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I think the Kickstarter idea is genius, but it still does not address the issue of grab bags taking up Ms. Melody’s time. I know many people like grab bags because they are by Ms. Melody, but we are voracious for them, and she only has so much time. Plus, we are shooting ourselves in the foot by asking her to do grab bags rather than work on new sculpts or other neat things…One possibility I have heard is getting someone else to do grab bags. I wanted to expand on this. What if, instead of them being done by “a Windstone artist,” Windstone set some talented but not very well-known painter to painting a batch?
I think this is a great idea! I would not be deterred at all from buying another GB piece from one of the other talented artists at the factory. 🙂 Melody’s work will always be highly sought after, but I like the idea of her having more free time to do what she wants!
Chris, Maybe this batch was significantly different, but I am not sure that there was ever a concept behind the idea of selling these editions. It was just a screwy idea that was tossed out and acted on. We have never had any particular grand plan for what might happen next, or what it might turn into. We didn’t originate the idea of selling Windstone pieces on eBay, the collectors did, but we upped the ante with special pieces. Just another example of acting on an impulse to see what would come of it. The PYOs were partly intended to give people an affordable way to participate, but I don’t remember giving any such thought to the grab bags as they became more ornate. Now don’t get me wrong, we are quite sensitive to what you guys feel, and we do utilize the feedback we get as best we can, but there is are, at any point in time, financial and logistic realities to running the business that we cannot ignore. I, for one, still have a hard time understanding why Melody actually sits down and paints 100 or 200 of these pieces and then goes back and does it again a month later when we need so many other facets of her talent in so many areas. One way or the other, I don’t think we will be able to keep these things from evolving and I just hope that the forum members and collectors realize that it is a necessary evolution that we will try and steer back toward earth. But it may not be the same. That’s OK. Whatever comes next should still of great value and be fun. Let’s see if we can make the Kickstarter project fun, affordable and successful.
You said this well and it’s sort of the same conclusion I’ve been coming to over the past few days. 🙂 Thanks for listening to our feedback, and giving us some of your own so we understand better all the factors that come into play!
A lot of collectors like me were ecstatic to have a chance at a piece made by Melody. I’ve not sold any of my GB Unis on the aftermarket, save one privately (below the going aftermarket), because I love them so! I was never in this for free money. While the concept of Grab Bags was evolving with each batch, it kinda became a certain special thing to a lot of collectors, even if it wasn’t the main intent of the staff at the outset. But that last bit certainly has not been discussed/acknowledged at this level before!
Now that it has, I dunno, a lot makes more sense and it seems futile to get sad about only being able to go so far on that evolutionary path. I’m really looking forward to hearing more about the Kickstarter idea. Thanks again for listening and for letting us know why you decide what you do; you’re not under obligation to do either and we all appreciate it quite a lot.
The Candies do not disappoint!!! @3@ I love them!
I am worried, my expected delivery date was today and it’s 4:47 and no postman. D:
Waiting till Monday would be boooo!!! So nervous!
HOLY COW!!! Wasp is freaking AMAZING!! O.O
This! All of this!
Can’t stop staring at this photo:
That is the sort I am hoping for!
I think Windstone should probably do the last 100 as GB. simply because the price will increase revenue for them, giving them a much needed cash influx. Melody has several projects in the fire, and if we want to see those come to fruition, Windstone will need the capital to invest in producing them. The math is simple 100 x 360= 36,000 versus 100 X 80= 8000. these are last of the horns, so they need to maximize the revenue from them.
The last batch sold out in 23 hours with people still missing them. I expect these will sell out as well. Because of the horn issue, this isn’t a question about what is best for the poorer collector, but what is the best investment for the company. I do support the idea of regular production pieces; I simply think now is not the time for them to be produced.
Please, I need to say this again: The horns had nothing to do with this. We will make more horns and produce more unicorns, when time permits, so don’t let that influence your thinking, or buying.
You have the right idea about capital to invest however, and that has everything to do with the reality of the situation. This sale got one month’s rent and all the bills paid which leaves us only one month behind in the rent, as we have been for two years (kind of a loan from our landlord that we haven’t been able to pay back).
And I think it was more like 16 hours when they went out of stock, which means, even at $360, there was clearly not enough to go around. And that with a “one per” limit. Yes, Melody went nuts with the decoration on these and they were expensive, which got me to wondering earlier tonight, if she had painted a very plain batch of grab bag Emperor Dragons and we had put them in the store for $1000 each, how would this thread read? Think about it. But that’s a thread for another day.
I think somewhere between $130 and $360, something broke the concept of ‘grab bag’ for a lot of grab bag customers. $360 is a lot to spend on a gamble, plain and simple.
