So... ask someone? The majority of subeta users are more than willing to help someone out if they don't know what they're doing. When you start a new job, they're not going to tell you how to do every single little thing, you have to ask questions. I don't see how the market is 'not welcoming' if you're confused but won't ask someone for help.

Hi !

{Info on the Process}

How do you slot on something in the CW forum? You can simply go into a topic and post "I would like a slot on _____, please!" Make sure that they haven't restricted it to certain ping groups (more on this in the next answer...)

How do ping groups function? They function as a way for people to reach a large group of people. In CWs case, people join ping groups of artists and releasers usually because they like what they see, and want to get first dibs on things they put out right now or in the future.

How do I know if I'm allowed in a ping group? Almost 80% of ping groups are open to the public! You literally just need to click "join _____ group"! The admins do not get notifications, and most just check the number of people in their group! I've never heard of someone being kicked out of a public group before!

Where does my CSC go? When a releaser "submits" an item with people who have slots on it, a notification will be put out by the Subeta system for you to pay. You really are paying Subeta and then if there are profits from that CW, it is then given to the releaser.

When do I get my CW? This is up to Subeta--a staff member is responsible for approving items. Since there are so many releasers, the queues aren't exactly short. It could take somewhere from a few days or even up to two weeks during peak seasons. This time frame does not account for the chance of an item being denied (usually a quality control issue, as they do want things being submitted to look good)! It will take some time for the artist to fix the issues and then the releaser would need to resubmit. If an item does get denied, your CSC will be refunded to you in full.

PS - I'm really sorry if I missed something! I'm in the middle of dinner xD But please do ask me again if I miss anything (and please ignore any typos)!

Where do I ask for help though? As a new user, as someone unfamiliar to something, you're going to be confused. Asking questions is difficult when there is already a pre-established community and boards where everyone knows what they're doing. The condescension received when asking a stupid question isn't fun to get either. In order to incentivize people to buy your item or use your service, it's best to explain how it works. I think one of the faults of the CW market is its inability to attract new or casual users to navigate the CW market through the boards. I'm probably not going to be that interested in buying an item for $7 USD when I have a bajillion questions that I feel uncomfortable asking.

I admit that I am uncomfortable asking others for help. But when none is openly offered and users must resort to checking all the FAQs and asking questions in fear of being called "uncomfortable" and with others not understanding their viewpoint, it is difficult to get involved, to take a leap of faith and get slotted for something.

Thank you so much for your help! I have always been curious about CWs and have heard about some of those things being tossed around in passing before, but it helps to see the rules clearly outlined. It's quite scary for me when I get onto a thread with an item I'm interested in and there is so much jargon being thrown around! That's why I prefer the Pawn Shop - no hassle!

I'm not going to add a whole slew of rules to my already too long first post about how to slot on CWs? At the risk of sounding like a bitch, in this situation I'm going to second the whole 'it's not my job to hold your hand' deal. If you have questions, ask, most people are happy to help, just like did. The assholes are few and far between.

If you want a kind of FAQ page for questions like that, that's the staff's responsibility, not ours.

It's understandable--I am aware that some topics aren't the most organized, but a lot of us do try our best to make things easily accessible but there is only so much we can do minus helping someone physically click on our threads!

Any rules you see in the topics are really for protection--first example I can think of is why releasers need people to pay within a certain amount of time (after the Subeta system send out the notification). Everyone on that "batch" (set of 10 copies of the item being submitted) needs to be paid before it can move forward into the approval queue.

I'll be updating the document I linked hopefully soon!

Oh, no, I totally understand that bit. :) I've looked into the process heavily before as I wanted to release some Inuyasha-themed items, but decided that there probably isn't enough interest.

The pricing is something that the users can't affect, but I think it may be a direction that Subeta as a whole needs to take if it wants to continue to thrive. Obviously for this to be possible, Keith would need to rehash the whole CW pricing scheme, because I certainly don't want artists operating on a loss.

The sad part is that the closing of the Pawn Shop is coming before the replacement, which because of the whole pricing thing, I can understand why some users are upset. The only ones who typically have enough CSC to buy CWs at full price are artists, and those that can afford to sink cash dollahs on a regular basis.

