Out of any other fandom or group of any kind, I believe that furries are buy and large the most loose with their money. (I'm genuinely suprised that politicians haven't attempeted to extort money from us yet)

Between furry sex toys, art commissions, OC auctions, furcons, accessories (collars, tails, ears, etc.) and fursuits that cost upwards of $1000 (at least my cousin's cost that much) as well anything else I might be missing, furries spend a metric ass ton of money. Do these high-end spenders just not have anything more useful, directly engaging or productive to spend their money on? Don't these same people usually have college debt to clear, groceries to buy, bills to pay, or something else worth while to save up for? What am I missing here?

I'll conclude by reiterating the question I asked in the title: are the high end spender furries just financially irresponsible or are they just so fucking rich that they need not give a shit? When I watch an art auction on FA and see a commission sell for $250+ I cringe.

Imo furries treat commissions and other furry-related stuff just like regular peeps wanting to get the new iPhone or new pair of Jordans. They want to show off their expensive stuff to feel good

You haven't run into very many other fandom groups have you?

Halite said:
You haven't run into very many other fandom groups have you?

I was thinking the same thing.

1. why it bothers you so much if people want to spend their own damn money for stuff they want to spend it on. going around telling people what they are not allowed to do with their own money is kinda shitty.

2. a bit about commission prices

I wish furry artists worked on drawings and stuff just for fun, passtime, sport (?) or just for the sake of it, rather than to make a fuckload of money. Everything's for the greens these days. Anyone knows a decent artist that'd do me a ref sheet for free? My country's money is toilet paper. :P

Well, social security can be pretty neat.

If you really want something that no one you know outside of online would ever produce, and is only produced in limited quantities, but can't make it yourself, then paying that much seems more viable. Many furry items aren't easy to manufacture (clothing in general, sex toys, etc), and the market for these things isn't exactly booming. Designer dresses can go for much more than $1000, so expensive fursuits (which I would think is often custom made) are justified.

Also, I would give up on the world if people really only saved money to pay of their past debts and pay for daily sustenance. At least these guys have hobbies they can invest themselves in. People without an interest beyond surviving are much stupider imo.

While not a fandom per se, some PC enthusiasts do seem to have quite a bit of expendable income. I swear the price of high end graphics cards has only gone up and stayed there because, surprise surprise, we found out that, yes, quite a few people are more than willing to throw their money at $1000 GPUs to "have the best". And some will buy four. Every time the next generation comes out. And new water or better cooling parts to go with those new cards each time. And they will upgrade their CPU and motherboard with every generation too, and they will get the appropriate cooling equipment for those parts too. And they want three or more 4K, 144Hz, IPS, 1ms input delay, GSync, Korean overclocking, or whatever else monitors. Anti-aliasing is a fond memory when you have 16 screens! And they will snatch up any other hot tech item with enough perceived benefit behind it. Still pales in comparison to audiophile-grade equipment, so let's include that too. Why not have ten high-end headphones, one for each genre, and a Dolby Atmos home cinema?

For what purpose? To play the latest and greatest AAA title with major performance and crashing issues? To play uber-modded Skyrim or GTA at low framerates? To competitively play competitive games badly (lol...)? For benchmark scores that aren't even top 10? For "the experience" of being an early adopter, getting that extra 200MHz, or 16xSGSSAA? To have the best... power supply? Blasting opinions across the news section without reading the articles first? For word processing over many screens? "Multi-tasking"? CAD with the newest unsupported hardware features? "Future-proofing"? There's usually a much more economical and appropriate piece of hardware to satisfy the claimed need.

Okay, so, take that concept, and then apply it to something like cars. Gotta get that new Mercedes. Every year. Or CCGs/TCGs. Gotta get four of each card in first edition in the newest set to be competitively viable, and another misprint set for show. Every three months. Baseball cards? GEM mint, son. LoL skins. World class cuisine. You're not truly alive until you buy a virtual sword for a game no ones knows at auction for $28K. I read that Twitch's VODs recently got ventilated to protect copyright. What's $1B anyway?

