Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Tag: auctions

June 4, 2021

$50,000 FURSUIT: crypto-fueled bidding smashes auction record at The Dealers Den

by Patch O'Furr

The new all-time fursuit auction record is worth a nice car or some people’s yearly income. (Highest commission is a different number.) It’s been 3 years since the last record by MixedCandy: A look at furry business with a $17,017 record fursuit auction price, July 2018.

Shifting winds of tech and business helped make this possible; it has to do with porn, politics, and payment providers. We’ll get into that… but I’m sure that wasn’t on the mind of Zuri Studios, the maker based in the Czech Republic with a fluffalicious folio of “god tier fursuits“. (This auction is a contract to create one, not an existing fursuit.)

Zuri Studios just found out there’s no business like sew business.

$100K fursuit when?

Tripling the record since 2018 gets steaming hot takes on social media. How can any suit be worth so much? 

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October 15, 2020

The Dealers Den plans to rebuild with unprecedented features and Blockchain technology

by Patch O'Furr

Help vote for success for the only furry auction site!

For over 20 years, furries have had their own specialized auction sites serving the “Furry Economy”. In 1999 there was Furbid and Furbuy. In 2015 we had Furbuy and The Dealers Den. Now only the last one is standing — and thriving. It may be poised to leap ahead of big corporate sites with an ambitious plan.

The Dealers Den is a furry-owned marketplace that brings outsized benefit to sellers and users. They don’t have to use Etsy, Ebay or Amazon. They can efficiently reach each other within their own niche. It keeps things in the “fandom family” without corporate middlemen and control. Ask users what the site does for them. (“Very surprised and very grateful”: fursuit maker Beauty of the Bass talks about a $14,000 sale.) It makes big support for independent art.

But for any niche community, there are downsides. Keeping things personal and relying on trust can be risky. Anywhere in the fandom, scam sellers can come back under new names, or good sellers can be hurt by false bidding or cheating on pay. It’s hard to scale up for new features — like a verified purchase review system, payment processing, or escrow protection.

Enter the Dealers Den rebuild plan.

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August 21, 2020

Furries support independent art with $14,000 and $15,600 fursuit auctions at The Dealers Den

by Patch O'Furr

Sweet success for MixedCandy and Beauty of the Bass

Beauty of the Bass, a Britain-based fursuit maker and performer, felt the love from fans when a commission auction sold for £10,700 this month. That’s $14,025 USD at current exchange rate, and over three times the full fursuit price quoted on her website.

There’s no suit yet. The winner gets to have it created. Her auction lists some conditions — certain tech options aren’t possible and “I prefer to work on scary, creepy, odd, gory and crazy designs” — but there’s one benefit only an auction winner can get. No denial. Direct commissioners may not be accepted depending on the maker’s discretion for what she wants to make; but this winner enters the queue unconditionally after current customers.

An auction like this makes a premium option for artists and customers who really want their work. The price proves the demand. It’s near the highest records for any fursuit auction, which was $17,017 achieved by MixedCandy in July 2018 (beating a $13,500 auction by Made Fur You in January 2018.)

MixedCandy herself received a new $15,600 price just days after this $14,000 price for Beauty of the Bass. These outstanding prices can help to show the state of the Furry Economy and its artists.

Of course this isn’t a fursuit-selling competition. It’s support that lets makers keep directly serving fans, a rare and special opportunity to go “pro fan” as a career. That’s not get-rich-quick work, and there can be a lot of turnover. (Many makers serve commissioners with smaller wallets). Fursuits aren’t really investments either — they’re functional art that adds photogenic magic to events for all furries. You can have an open fandom and well-supported artists too.

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July 8, 2019

What if furry fandom had a Central Fursuit Supply?

by Patch O'Furr

Furry auction site Furbuy recently went down. It left a gap now filled by just one comparable site, The Dealer’s Den. (Read more at Flayrah — FurBuy down for ‘months’ after spat with security researcher.)

Loss of a long-time specialized service brought up a fandom paradox. People want more professional services, but there’s a conflict in the way fandom is organized. Furry websites and “institutions” depend on volunteering and cooperation without high resources or efficiency. That’s like every socialistic organization ever. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because it can make more access with less elitism. Would you rather have a rag-tag fandom full of freewheeling freaks, or a cleaned up corporate Mickey Mouse Club? A subculture or a fad? It’s a tradeoff when The Fans control their Means Of Production. (Read more — Furry Socialism: You’re Soaking in It! – by Tempe O’Kun and Dralen Dragonfox.) 

This fandom can work like a social lab. That’s why a few furries had a round-table chat about a thought experiment. What if services (like Furbuy) were more centralized for furry makers, but still independent under fan control?

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June 27, 2019

Furbuy goes offline, fandom organization issues, and a need for constructive criticism.

by Patch O'Furr

Flayrah covers a tech problem with a longstanding fandom auction site: FurBuy down for ‘months’ after spat with security researcher.

