Master Skins: Early results
They're here to stay
Thursday, January 25, 2007 by Frogboy | Discussion: Community
It's been about a week now since the first Master Skins have gone up. And so we've had time to evaluate the results.
The results: They're definitely here to stay. They've done significantly better than we had anticipated. Or put another way, a skinner could potentially make a full-time living simply making Master skins.
I won't give away the sales figures for other authors but the results for the ones we've put up, which haven't done as well as what Treetog or Adni have done, have ranged from a couple hundred dollars to $500 or so in the first week. And those are dwarfed by what Adni has achieved.
I don't expect Master skins to become more than 1% of the total skins on WinCustomize.com. Or put another way, we'll tighten the moderation restrictions to ensure that they don't become too common because we don't want to give the impression of the site being about paying for skins.
Some people have loudly objected to the selling of skins. I can't say I understand that. Labor is labor. If it's software, it's okay but if someone makes a skin it has to be free? That doesn't make sense to me.
But the benefits are significant: WinCustomize.com will continue to exist as a result. The Master skins were WC's last chance. The # of subscribers we were getting per month was not remotely close enough to justify the expense of the site. deviantART has been interested in providing a whole sub-section for Stardock's skinning stuff (people who think Stardock needs WinCustomize really need a reality check). So it has been, at times, tempting to close WC and turn it over to deviantART.
A handful of dedicated community members have subscribed. But a site that gets over 3 million unique visitors per month but couldn't manage to get more than a few hundred of them to subscribe just wasn't cutting it. So the Master skinners along with those who are purchasing their works are not just helping the skinners themselves but they are helping WinCustomize continue to exist.
There are also a lot of journeymen who, next month, we'll begin looking at nominating to become masters. All Masters will be expected to continue to support the community (we don't want Masters come to see us as just a store, we're supposed to be a community, if it ever became purely about the money then again, Stardock would take the most obvious economically justified course -- team up with our friends at deviantART to host the skinning content while we focused our resources on software only).
So the good news is that Master Skinning is doing very well. One final note, the download count on Master skins is actually meaningless because people who buy them download them from store link, not from WC (we'll have to find a way to display something else other than download count which right now only counts those who re-download the skin after the fact).
Thank you for your support and we hope you are enjoying the new WC!
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Reply #2 Friday, January 26, 2007 12:13 AM
Reply #3 Friday, January 26, 2007 12:18 AM
Reply #5 Friday, January 26, 2007 1:11 AM
Reply #6 Friday, January 26, 2007 1:27 AM
Reply #7 Friday, January 26, 2007 2:42 AM
| Thanks to Master skins, it's not an issue. The sales on them will be enough to keep the site growing. Frogboy View Frogboy's Profile Email Frogboy Find Posts By Frogboy |
Isn't it a bit early for such a statement? One weeks worth of sales? Anyway, I think it is a great program and I hope it draws many masters back into the game and back to the site where they can make such a great contribution and inspire others.
How I wish, I have the talent of a master... 
Reply #9 Friday, January 26, 2007 7:37 AM
| where they can make such a great contribution and inspire others |
That should be the main point. I agree.
Is it to early? Not sure.
Taking the statement from Frogboy, lets look at the skins so far. Not including treetog and adni18's skins, that leaves skins from previous Stardock suites,(Texas Hold 'Em, Fortune and Logika) that have been up for a while.
The fact that "they" are still selling good, that's a good thing.
Oh, and Amen Bebi Bulma.
Reply #10 Friday, January 26, 2007 7:56 AM
Reply #11 Friday, January 26, 2007 8:26 AM
Reply #12 Friday, January 26, 2007 8:59 AM
| Isn't it a bit early for such a statement? One weeks worth of sales? Anyway, I think it is a great program and I hope it draws many masters back into the game and back to the site where they can make such a great contribution and inspire others. |
Even at 1/4th the sales level, it would still be a success. Moreover, sales are likely to increase as more master skins get made.
I have the same thought that it will encourage other people to make more stuff to move through the ranks and encourage elder-skinners to become active again.
Reply #13 Friday, January 26, 2007 9:34 AM
| Even at 1/4th the sales level, it would still be a success. |
Excellent!
Reply #15 Friday, January 26, 2007 7:00 PM
I'm not saying all skins should come with a fee because, simply put, a lot of them aren't as fine-tuned as the "master skins." But if someone spends months creating a truly stellar work of art, why shouldn't they be able to sell it?
Reply #16 Friday, January 26, 2007 8:16 PM
Reply #17 Friday, January 26, 2007 11:38 PM
Reply #18 Saturday, January 27, 2007 12:44 AM
Reply #19 Saturday, January 27, 2007 7:39 PM
| WinCustomize.com will continue to exist as a result. The Master skins were WC's last chance |
Had no idea it was that close.
Reply #20 Saturday, January 27, 2007 8:30 PM
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Reply #1 Friday, January 26, 2007 12:02 AM
consider me as one of those who need a reality check then because I've always thought you undervalued Wincustomize's importance to the skinning community and to Stardock.
It was Winc that caused me not only to become a skinner but also to think it was important enough to buy Stardocks software.
DeviantArt could not absorb this community...its already a mess.Most(I think)of us would just drift away.
Wincustomize is the anchor to the skinning world,without it skinning just wouldnt be as fun.One reason I come here and almost no other site(I dont upload anywhere else) is because Winc is related directly to Stardock.I dont think you see how extremely important that is.(maybe moreso to us than to Stardock)
Guess that means I'm all for whatever it takes to keep Winc going.I admit to not being a subscriber...but I live on AND and only recieve 230$ a month.However,I will find a way to renew my OD subscription...something that would be less important without Wincustomize.