That was fun.

Wow, I thought that posting this was part of a dream I had. I must have been really tired last night. Lol

TheHuskyK9 said:
Imo furries treat commissions and other furry-related stuff just like regular peeps wanting to get the new iPhone or new pair of Jordans. They want to show off their expensive stuff to feel good

I'd file that under the "stupid" category then.

Halite said:
You haven't run into very many other fandom groups have you?

Oh, but I have. However in my tired daze I failed to take into account the obsessive collectors of comics, action figures, and other such things that other fandoms like Spider Man, Star Trek, and so on. That aside, I still say we spend a hell of a lot of money compared to other fandoms.

Mutisija said:
1. why it bothers you so much if people want to spend their own damn money for stuff they want to spend it on. going around telling people what they are not allowed to do with their own money is kinda shitty.

2. a bit about commission prices

I'm not saying they aren't allowed to spend money freely, I just concerned that they might be spending it a little too freely for their own good. Also, fandom commissions being cheaper than professional ones doesn't mean anything. $200 is still $200 no matter how you size it.

FatherOfGray said:
Wow, I thought that posting this was part of a dream I had. I must have been really tired last night. Lol

I'd file that under the "stupid" category then.

Oh, but I have. However in my tired daze I failed to take into account the obsessive collectors of comics, action figures, and other such things that other fandoms like Spider Man, Star Trek, and so on. That aside, I still say we spend a hell of a lot of money compared to other fandoms.

I'm not saying they aren't allowed to spend money freely, I just concerned that they might be spending it a little too freely for their own good. Also, fandom commissions being cheaper than professional ones doesn't mean anything. $200 is still $200 no matter how you size it.

I know of at least a few other fandoms that spend as much, if not more than furries do.
Don't get me wrong, furries definitely spend quite a bit, but I don't think that they're any bigger of spenders than any other similarly large fandom.

I usually don't care too much when people spent a lot on commissions, but there was someone I saw who was bragging about getting a digital commission they paid $1,500 for. I can't remember who the artist was but wow.

Isn't $1,500 a little much to spend on one picture that isn't even a painting or something? :/

Rusteee said:
I usually don't care too much when people spent a lot on commissions, but there was someone I saw who was bragging about getting a digital commission they paid $1,500 for. I can't remember who the artist was but wow.

Isn't $1,500 a little much to spend on one picture that isn't even a painting or something? :/

Very much so, yes.
You could get a h0rs3 animation for less, or spend as much on a large one with multiple animations.

For a non-animated digital image, $1500 is absurd.
Generally I see commission prices for a single image ranging from $5-$200 depending on quality, artist, and complexity.
I do occasionally see auctions, particularly adoptions, going for multiple hundreds, even seen a couple going for $500+

Furries aren't special in this regard. If you ever check out the goth scene they can spend absurd amounts of cash on leather clothes and corsets. (Seriously, have you seen the price on those things ?)
TheHuskyK9 brought up iphones and you categorized that as 'stupid', which is true, but you missed the point. It's not specific to furries - that's just *people*. People spend more money they should on shit they don't need. Tell me you've never done the same and I won't believe you.

I bought a katana once. Full tang, forged steel, wasn't cheap. It's badass as hell. What the fuck do I need a katana for? Absolutely nothing! It impresses cute guys when I bring them over but that's about it. I'm aware it was probably a stupid purchase but I don't regret buying it.

Then there's people like this guy who I admit, under the rich/stupid check boxes probably fall under both. But like I said, that's not because he's a furry. That's just him being a weird and unfairly wealthy individual.

elad said:
Furries aren't special in this regard. If you ever check out the goth scene they can spend absurd amounts of cash on leather clothes and corsets. (Seriously, have you seen the price on those things ?)
TheHuskyK9 brought up iphones and you categorized that as 'stupid', which is true, but you missed the point. It's not specific to furries - that's just *people*. People spend more money they should on shit they don't need. Tell me you've never done the same and I won't believe you.

