Dancer Archive

I usually charge 10k a buff.

Though I've seen people doing it for less.

Some people complain that they don't pay that much for their action and health buffs.

To which I reply 'yes, but you don't take up 10mins of a docs time to get those buffs'.

To be honest, it depends on the person. If they're polite, i'll charge less. If they're rude or I'm in a hurry, I elevate the price

I only charge if I have to travel to the customer, then it's 2k for my journey. Otherwise, I just let the customer decide if and how much to tip, and I've done very well, up to 30k for a buff. I rarely receive no tip at all.

Takneth Starhunter, Master Dancer/TK, Mayor of Oasis, Dantooine, Sunrunner

Ah, the question of pricing one's buffs . . . its a difficult one to balance. Several of us entertainers on Bria buff for tips. We do not charge a set price but allow the patron to determine the price. One of the reasons for this is because we want to encourage the renewed use of buffs within the PvP and PvE player societies. Another is to provide buffs for new players who won't have the credits available to spare. Another valid reason is because you can end up actually cheating yourself - many players will tip 10k, 20k and even 50k without batting an eye. I've had a few players even double tip me!

Decide what you feel most comfortable with and go with that. Don't be afraid to go with the flow, either. Sometimes you have to feel a patron out. And unless you require payment up front, expect to be stiffed. The best advise I can give for that situation is to let the other entertainers in your group know about the stiffer andask them to/denyservice if applicable. The last guy I had stiff me actually turned around and asked to join the ent group! When I informed afellow guildmatewho was a member of the group what the guy had done, he was promptly disbanded . . . Entertainers (live ones, anyway) stick together!

Here is what I pay for my buffs.

I use a gal that sets herself up in a cantina for a day, she is master musician/dancer and group buffs.

5k for all 3 stats. Why? Cuz docs charge 10k for 6 stats so I pay 5k for 3.

With all the holo grinders I usually walk into a cantina and ask who wants my healing xp, and if someone answers I'll let them heal me and tip them usually around 2k. If nobody answers I pick someone afk from my faction and don't tip anything, cuz I believe you should at least be present to earn some credits. If they have a macro going that says please tip me. I'll pay them 1 credit thru the bank so they get a notification of it.

The rest of us proffessions have to work our butts off to make a credit, any beggers or afk entertainers don't get more then a credit at a time from me......but entertainers at there key boards get pretty good change from me (in my opinion) just for saying hi and holding a conversation with me.

Just my 2 cents.

Olgar Stega

Honor,

Dedication,

and Death.

That is all I have to offer my comrades.

Well supply and demand...

if you're on a server with many active dancers and musicians, i guess the prices are lower. If you're 1 of 3 dancers that do mindbuffs on the whole server, you can charge a lot

about the "I pay 5k for 3 stats, cause i pay 10k for 6 stats at docs": Well again, supply and demand... on starsider I walk out of Coronet and stumble over at least 2 Docs buffing there at any given time, whereas i have a lot harder time to even find someone to even give me a 75% music and dancer buff.

I normally let the patron decide how much to pay, but if he doesn't I remember his name... Normally i get between 1-5k though, sometimes up to 20k or 30k

On Kettemoor, I usually charge between 5-10K depending on the situation. If there are other dancers offering their services and I'm in a more populated area I usually go on the low end. If I'm on dathomir, I usually go on the high end. I agree that it's more than just a matter of my 1 stat buffing vs 6 stats buffing. There is definitely supply and demand. Even and possibly especially as a dancer myself I find it difficult at times to find anyone to buff my mind stats. I often will go out in hunting parties where I've buffed everyone's mind but I can't for the life of me find one for myself. (Of course, if I'm buffing my hunting party for mutual benefit, those are usually free because we're all working together for some common goal and sharing the benefits). But, the same holds true even if I'm going out hunting solo, it's very hard for me to find a mind buff. And, for a great many players, the mind is the first to go and the most valuable of all the stats, which is why so many people, myself included, have their mind stats set at the max at all times. I can always find a doctor buff, but the same just doesn't hold true for the mind stats. So, in some ways, the stats we buff can be a little more valuable in the market place. And, honestly, considering how little money we make otherwise, I don't feel like I'm gouging the player by charging 5-10K. It's a matter of being able to afford to live in the overall economy.

As for payment, however, I rarely charge up front. I may tell the price upfront, but I almost always let the customer pay whenever he/she wants. Sometimes, I don't if I need cash and need to ensure that I get paid. But, for the most part, the patrons of Kettemoor are honest people. And, I don't think I've ever come across an instance where we've discussed payment up front and I haven't gotten paid. There are some cases if I don't discuss upfront that I get stiffed. But, even then, that is far and few between. So, I'm usually very willing to rely on the honesty and honor of almost ever player because I've been shown that they are good for it. But, as for the price, 5-10K isn't unreasonable depending on the situation, supply and demand, etc.

---

Drygo wrote:

. . .the mind is the first to go . . .

---

Seriously what you should do is something that has gotten me quite popular...don't charge and be super nice and hint slightly on it WOULD be nice to get a tip and then leave it at that...sometimes you get REALLY nice tips from thepeople who enjoyed your company....all the better cause then they come back to you next time haha so just a lil tip...I have done very well as master dancer with this lil technique heehee

*Sune Ti'iceni*

*Twi'lek Master dancer/smuggler*

*Shadowfire*

Most of it has been said... I think pricing can vary from server to server, location to location.

Personally, when I'm asked what I charge for a buff, my reply is still "Tip me what you feel it's worth to you. I don't like to have to "charge" since it feels too impersonal, and since I haven't been burned, I still have faith in people's generosity..."

Someone else mentioned that they just let the customer tip them whatever they think its worth and thats what I would recommend that method based on experience. Sure you get a few losers who don't tip at all, but the people that do tip usually tip way more than I would have charged them. I play on Bria and my average tip for a mind buff is over 10k, which at least to me is very generous considering I rarely get paid for wound and BF healing anymore. YMMV on another server though, since the economies are different. It just seems to me that if I set a price of say 7k per mind buff, then those who were only going to pay 5k wouldn't get the buff at all, thus not paying me anything, and those who would have tipped me more now aren't going to give me the extra 3k or whatever.

The buffbot I compete again in the cantina I'm usually performing in charges 15k for the combo of the musician and dancer buffs, and I find it interesting that people will still tip me 15k for just the dancer buff, when they could have ripped her off by not paying at all and getting both buffs, since she's afk.