Obviously we have different views about how the market should be. You believe there shouldn't be any aid on the part of users in the CW market, that it's up to the responsibility of the user to get involved, I believe the market needs to appear more open and welcoming so more users feel comfortable getting involved. It's great that there is an FAQ available and many users who pride themselves on being welcoming and helpful. I just believe that the CW Pawn Shop took away the ability for users who didn't want to get involved in the CW Market boards to buy and that there needs to be incentive for those users to shift their buying to the forums so that artists can receive more CSC for their purchases if that was the main reason for getting rid of the CW Pawn Shop.

Thank you again! It's partly on me to feel confident in posting, but at the same time, I will always be too scared to know if I am posting correctly so I won't get yelled at. The market seems so daunting but it's great that help is available.

Ah ok my apologies for misunderstanding.

Yes I agree. I'm hoping that the replacement will come before since the newspost was a month ahead. But so far we have had no word on a timeline for completion. It is something I'm sure all of us are anxious to hear about!

So you like the pawn, you don't like the forums. Great! Go to the CW shops. Problem solved.

You do sound rather bitchy to be honest and when you come across the way you have it is the exact thing people are referring to as the reason for why folks new to cw's often won't even approach the community. You make it seem like it's wrong for anyone who doesn't know the process to even ask questions about it so they can learn and that's where the trouble is.

I'm a releaser and I am in no way perfect but I don't expect new folks to know every little thing about cw's and if they want a general faq I am happy to provide one because it's worth it to me to feel like I have done some good rather then to be a snob about it.

Are you one of the ones who needs compensation in return for giving pointers? Keith has offered to give csc if someone is willing to do tutorials for drawing or in general to help in any way, Maybe you should contact him ;)

I literally said ask questions if you're confused. Literally said that.

If someone is confused about how the CW forums work, they are more than welcome to ask me, I'll answer to the best of my ability. I'm not going to put a how to guide on my board with step by step instructions. If that makes them 'unwelcoming' then so be it. I don't feel the need to pave somebody's path for them.

Also, I like how you call me bitchy then make a snide, passive aggressive comment at the end.

No problem! Most of us do try to make it clear if the item has an restrictions (and in some event, we even just use the forum within groups to do that first) in who can and can't slot, usually with bolded or large size font saying "pinged only".

I know I've had the oversight a couple of time slotting on something that wasn't quite available yet, and usually the releaser will just tell you that you will have to wait, or to join their group, if you would like to slot. Joining a group is to really just show support to the releaser and also for the releaser to feel reassured that someone out there is interested in what they have to offer.

Feel free to ask anything else--I know there are a lot of details that don't have readily available information (like all the questions that you had asked)!

I like the pawn, I want to get involved in the forums, but honestly, I'm not feeling like I'm welcome there even if I am putting myself out there and trying to get involved. This reminds me of the reason why I never got involved. The CW shops are an option, yes, but far harder to navigate in the current state they are in. I am wanting to get involved in the CW forums. Yes, I don't love them, but I'm trying my best to do as you have asked and ask questions, yet they seem to be unwelcome.

And: Sometimes the path needs to be paved for people to make them interested in walking that path. Maybe it doesn't need to be all the way, but enough to get them interested in walking. We don't just dump new users onto Subeta without guides to help them, only saying that if they feel comfortable asking questions maybe we'll help. I don't see how the CW market should be any different. Want more CW sales? Make the CW market more accessible to everyone so more people will buy.

Thank you so much for outlining everything! I had not realized that was the purpose of a ping group, I thought it was more exclusive and you could only join if you were hardcore interested in everything the artist has for sale, like a friends-only group, because I know that some privates are only available to ping groups.

It was a legit question because on the private board some folks actually came out and pretty much said they expected compensation for their time because they don't do freebies when it comes to tips or anything. Figured you might have a similar thought process is all and you yourself said what you said "at the risk of sounding like a bitch" I was honest and told you that yes you were indeed bitchy, More so then what was necessary.

Perhaps if you don't want someone calling you out on acting that way then you should take your own advice and avoid the forums :)

answered your questions, I don't see how that's unwelcome. I didn't because, to be honest, I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated with people acting like every CW releaser needs FAQs on how to slot on their boards. I'm frustrated with people acting like CW releasers make loads of profit off items. Acting like we're elitist. Like we should be FORCED to make every CW available to every person. Like we're greedy because we're spending a lot of money to get these items on site, but god forbid we want to make an INKLING of a profit. A wig commission costs $20-$30 dollars. Then I typically have to spend even more money to cover slots that don't fill. On the first batch.