I bought a katana once. Full tang, forged steel, wasn't cheap. It's badass as hell. What the fuck do I need a katana for? Absolutely nothing! It impresses cute guys when I bring them over but that's about it. I'm aware it was probably a stupid purchase but I don't regret buying it.

Then there's people like this guy who I admit, under the rich/stupid check boxes probably fall under both. But like I said, that's not because he's a furry. That's just him being a weird and unfairly wealthy individual.

I've spent something like 5 grand on WarMachine models that I've assembled and painted up for a game that I played once a week.

My father dropped something close to seven grand on Magic the Gathering, albeit that game I played daily with my close friends and with him at coffee shops.

EDFDarkAngel1 said:
I've spent something like 5 grand on WarMachine models that I've assembled and painted up for a game that I played once a week.

My father dropped something close to seven grand on Magic the Gathering, albeit that game I played daily with my close friends and with him at coffee shops.

You can easily blow $2000+ on models for Warhammer and Warhammer 40k.
And if you think all that is bad, I have over the past 3 years spent more than $2500 on Skylanders.
And there's a new Skylanders coming out in early October, at which point I'll likely spend at least another $500.

I easily spent an upwards of $2500 this past year on bike equipment and trail food, but that's because I got a new bike at the beginning of summer. I have a friend who's spent around $1000 on paintballing sessions and gear.

People will spend a lot on their hobbies regardless of whether they're poor or rich. It only becomes a problem when you almost freeze to death because you didn't pay the rent in favor of commissioning furry porn.

I've spent quite a bit on firearms because I'm a collector. But good luck turning around and selling a digital commission or a cum-encrusted fursuit.

Not that i'd make a profit, but at the very least I could most definitely get quite a bit back if I decided to sell my guns.

EDIT:

SirAntagonist said:
"almost freeze to death because you didn't pay the rent in favor of commissioning furry porn"

I knew someone who basically did that. Not LA but he was begging me and a few other of my friends for money because he was starving. I refused to give him money because he just bought an 80 dollar commish after a friend gave it to him for FOOD. and his excuse was "Because it was a popular artist" Herp-derp.

elad said:
...People spend more money they should on shit they don't need. Tell me you've never done the same and I won't believe you.

I bought a katana once. Full tang, forged steel, wasn't cheap. It's badass as hell. What the fuck do I need a katana for? Absolutely nothing! It impresses cute guys when I bring them over but that's about it. I'm aware it was probably a stupid purchase but I don't regret buying it...

SirAntagonist said:
...People will spend a lot on their hobbies regardless of whether they're poor or rich. It only becomes a problem when you almost freeze to death because you didn't pay the rent in favor of commissioning furry porn.

This. It sums up what I was going to say. And it doesn't really matter to me that people do it either. It's their money. Spending money on hobbies can be money well spent: it brings happiness and keeps you busy.

If it's about money mismanagement, keep in mind that you can manage your money poorly even if all you're doing is paying bills. Handling money is a skill. And if you're good at it, then you can afford to drop a couple hundred or maybe even a thousand dollars now and then on things you like. You can do it more often than that if you make enough and keep your other costs down. That's not actually poor money management or stupid. That's usually the direct benefit of budgeting, saving and long term planning. Do I think everyone who spends five grand on _____ thought it out and made sure they had the money first? No, not all of them. Some people are foolish with their money. But others did plan so that they can enjoy that "unimportant" purchase and still be able to pay their bills on time. Most of then aren't even close to "rich".

"...anything more useful, directly engaging or productive..." Some people don't want to directly engage, they like their solitude. To them, any money spend on directly engaging would be money flushed down the toilet. Useful to whom? Productive to whom? To the person who paid? Because when someone spends money on a commission, they're hiring an artist to be productive and produce a picture for them. And they find being able to have that idea be made into something real that they can actually look at now (instead of vaguely imagine it) as being very useful to them.

