Image Designer Archive

I have a set pricing system on scylla server. Seems to be working pretty well. No complaints so far.

Hairstyle change - 500credits

Body changes(excluding skin color) - 1k

Skin color- 2k

marking/ tatoo color - 1500 credits

facial changes - 500 credits

Tatoo / pattern change - 1500 credits

Just the other day I had someone say they payed 500 credits for tattoo changes. My prices were too high, and I lost another customer. I don't think people realize I have a spice habit, a tailoring hobby, and a strange need to buy a new droid every few weeks that I need to pay for. I should have been on Starsider. All the ID's there say they never get complaints, but they all charge somewhere around twice what I charge. Oh well.

My standard rate is 2000 credits per feature changed. Depending on my feeling about the person, for some reason Zabrak's cause me the most trouble, I'll let them know up front what my rates are. If someone sends me a tell asking for a change I say sure and let them know after the fact if they don't tip me as soon as we're done. The rate is also listed in my personal profile along with a link to swg.warcry.com so people can pick out their hairdo while they wait.

Did you notice the wait thing? As long as your personable, friendly and willing to work with the customer you'll both be happy. Someone that is just starting and really screwed up their character may only tip 100 credits which is fine, but someone with master in their title carrying a krait fwg5 max sliced can definitely pony up more and they usually do.

If you have someone that complains you're taking too long working on other people, I may start telling them that once I'm done with that person I have to log for the night or to find another ID since I have to run. I've found the people willing to come to you or willing to work with you are more likely to give better tips than punks that insist they are next (sorry got stiffed after spending 45 min the other night with someone that I should have just told them no. A simple hairdo turned into a full facial, skin color, height change and multiples of each because they couldn't decide.)

Work with folks and establish a reputation of doing good work. If you really enjoy working with them, send them a mail and tell them thanks and to holler at you when they are ready for the next change.

(oh and Kwee, add me to your Starsider list of ID's)

Safe travels,

Lution, Master Image Designer

i am an ID on starsider too.
so far, i just ask for tips. the range is very huge. my badest tip was 200cr, the best 30k.
i am not sure if i should change my system to set prices.
if theres a meeting on starsider, i hope i can join it.
my only problem is the time of it, as i am living in good old europe

Sina Beat
Master ID, Musician, Tailor

I've added Sina, Lution, and Alter to my Starsider mailing list. For those of you in Europe I would be happy to organize a meeting for early afternoon my time (Eastern) as well. That should hit you at a reasonable hour. I'm going to be moving in the next two or three weeks so it would probably take place sometime after that

hello, i'm also a master image designer from Eclipse. i usually have a set price for whatever the costumer asks me, i feel that to rely on tips only makes a bad habit. and people will soon start taking us for granted and expect us to work on them for free!

you all should have a set price. this makes things more professional. sameway you go to a hairstylist irl. you pay them whatever is the charge fee! and you can always tip them after . this works the same way

if you have to spend your time working on someone' else character, you are offering them a service, it is more of a luxury than anything else. you don't need to spend time on anyone, so they have to pay you for it!

i usually never charge for my services to new players, and offer half price discounts to entertainers and medics. most people like to ask me what do i charge and that's why i wrote a little list, after im done working, i tell them the total cost, and most time i get paid more.

I usually work off tips because I see it as a time issue and not as a "per change" issue. If someone goes through every hairdo and then decides on a noobler one, that person should pay more than a client who says "please give me number 36". Also I usually get creative and start giving unsollicited nose and chin jobs (do these people EVER look at themselves in profile?). I think it allows for more give-and-take with the client if there's no per-charge mental list. It could take me 1/2 hour to do one lousy hairdo. It could take 1/2 hour and do a complete overhaul.

That said, people usually tip what they can afford. I've had very embarrassed entertainers give me 200 credits, and I understand that. I've had a particularly fussy client pay me 30k to make him into Harrison Ford... and then 2 days later 30k more to put him back. If they ask for prices I usually give them "guidelines" and they tip above that.