I'm frustrated that we as releasers are clearly listening to the concerns of people that only buy, but none of you seem to give a rip about how we feel about this situation.

I don't have a problem with people calling me a bitch. I have a problem with people calling me a bitch and then making snide comments at me. Everybody's shit stinks.

No worries! It seems that a couple people may have mentioned private friends-only groups and somehow a larger group of individuals may have then gotten misconstrued that all ping groups are friends only groups...

I myself have a private item limited to my ping group (that I use for gifting and raffle/contest purposes), but the ping group is open to anyone that wants to join! We've been trying our best to communicate all this information clearly but it's been an uphill battle!

Well, perhaps expect less newer players to buy from your shop and only see the same handful, if they have a steady flow of $$ to spend on virtual items. You don't have to advertise to newer players if you don't want to, but I think that you may be missing out on a potential new market. I am trying my best to understand what goes on for releasers, although I have had no experience in this matter. I just hope that releasers can understand how average players feel as well, as it is a two-way street that both sides must pay attention to.

I have never stated that CW releasers are greedy or money hungry, but merely stated my opinion on why the CW Pawn Shop may be more appealing for casual users than the forums. I understand that you would like to make a profit, but from my understanding, it is difficult to profit on CWs even when you are only selling from boards due to the difficulty of filling batches, as you have just stated. In fact, I believe that the removal of the Pawn Shop without incentive for the users who once used it to now get involved on boards and without incentive for those users to continue spending their CSC hurts the entire market, releasers and buyers alike, which I have been trying to articulate. Sure, you can get rid of the CW Pawn Shop. But if those buyers choose not to spend their money anymore, how does it help releasers gain more profit?

Ahh, that makes so much more sense! I have definitely seen private friends-only groups before as well as interest groups. I understand that people want to make private items for themselves and friends and ping groups are an easy way to organize this, but there are so many ping groups it's hard to keep track XD

Because people were waiting for items to show up in the pawn shop, where they could buy them for less. Instead of slotting on the item on the first release, they waited. Batches don't fill, releasers either have to make up the difference, or items don't get submitted. Items don't get submitted, less CSC being bought. Or releases have to make up the difference, less batches, more frustration from the releasers, and accusations of 'elitist attitudes' or complaints that only one or two batches are released at all.

The releasers are basically getting fucked over, and people that only buy don't seem to care. I spend a lot of money on commissions and having to cover slots that don't get filled. If I lose a potential slot because someone wants to save a couple of bucks and hope it shows up in the pawn shop, of course I'm going to be pissed. I have ever right to be pissed.

The CW shops are a little bit clunky, but many of the problems people bring up about the forums are solved by using the shops instead.

I agree, there are a ton of ping groups! I'm actually making a CW public ping group directory right now that should help. Private groups won't even be listed, and believe me, there's enough public groups that they don't need to be - I've got over 60 ping groups listed on the WIP right now, and those are just ones that I'm personally in and know what to categorize as. And also, is totally right in that almost anyone will help you if you ask. I do realize asking is difficult though (speaking as someone with moderate/severe-ish anxiety that likes to flare up at inconvenient times, aha) and we're working on making more comprehensive resources. I've actually made a voiceover on submitting CWs today and posted that to the creators' thread (mostly to motivate someone there to make a better one because my voice is... no), and I know there are some plans to make more voiceovers for other things and more resources in general. I've also got a contest in the works and several other CW releasers have started contests/giveaways recently as well, so I think we're trying to work on it from the event/generally getting people interested standpoint too!

Wowser if CW releaser are arguing among each other how are the rest of us suppose to feel .

I want to to tell my story why I do not buy nearly as much as I use to. I use to buy lots 2 -3 years ago, tax money went right to CW I loved buying cw, but then. Everything became private, fiends only. Maybe they would release 1 or 2 public colors, but everything was private. I understand that yes some things should be private and special but everything? it was sad seeing 1 copy auctioned off for 100 dollars whatever it was in csc. I would see something and ask and yes it was private. I would message and they would be very nasty with me or not even answer my message. ( wish I would have kept the message to show but I had to delete it) then I saw my friend (RIP) get kicked out in a nasty way off the thread cause it was a private ping only. I would buy and never got any special treatment or anything. So what was I suppose to do I had $ I wanted to spend but really no where to spend it on, so I quit Subeta for a while, then when I came back I stopped buying. I will slot on something once or twice a month now.