When someone drops hundreds or thousands on their favorite hobby, it's often to acquire something they think will be useful and/or bring them happiness. Whether that is worth it to them, at that price, is a subjective measurement no one else can answer except them. Just because it's not what you would spend it on for you, doesn't mean it was ill-spent.

I'm baffled why you'd even spend this much time evaluating the relative "worthiness" of other people's purchasing habits. It just seems like you could be spending your time on something "more useful, directly engaging or productive" yourself (the things you yourself said are the standards of what is worthwhile to you), instead of obsessing how complete strangers spend their money. As a hobby goes, judging other people's personal financial decisions is probably none of those things. Just sayin'.

I've spent nearly $1000 on skateboards alone throughout the years :I

post #166564

this thread in a nutshell

Ozelot said:
post #166564

this thread in a nutshell

Eh, mostly just the 2nd one

Develon said:
I wish furry artists worked on drawings and stuff just for fun, passtime, sport (?) or just for the sake of it, rather than to make a fuckload of money. Everything's for the greens these days. Anyone knows a decent artist that'd do me a ref sheet for free? My country's money is toilet paper. :P

So what you're actually asking is "Are there any artists who want to do stuff for free for me?" Which is just silly. You want a skillful and talented person to spend time and effort making stuff for you, you pay them for their trouble. That's generally how it works.

I do plenty of art for fun, but I don't always share it. It's how I started getting really into the fandom, by drawing my character and drawing a few other people's characters, just for fun. Then people started asking if I'd take requests to draw stuff that I really had no particular interest in drawing, all while I still had a bunch of ideas and inspiration for my own stuff. Since I said, "No, I would rather spend my time drawing my own things," they asked if I'd take a commission instead. I said yes.

What I'm saying is this. It's not about making money, it's you wanting me to spend time and effort (especially in the case of a character reference image, so much back and forth on those) to make something for you, when I'd much rather draw my own ideas. If you give me incentive, ie money or something else of value, then there's a chance I'll draw it for you. Money, as it's been since medieval times, is the easiest way to trade for services, so that's what we stick with.

Develon said:
I wish furry artists worked on drawings and stuff just for fun, passtime, sport (?) or just for the sake of it, rather than to make a fuckload of money. Everything's for the greens these days. Anyone knows a decent artist that'd do me a ref sheet for free? My country's money is toilet paper. :P

When everyone doesn't have to pay for food, gas, electricity, water, transportation, etc. This statement won't sound stupid. Some artists rely on that skill to pay for things. You don't see repairmen repairing things for strangers for free do you? Im not gonna ehine about video game prices because that shit takes time and effort like art. And both you can live without paying for.

Actually, I wouldn't mind paying for art, and I know how much of a pain it must be to pull those things off, (I actually don't) but the thing is... my country's economy is bullshit. A dollar is around ten or fifteen times more of our money, so if I actually wanted a $50 dollars commission, it'd cost me around +$750 for ridiculous reasons. It's not fair. It's not fair at all... or at least I don't find it fair.

Also, I have a rare condition called "hyperhidrosis" which always kept me off from actually learning how to draw stuff myself... that, and I'm also a lazy fuck... and those digital drawing tablets or whatever also must cost a ton of money... and I think they don't even exist in here, anyway.

Develon said:
Also, I have a rare condition called "hyperhidrosis" which always kept me off from actually learning how to draw stuff myself... that, and I'm also a lazy fuck... and those digital drawing tablets or whatever also must cost a ton of money... and I think they don't even exist in here, anyway.

Pardon if it's a stupid suggestion, but have you tried wearing gloves? If you get a kind with an absorbent interior, then it would help sop up the sweat and keep it off the paper. You might need several pairs to switch between when one pair gets too wet and needs time to dry out. (And all this might sound like too much effort if your self-described laziness wasn't an exaggeration). But it would be a way to manage your condition so that you could learn how to draw.