BUT: the following happened to me today and was really irksome. WARNING: the following story contains extreme stupidity. Excessive sympathy may occur.

WookieeX (names have been changed to protect the incurably stupid) emails me and says that a master Image Designer had made him short and fat, and then "run off" and could I fix him. I said sure, please come to my shop. Usually I won't charge for a quick "put back the way I was". Also, he had bought some clothes at my vendor a few days earlier and sent me a "thank you for the clothes" note so I figured he would not be a pain.

Before I even got there he was trying to "hard sell" pets to my guildmates who were in our town, and trying to sell the *master creature handler* some pets. *boggle*

So he wanted to be put back and I corrected his height and weight. Then he wantedfur pattern, so I did that.

At this point he announces that my torches emit too much smoke and proceeds to fall to the ground and crawl into the plane of my clothing crafting station. I tell him I cannot change his fur color if I cannot see him and walk out of the "salon room" to continue stocking my vendor. He comes into the other room and asks again for the fur color change.

So I do fur color. Then height and weight change again (he fell in love with the way my wookiee vendor looked). Fur color again to match the wookiee vendor.Then eye color, head size, brow size. Half an hour had passed.

Thank you, he says. And tips me 100 credits. "It's all I have on me," he says as he scampers out the door.

Now I know this dude has money. "Are you serious!" I tell him. "I spent a half hour on you and you tip 100 credits." He says "that's all I had on me." "and" - he continues - "if you wanted more you should have said so up front."

I informed him 1) banktipping (he played dumb about what that was) 2) if you're going for a service you should go to the bank beforehand (to which he responded "free service")and 3) he was banned from my shop (to which he called me a garden implement, and I don't mean a rake).

A friend of mine had referred him to me, and I got a lovely mistell from him (before I put him on ignore) - he must have mixed up the /t and the /r because he writes /r "friendx i got all image designed but now I'm banned from the shop." He found little sympathy from FriendX who subsequently yelled at him.

Stop asking about pricing - read further down and read theirs. This has to be the 50th time someone has asked this question.

That's not really fair, Loxley. Not everyone has or wants to take the time to read through every page of past postings. Pricing, body tattoos, pvp bonus, etc... These things pop up all the time, frequently from people new to the profession, who need a little information. I really don't think it hurts us to help people out with new info, or to allow interested parties to have a discussion just because we've already talked about it. If you're not interested in a topic, just igore it. In a couple days it'll disappear.

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Xixxix wrote:

I'm really tired of people who spend 100k+ on armor and 20k+ on a weapon, and then tip me 100 credits when I spend half an hour with them to show them every single hairstyle.

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Dontcha just hate that?

Loxley if you don't like people asking this questions over and over, then don't even bother to reply to them!

yes guys, the best thing you can do is go with set prices. it avoids most trouble with people giving you 50 credits for like 4 hours of work on them!

I think I'll switch to fixed prices in the next days . For me the 0 - 100 credits tips outweigh the good 3k+ tips by far. And that really isn't worth my time. Yesterday alone, I had a) a chef from whom I had bought a lot of food/drink just a few minutes before for a lot of cash, so you'd think he'd have at least the decency to tip me when he asked for an image design and I gave him a hair style, eyebrow style and hair/eyebrow color change, b) a commando in full composite armor, wielding a flamethrower, who ended up tipping me 100 credits for redoing his hair (I went through all hairstyles with him before) and c) a 'novice entertainer' who thought she could take me into IDing her for free because she kept saying she had "just started out", even though she was running around in a tactical skinsuit.

I'm really tired of people who spend 100k+ on armor and 20k+ on a weapon, and then tip me 100 credits when I spend half an hour with them to show them every single hairstyle.

Not even to mention the guy who ran after me in Theed for 10 minutes spamming "Nillan u ID me plzzz! plzzzzz!! I PAY!!!" and then ran off with a "thx" after I had given him almost a complete facial rework.