I have no idea how folks are getting around the site's 1280x1280 limit. Does PostyBirb let you do that?

Also, this is me any time I see a commission I can't resist. Just let me throw wads of cash at you and bask in the result, thanks.

I hadn't paid any attention to the resolution. Apparently, PostyBirb does allow us to go over the limit. I was under the impression PostyBirb only exercised the website, so the limitations would be the same. I did my own manual test with the same image. FA does allow a bigger resolution but immediately resizes it to 1280 in the largest dimension. I checked PostyBirbs code for FA (here) and while it has a couple of back and forths, it's basically doing the submit. Maybe FA needs a validation on the javascript side to detect that? I'm unsure if we should report this (since it's the opposite of a problem but it does circumvent a rule), and to whom (PostyBirb? FA?).

I'm still a bit wary about money unless I find something I really like. Just yesterday I was wiling to go three-figures out for an artist that ended up being closed for commissions.

Odd. I'll have to be content with 1280x1280, I guess.

I guess I'm like a fish: I take small, cheap nibbles at new artists, but once I'm comfortable with the artist as a person and how my character is depicted through their style I raise the ceiling on my budget. Sometimes this doesn't work out and I wind up only taking one commission from someone and considering it a lesson learned. This has been happening to me as of late with artists I've commissioned months ago when my characters had a different, more generic design and I wasn't as picky with the situations they were appearing in. Now those commissions are coming in and I'm like "Eh, it's alright I guess". Not the artists' fault, it's simply that my tastes changed in-between.

I've been telling the few artists that I speak with regularly (mostly new and Russian) that they should offer YCH's in different price tiers: $15 sketches, $40 colored lines, then up from there in price and complexity. This makes it easier to get new clients and build a foundation of returners. But 2020 has been rough on folks and, to use the casino terminology, everyone is chasing the "whale", the big spenders, and not catering to the "fish". Maybe when people see or selling commissions for $1000+ it becomes more difficult to value your own art at $15.

You know I'm new to the commissioning world so here goes a half-baked opinion. Feel free to correct me as I'm still looking to learn.

In an ideal world, artists could charge rates that correlate to a mixture of effort/quality (whatever metric you use to define them). So, if artist X gets to charge $1K for a piece, another artist Y should be able to offer a similar piece for $1K and it should be the same.

However, artist X likely has a large audience, so a piece that could go out for $20 will be requested by 1K people. That piece at $50 will be requested by 200 people. That same piece at $100 will be requested by 20. That same piece at $1000 might be requested by 2. So artist X goes with $1K prices. For artist X the choice is "how far can I go for a decent level of requests".

Artist Y does not have such audience, so a piece that could go out for $20 stays there. That piece at $10 is drowned in other new artists in the same situation. That piece at $5 grabs attention because it's cheap and our artist got their commission. So artist Y goes with $5 prices. For artist Y the choice is "how low do I need to go until I actually get requests".

I've been talking with some new artists of varying levels of expertise from Russia and Latin America and they tend to have this issue: visibility. Furthermore, the rate exchange is such that low prices are still worth the effort to them.

Furthermore, the rate exchange is such that low prices are still worth the effort to them.

This is a massive advantage to artists in other countries, but I suppose the decision to value your art is very emotional. I can barely draw a stick-figure, but I always figured an artist would first set prices based on how much time a particular piece takes, then multiply it by how much per hour you're trying to make. If it doesn't sell, then reduce and re-evaluate. This is where having multiple price tiers helps: a quick $15 sketch is...well, quick. If it takes you an hour, then you made $15/hour. That's higher than minimum wage the USA. But everyone wants the $60 hits, not $15.

In the case of the popular "boutique" artists, like the examples I gave previously, their commissions are one-time only. They don't sell two copies of the art or ten, or two hundred. People have one chance to get their character into a commission and that drives prices up to an amount which is unrealistic for probably 98% of the artists on this site. Well-established artists who have been around for a decade or two (or yes, three) can command high prices. Someone who joined last month cannot.

There really needs to be a better way for new artists to advertise their commissions. SoFurry has a dedicated Marketplace, which helps a bit, but it's lacking in some features. I know there's that YCH.commishes site, but I barely know how to use it and there's still no way to filter offers. Ideally there would be a website dedicated to commissions that lets artist and writers tag their offers which potential clients could use to search on. Do I want a 2000-word SFW fantasy-theme story about dungeon delving? Then let me select "Type: Writing" "Word Count: =<2000" "Theme: Fantasy" "Theme: AD&D". Basically eBay, but for art.

This is a massive advantage to artists in other countries, but I suppose the decision to value your art is very emotional.
I agree, but my point is that for many, the choice is between "low pricing" or "no work". I think many of them need build an audience before they can get to the prices they actually want to charge.

I have though of the site thing many times, but adoption might be the first challenge. When thinking about it, I think about how Weasyl has it own thing, SoFurry has its own thing, YCH, FurryNetwork, etc... My next thought is "we should do something that works for everyone". And then I think of this: https://xkcd.com/927/ XD

I agree, but my point is that for many, the choice is between "low pricing" or "no work". I think many of them need build an audience before they can get to the prices they actually want to charge.

In my experience artists seem to want (or need) to jump from "no work" to "can do this for a living". I try to boost new artists by taking cheap commissions, if they're offering them, but I'm just one person among many and the market for artists just keeps getting more crowded.

That is true, indeed. A crowded market will lead to very cheap prices. Good for consumers! Not so good for providers.