Extreme sweatiness also isn't usually a good mix with electronics: so even if you got a tablet, you'd still need to find a way to protect it from excessive moisture when you use it for long periods of time. I think the right type of glove being worn during certain activities (like drawing) might open up some more options for you. It's just a thought.

Develon said:
and those digital drawing tablets or whatever also must cost a ton of money... and I think they don't even exist in here, anyway.

my first tablet was only like 30€ and current one is a lot better but its stil less than 100€. also you can always order things online.

Develon said:

... and those digital drawing tablets or whatever also must cost a ton of money... and I think they don't even exist in here, anyway.

They are expensive. Tools and materials to make art aren't free, its another reason artists generally don't do much free art, because it costs them money to make.

Regardless, I have a spare drawing tablet that I've been looking to give to someone who needs it. Its an intuos 3 Large. The drawing surface is a little scratched up, but it and the pen are in otherwise perfect working order. If you're willing/able to pay for the shipping and stuff I'll send it your way, just send me a PM with your rough location and I'll find out how much it'd cost.

LupineAssassin is another one of those furries. I just don't understand his existence.

JoeX said:
LupineAssassin is another one of those furries. I just don't understand his existence.

I think perhaps we ought to avoid calling out individuals by name.

furrypickle said:
Pardon if it's a stupid suggestion, but have you tried wearing gloves? If you get a kind with an absorbent interior, then it would help sop up the sweat and keep it off the paper. You might need several pairs to switch between when one pair gets too wet and needs time to dry out. (And all this might sound like too much effort if your self-described laziness wasn't an exaggeration). But it would be a way to manage your condition so that you could learn how to draw.

I've tried wearing gloves before, but... I dunno, I don't feel confortable with them. Maybe I should search for different kinds and find one that suits me better, but it'd take some effort.

Extreme sweatiness also isn't usually a good mix with electronics: so even if you got a tablet, you'd still need to find a way to protect it from excessive moisture when you use it for long periods of time. I think the right type of glove being worn during certain activities (like drawing) might open up some more options for you. It's just a thought.

Sometimes I have troubles with touchscreen devices, but... it'd be a matter of keeping my hands dry, I guess.

Tokaido said:
They are expensive. Tools and materials to make art aren't free, its another reason artists generally don't do much free art, because it costs them money to make.

Regardless, I have a spare drawing tablet that I've been looking to give to someone who needs it. Its an intuos 3 Large. The drawing surface is a little scratched up, but it and the pen are in otherwise perfect working order. If you're willing/able to pay for the shipping and stuff I'll send it your way, just send me a PM with your rough location and I'll find out how much it'd cost.

Yeah, I've failed to realize at first that producing such drawings, fursuits and related stuff must cost some money too... I guess you have to spend money to make money.
Also, yours sounds like a sweet deal, but... I think I'll have to pass it for now. Once I get a better job, I'd consider it. Oh, and there's a lot of aduana laws in here, so I don't even know if it'd be possible to pass it without some trouble...

Develon said:
I've tried wearing gloves before, but... I dunno, I don't feel confortable with them. Maybe I should search for different kinds and find one that suits me better, but it'd take some effort.

Sometimes I have troubles with touchscreen devices, but... it'd be a matter of keeping my hands dry, I guess.

If it's mainly your palms that do the sweating, you could try biking gloves, (they are often made especially for absorbing sweat because bikers need that, but only go partway down the finger so the tips are outside the glove).

Or if you find a good glove that works mostly, but need to have a free fingertip, you could modify it by cutting off the tip of one of the glove's fingers. Customizing it for your needs.

Or I'd imagine you could carefully spread a little multipurpose-cement-glue over the pad of the tip of the glove finger, let it dry completely first (don't stick it to anything! lol) but once it's dry that would create a coating to give it a little more friction for gripping and it might help a touchscreen register what you're doing better while the glove is still on. I don't know for sure how well it would work. Wouldn't want a glue that tried into a shiny hard surface. But a "multi-purpose cement glue" should give a slightly soft, slightly tacky sort of coating which would be decent for improving grip and might help with the touchscreens, not sure.

