Hello Alex and Rarible Peeps
After reading through the comments it appears as though most folks are okay and/or are in agreement with a 5% seller/buyer fee, with the exception of a few of course.
Not only do I think 5% is fair, I feel it may be a little too fair for what you are trying to accomplish, especially when you take into consideration future growth and/or extra features that you and the team may want to add in the future to remain competitive.
Compared to other digital art platforms on the blockchain, platform fees range anywhere from 2%-40%.
For example: Platforms such as SuperRare (SR), KnownOrigin (KO), MakersPlace (MP), and PixEOS all have a 15% platform fee for primary sales.
Mintbase takes the cake with a 2% platform fee (only for items sold), however, additional work/fees are required on the artist/seller part, especially when having to create their own store front.
As self-explanatory as they may make it, it could still be difficult for those that are not as technically savvy and/or for those who do not have the time to manage or maintain their store.
Mintbase also has additional features that other platforms do not offer at the moment and they seem to have a fairly small team, however, they were able to do some fundraising in the beginning and they were also able to secure grants from the metacartel (same for KO), as well as a few other partnerships in Japan and Korea.
While they may only chagre 2% for items sold, there could also be hidden fees when selling their artwork through their store via OpenSea. (2.5% for OpenSea+2% Mintbase)
*sidenote: the same applies for the other art platforms for any art sold through OpenSea
BlockchainArtExchange (BAE) was a little difficult to read but from what I understand they range up to 20% in fees, 10% for the BAE platform and 10% for the DOA pot, with the exception of other fees through 3rd party sales.
ASYNC seems to be right on par with what I am suggesting at a 10% platform fee but it’s also worth noting that each artwork on their platform comes with a masters and additional layers and each bring a 10% platform fee, so this also helps their model.
R.A.R.E Art Labs was the most comical of them all, especially when visiting their team page. They have a 40% platform fee. They preach “Artist Deserve More” but I think they consider themselves the artist, which explains the high platform fees and the reason all the faces of the team are literally covered in money. MONEY, POWER, FREEDOM. (Ha!)
I know there are a couple of other platforms that I may have missed so I apologize in advance if I missed yours.
With that being said, to know that Rarible has been self-funded thus far and given the features and convenience it already offers, it is simply amazing and an awesome accomplishment. Congratulations to you and your team!
If you all were able to accomplish this with 0% fees I can only imagine what you all will do with 5% fees, but even still compared to other platforms features and fees, I propose Rarible takes a 10% fee with an option to only lower as things progress.
In the grand scheme of things we are still very early in the crypto art space and it’s a fairly small pool size of artist and collectors that are in the market so 5% just might not cut it if it takes a while for the community and crypto art space to grow.
Perhaps 5% fees work for what you have in mind, but in my opinion it would also be a good idea to leave room for future developments and grant funding for features you have not considered, such as @ROBNESS “Rari-View button” feature.
It might not be a bad idea to cherry-pick some of the features of platforms offer that fall into what you are trying to build. As I am sure you know, all this takes time and funds so it would be unfortunate to undercharge fees while the rest of these platforms are accepting higher fees, grants, and/or partnerships that allow them promote, market, advertise, and add features that drive more artist & collectors to their platforms.
I feel at 10% makes more sense compared to what’s being offered by other platforms, especially during these early days. I feel it will allow for Rarible to not only add/maintain extra features, but it also allows them to remain competitive with the other platforms.
As things start to come together and the market grows, then perhaps a 5% or even lower percentage of fees makes sense, but for now I say 10%.
You may have a better idea of what’s possible with the 5% fees so if you feel that 5% is more than enough for what you are trying to accomplish, I am in full support but I feel as though you may be selling yourselves a little too short. The convenience the platform offers alone is worth charging a 1-5 percent, so to know that you all may be adding extra features is simply amazing.
Again, congratulations to you and your team for you what you all have accomplished so far. I cannot wait to see what you and the team add to the platform. Much love!
