels unsafe about it. Trades are kind of tricky this way. I wouldn't send the pony before I see sketches of art myself, but it's because I learned not to trust people.

[ocelotish]

Yes, except I'd make it more than $2, make it at least close to the actual worth of the thing.

That way if one person doesn't complete their end of the bargain, the other person still gets paid a fair amount for their work.

However, even a token amount is still safer than none.

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

I wasn't aware you could do that! Learn something new every day...

[scenceable.livejournal.com]

I used to do trades for ponies on the MLParena quite often. I don't know if you do digital art or what, but what I did was sculptures so it might be a bit different.

I did a trade for 2 commissioned sculptures for a whole pile of ponies from someone in the Netherlands. Shipping for both ends was a lot but the other person didn't have much feedback so I waited for them to ship first (since I had good feedback). I did another trade for 3 sculptures for a ton of ponies, but the person I traded with had tons of awesome feedback and a good reputation so we both sent our parts at the same time.

Not sure if you're talking about the arena or the trading post, but since both of them have a feedback system I'd say base your decision on that. However if you're doing a commission for digital art where you aren't mailing them something your situation is a bit different than mine. In your case I would get them to send the ponies to you first, just as you'd ask for payment up front.

If you're doing traditional art or anything you'd be mailing, I'd say the etiquette would follow exactly like you were trading ponies for ponies, you'd both send at the same time, and you'd be a bit careful about who you trade with, based on feedback or whatever else. But in this case, because you're doing work and putting time in, you wouldn't be out of line to ask them to send the ponies before you start.

I think, in the end, it's up to whatever you feel comfortable doing! The pony forum does have a good feedback system and very dedicated moderators, so most of the members are quite reliable. I never had issues doing art-for-ponies trades :)

[starrywolfpaws.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was talking about the Arena. I think I recognise your work (I'm starrypawz on the arena). I like your idea of me doing an approval sketch. I'd probably for a while mostly be doing digital pieces but I always tend to sketch on paper first.
I have put up a thread in TS and got some advice from there too.

[scenceable.livejournal.com]

"In your case I would get them to send the ponies to you first, just as you'd ask for payment up front."

Just to add to my comment here, you could also tell the person that if they either hate the sketch or want to cancel the commission after you've started, that you can send the ponies back to them.

Or, you could do a sketch to have them approve, to make sure they like it, get them to send the ponies, and then do the colour or whatever else. That way, even if they flake out, you've only wasted time on a sketch and you can leave feedback accordingly.

[scenceable.livejournal.com]

Okay, one more suggestion (last one I swear)... from what I remember, both pony forums have a trader support area right? And I think both have quite a few people who do art, and probably trade art, so it might be a good idea to make a post with your original question in one of those threads. I'm not sure how many people in AB are on the pony forums and it's hard to know what's "kosher" in different communities so you might get better advice there. I haven't been on the arena in about a year so I might be out of the loop to how these types of trades work nowadays :P

[chronidu.livejournal.com]

Being in the Pokemon collectors and trade communities, I've done multiple trades of real goods for various Art mediums. I never send anything out until the Art piece is finished, and if physical I wait until I have a tracking number that it's been shipped to me, before shipping out my half.