Also, you could probably go to a store that sells gloves (work gloves maybe) just to see what different types are available to you. That way you can feel the different types of materials, what their surface texture would be like, whether or not they'd be absorbent. Some won't work, but a few might be ok.

There's also glove liners, which you could find a liner that's absorbent and wear it inside of another glove that maybe is good for gripping stuff and wearing comfortably (like leather gloves or gloves with a coating on the tips of the fingers - the type of gloves which aren't good for absorbing on their own, but great for having a nice surface. If worn with an absorbent liner, then you'd be able to have both absorbency and grip).

Obviously these are all just ideas. A lot of it comes down to personal preference and finding what will work with your condition. But I think it's possible. Any glove will probably take some getting used to, but if it gives you options to do the things you want to do, then it's worth putting up with.

One more thing, I don't know how extreme your hands sweat. But if it's sometimes mildly sweaty, you could try having a towel next to you while you work, and periodically stopping to wipe your hands dry again when they start to get too sweaty. Might not always be enough to help, but if it's mild enough then that might be all you need to keep it under control on days that it's not sweating too extreme. (I've heard some people with hyperhidrosis can have it change from day to day just how sweaty they get, with some days being more mild while others are more extreme. So this may or may not work for you).

Also, another tip when it comes to drawing: take a blank sheet of paper, fold it in half, and then use that between the side of your palm and the paper you're drawing on while you draw. It's a trick artists use to keep from accidentally smudging things like pencilwork while they're still working on it. But it has the added benefit of being one more layer between any moisture coming from your hand, and the drawing you want to protect. If the paper under your hand starts rippling or getting wet, then you'll know it's absorbing some moisture from your hand and that you need to switch gloves or wipe your hands down again (whatever the method is). And that way you'll know about it before it's able to soak into the paper with your drawing on it.

Furries will pay for the ability to say they did something no one else did.
If they can get their furrsona pasted on a picture by a popular artist it's like getting Stan Lee's autograph to them. Honestly a waste of money to everyone else, but the emotional value of said purchase toward a person usually more than makes up for the physical cost.
Think of it this way, an old photo of your deceased grandmother is, economically worth nothing, but to her children and relatives, the picture is all that reminds them of her, and thus it is priceless, emotionally.

Secondly, furries do it to show off, this is on par with new Jordan's or a Concert T-shirt to show people that you were there.

But all in all, if a person can still manage to support themselves while giving away sizable amounts of dosh, more power to them. And the only real issue is when they are spending more than they should be or are able to, not to point out Allan by name, because that would be rude and insensitive of me. I mean as long as you aren't driving yourself to homelessness in pursuit of vore smut featuring your OC.

Moon_Moon said:
Furries will pay for the ability to say they did something no one else did.
If they can get their furrsona pasted on a picture by a popular artist it's like getting Stan Lee's autograph to them. Honestly a waste of money to everyone else, but the emotional value of said purchase toward a person usually more than makes up for the physical cost.
Think of it this way, an old photo of your deceased grandmother is, economically worth nothing, but to her children and relatives, the picture is all that reminds them of her, and thus it is priceless, emotionally.

Secondly, furries do it to show off, this is on par with new Jordan's or a Concert T-shirt to show people that you were there.

But all in all, if a person can still manage to support themselves while giving away sizable amounts of dosh, more power to them. And the only real issue is when they are spending more than they should be or are able to, not to point out Allan by name, because that would be rude and insensitive of me. I mean as long as you aren't driving yourself to homelessness in pursuit of vore smut featuring your OC.

Thats actually kinda true. I want a picture of my OC purely for the enjoyment of having him being in a visually detailed form. It's like getting one of those fancy new online multiplayer games everybody wants before your friends.

As far as I know, they're both.

nine_tailed_fury said:
As far as I know, they're both.

Great work, you woke up a 6 year old thread by calling furries stupid.