Furbuy says they’ll be back with a completely new site. The old one relied on software mostly written in 1999, offering a service that drew some complaints for security problems or less-than-modern functionality, complicated by some conflict with a site owner about expected handling of complaints.

Furbuy also offered a valuable free service, accommodating fandom high points like record auction prices for creators without taking a cut like nonfandom markets. (It earned some donations, but not as much as it cost to run). With a hobby/not-for-profit project, accommodating demands might not always be fast or easy or welcome to the providers. Still, security issues can’t be dismissed and complaints can come with feelings about less-than-professional standards.

Sound familiar? Like every complaint ever about management of Furaffinity, the biggest fandom art site.

I think it’s a structural thing. It comes with the benefit of a decentralized fandom, where most commerce is self-owned and fan-to-fan without middlemen, with DIY-ness for love as much as money. Making a living that way is rare, and rarely enriching, and it makes limited resources to do better. Professional service is a must in many ways but “pro-fan” can be an oxymoron. It’s a furry paradox.

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July 30, 2018

A look at furry business with a $17,017 record fursuit auction price, July 2018

by Patch O'Furr

(There are many reasons to give this thoughtful discussion and avoid knee-jerk reaction about cost – it will happen, but please read on! – Patch)

MixedCandy gets fandom’s current highest auction price at The Dealer’s Den.

Congrats to MixedCandy for their successful auction. One of the fandom’s highest-powered creative stars has also raised attention for The Dealer’s Den, an online marketplace for this special niche.

This new record price was set 6 months after the previous one: $13,500 for a commission slot by Made Fur You, sold on The Dealer’s Den with 82 bids on 1/29/18. It was preceded by a record that stood for 3 years: $11,575 for Sniper Angeldragon by PhoenixWolf, sold on Furbuy with 187 bids on 2/14/15.

A few years ago, The Dealer’s Den looked like more or less a ghost town when I looked at its activity. Change of ownership to Vitai Slade brought healthy growth. It now roughly compares to the much longer established Furbuy, offering more options to the fandom. Both are free to use. At time of posting, both have around 350-500 active auctions and 1800 Twitter followers. The Dealer’s Den also has a Telegram group of 3,000 users advertising their goods, while Furbuy is doing in-person promotion with con panels and flyering. I’ve personally had good experiences with both.

A look at this auction and why it matters.

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February 17, 2015

$11,575 fursuit sale brings comments from Furbuy and seller PhoenixWolf.

by Patch O'Furr

(UPDATE: The buyer does an interview with Dogpatch Press!  Thoughts from the winner of the record-setting $11,575 fursuit auction.)

“Angel Dragon” set a new record for known fursuit auctions.kestrel

The $11,575 sale on Furbuy beat the recent record of $8,025 for Lavender Corgi, sold on 10/11/14.

At the time, Lavender Corgi’s buyer declined my request for comment, citing drama that could be seen on forums elsewhere.  (In requests, I mention: “When something sells for a lot of money, I consider it positive “patron of the arts” support for artists.”)

The “Angel Dragon” is by PhoenixWolf Fursuits, maker of the popular suit for Telephone. The contest of 187 bids ended on 2/14/15.   The auction didn’t go without drama even before it ended.  At one point, bids shot up to $14,000.  These were removed after a bidder commented:

 I guess I don’t have 14000 I only have 11,000 in my bank can and admin remove me from the angel dragon auction please I’m no interested anymore I really do want it but I don’t want to bid too much

Furbuy admin, Jurann, replied…

“…this is one of the straws that broke the camel’s back and caused us to implement the new bidding restriction measures today.”

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December 31, 2014

Responses to fursuit auction story confirm $17,500 top price.

by Patch O'Furr

January 2018 update: Here’s a note that record top auctions just rose from $11,575 to $13,500.

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Last week’s article about fursuits and top prices had very nice feedback.

Andreus wrote to mention that he owns Vex:

…a realistic MixedCandy-made werewolf fursuit that cost roughly $4,500 US / £2,600 GBP at the time of purchase. It’s got body-shaping padding such as digitigrade legs and large muscles for the proper muscular werewolf look. It’s also got a moving jaw.

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December 29, 2014

$3 million sale raises furry auction topic. Now that’s an expensive fursuit!

by Patch O'Furr

WWXX3eM

1D274907295233-today-cowardly-lion-141125-03.blocks_desktop_mediumWearing big rugs for animal role-playing takes a lot of devotion and money.annex-lahr-bert-wizard-of-oz-the_02Bert-Lahr

In the above Anthrocon 2014 photo, 1,326 fursuiters broke the world record “Largest parade of people in fur suits,” set at Anthrocon in 2013.

For each fursuit in the photo, allow a generous but in-the-ballpark worth of $2,320.51.  It makes the whole crowd worth exactly what someone paid for The Cowardly Lion costume from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, worn by Burt Lahr.  On 11/25/14, the original Cowardly Lion sold for $3,077,000.

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