Reading over a lot of the (quite thoughtful) comments, whether I agree or not, I’m realizing that what Grab Bags meant to me, and made the whole idea really special, is just changing. C’est la vie. I treasure each Uni I do have. 🙂
Edit: Hyperbole
Mine is due to arrive tomorrow as well. I am excited but also really nervous! Hoping for a Candy with all my heart. <3
Kamiki, your Uni is one of my favorites. Congrats! She's so pretty. 🙂
As a working artist in the entertainment industry, I know how frustrating it can be to produce art and then helplessly watch as a company makes millions off of your designs when you were paid pennies.
Oh man, tell it sister. I work in VFX, converting footage to 3D.
I do insanely complex and tedious work.
I get paid the industry’s BARE minimum wage.
I have no union, and no cap on how much overtime they can force me to work.
I don’t even get my name in the movie credits. Despite how much work goes into what I do, or the fact that it drives higher profits for the studios to do a 3D release, it’s not considered as important as say, “third assistant to the breakfast caterer”. Our studio might get its logo at the end of the credit crawl, after the Dolby logo. Maybe a handful of supervisors or the CEO mentioned. That’s it.
I worked for months, for peanuts on Transformers 3, then watched it become one of the highest-grossing films of the past 10 years. That’s just one movie of many I’ve worked on, with similar results. Our studio gets none of the profits.
Seriously, I get it because I live it.
And when I tell people what I do, many of them get offended at me for it because they don’t like 3D! XD
All of you who are defending Windstone’s right to make a profit, I really don’t see anyone disagreeing with you on that. We’re all good. 🙂
If the Unis need to be $500 for Windstone to call them a success, then they should charge just that. (Though at that point I think all but the bravest collectors might be spooked…) But saying, well the aftermarket is what it is, so Windstone should get more of that profit, that’s hard to jive with for the collectors who’ve always been priced out of the aftermarket.
A store Uni and an aftermarket Uni are sold completely different ways, with different factors affecting the final price. For Windstone, it’s the time and effort that increase costs. The aftermarket is driven by 100% unbridled competition and demand for specific pieces. Certain factors seem to influence why Youngs from past batches sell for what they do:
– Few collectors have Youngs: First batches had fewer/no limitations on quantity, before that was sorted out. So more Unis ended up with fewer collectors, who tend to hold on to them.
– Market uncertainty: 2 years of uncertainty regarding if any more could be produced, drove a healthy aftermarket.
– Knowing what you get: Many collectors who can pay more than store price are happy to, when they know they are getting their #1 pick in the batch.
– Multiple bidders: The most-desired Unis that were put up for sale, drew lots of offers that often went above the asking price. Some of the bidding wars got downright intense, when several collectors were bidding against each other knowing this was probably their only chance at their dream piece. How often do you see the top-ten most desired Unis go back up in the Classifieds? They do not surface often.
But these factors that make an aftermarket price what it is, don’t play in the same way when you’re buying an unknown item from the store, where:
– You don’t know what you get.
– You’re not competing for an particular, specific piece that you’ve seen already.
– You can’t be outbid. Everyone who places an order in time gets to have one.So while it’s fair to justify the increase based on time and labor, it doesn’t seem fair to justify such a huge price increase, based on the aftermarket alone.
I think everyone was shocked at the prices some collectors were willing to pay for their favorites, and no one could have expected that these Unis would be such a hit, or so profitable on the aftermarket. The factory staff have have never complained about this unexpected twist. I’ve only ever seen it shrugged off in a good-natured way. And I would certainly hope, despite what’s been implied, that the previous prices set by the store have accommodated feeding the staff and meeting their expenses in exchange for the effort.
If the people who missed out on the last batches could have afforded a $350 purchase, they would probably have purchased one in the two years they were waiting for this batch. The people who lost out the hardest in this situation, were the very people the GB items were invented for.
There’s ZERO debate about whether or not Windstone should take a hit on their work. That’s freaking silly. Of course not. A specific demographic was marketed to, and became VERY devoted; yesterday a huge portion of that demographic felt very left out by the company that created the market in the first place. THAT’S what stung, no matter how unintended/unforeseen it was. And it’s what I see reflected in the posts of others. Not because anyone thinks Windstone should operate at a loss.
I think you put this very, very well.
Way off topic, but I was sent an email from a gallery today for Michael Parkes’ painting. The Glicee run was limited to an edition of 25….and the price for this canvas glicee (pretty much a high-quality print on canvas) was…….$3,500! At least we are actually getting a OOAK piece of art! 😀
Thank you. 🙂 I thought on that post for a bit. It only posted because I hit Save instead of Preview. Erk.
I did my math badly though. It would be a 175% increase, not 200%. (I think? I didn’t remember the old purchase cost correctly.) Now that I’ve been quoted I can’t correct it. Foiled!
And a good point about the prints too, heh.
So…
In the beginning, there were ebay pieces.
And any collector who wanted an OOAK piece made by Melody, would need to pay a justifiably higher price for these lovely and intricate pieces.
For most collectors, these were pieces only to dream of.
And for a long time, so it went.
But Melody, in her wisdom, came up with something great:
Make a small run of OOAK pieces, and offer them in the store at an accessible price for the ‘average’ collector.
Those who before merely dreamed of having a unique, signed piece from Melody could now afford one, or even two.
They were thrilled to be given the chance.
And it was good.
Perhaps too good.
For the collectors clamored for more, such a hit this idea was.
And Melody, in her graciousness, obliged.
From her imagination poured vast herds of unicorns, each more beautiful than the last.
Each more beautiful, but each requiring more time and effort on the part of Melody and the staff.
So they were priced accordingly, for no artist should starve.
And it was still good.
But many herds later, the collectors were still just as eager for more, if not more-so.
They waited for news of another chance to try for a coveted GB Young Unicorn.
And as photos of Melody’s latest progress were seen, they became even more excited; this herd defied imagination.
Truly Melody pulled out all the stops.
Each was a masterpiece.
So they were priced accordingly, for no artist should starve.
Most knew to expect an increase and were saving, but where past increases were about 20%, this increase was 200%.
A tipping point was reached.
The increase pushed these pieces out of many collector’s budgets.
And so as it was in the beginning, any collector who wanted an OOAK piece made by Melody, would need to pay a justifiably higher price for these lovely and intricate pieces.
And for many collectors, these again became pieces only to dream of.
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It’s this coming full circle that has me bummed. This batch of Youngs ended up being exactly the thing they counteracted in the beginning. I have passed up on Unis before that I REALLY WANTED, but aftermarket prices above $250 were just more than I could afford…for a piece seen ahead of time.
I broke down and bought one because the Candies are outrageously beautiful; justified it with all the OT I’ve been working. Like many, I’ve become a huge fan of the GB unis over their production history. Pretty much addicted. So while it’s absolutely true that none of us are being forced to purchase them, I think a lot of us felt forced to make a really difficult decision at the absolute last second, after weeks, months, or for some even years, of waiting. I definitely tried to find any info I could on how much to save, but couldn’t find anything beyond speculation from other members.
I would have been thrilled to have something closer to the detail-level of past batches so they could stay priced within the average collector’s range. I could have handled another 20, 30, even 50% increase from the last batch (it was $180, I think?) with zero griping. But the way this played out felt like a bait-and-switch. I know in my heart of hearts that Windstone was NOT trying to do that at all!! The situation just left me feeling that way.
If you’d be open to a suggestion/request…
Can Grab Bag items tilt back a little bit, to what the original intent was? A “production OOAK” for a collector of average means? If making this profitable for Windstone means scaling back labor time/detail level, I think they would still fly off the shelves, and many collectors would rejoice. (But would it kill Melody’s soul? Legitimate question.)
And the pieces that are simply too fancy to sell as regular GB items, can they be marketed ahead of time as such? (No one seems to think they are overpriced; a lot of people were just very surprised when they went to place their order.) Or could they go in your Special Items section or ebay, if that is easier? Based on how quickly items sell in the Special section for the prices you choose–as opposed to ebay–it seems there are also plenty of collectors who will happily snap up a fancy piece. Especially when one can see what’s up for grabs!
Would this help save you the added complexity of multiple price tiers within GBB batches? Or does it just make it worse? :/
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Please remember that despite what all the above may imply, I do mean when I say–prices set by Windstone should be fair to Windstone.
Anyone on staff, and especially Melody; if you’ve gotten this far, please let me end this with a sincere THANK YOU for not only making and sharing your art, but also listening to your demanding fans. 😉 Occasional misunderstandings aside, I do love your company and product, and want you to be successful. Thank you for your efforts. <3
Ha, Dragonlove. I was just bemoaning that there were too many safaris in the class photo …
No wonder Windstone can never ‘win’, we all look at the same photo and see different things. 😉
I may break down and order one too. Love of Unis is winning over, but this is the most expensive Windstone I’ve ever purchased.
I just don’t have super high hopes that what I pull out of the box is one of my fave 5 or so in the batch, for which I could justify the purchase price. I am hoping that it will be someone else’s favorite if not.
I think people who are sticking up for the price increase and those who are unhappy about it are all making good points. When all is said and done, I do respect Windstone’s need to make a profit off of beautiful work. That will never change.
If any of my comments have come off as disrespectful I apologize. I got pulled into what I try to avoid on these forums — GB drama!
I’ve paid at least this much for several PYO commissions – I think Melody’s hand painted work is worth at least as much as a PYO. 🙂
I agree with this, but when you commission an artist, you know what you’re going to get because you tell them exactly what you want. Melody’s work is second to none, but she does not take commissions.
The combo of: price increase + Fantasy/Safari combined + can’t even be sure if someone will pay store price on the aftermarket = Sadness. I am NUTS over the GB Unis, and extremely sad to feel forced to pass this batch up, but those factors combined make me tap out.
