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How I order pet??
There are several common ways that shops make pets available.
Flatsales
In a flatsale, several pets are offered for a set (flat) price. The price will usually be specified on the front page of the shop. The payment may be sent to the shop mule or to the person who colored the pets. Read the front page and/or pay attention to the person holding the sale to find out what account you send the gold to.
There are a couple of common types of flatsales:
Speed flatsale: In this type of flatsale, the first person to post for the specific pet they are trying for will get the pet and pay for it. The person or shop holding the flatsale may require the people who are trying to post in a specific way; read the rules and pay attention to the thread to find out if this is the case.
DO NOT EDIT YOUR POST IN A SPEED SALE. This is considered cheating, and may get you disqualified from the sale or banned from the shop.
Flaffle: A flaffle is a raffle-style flatsale. In this type of flatsale, anyone who wants the pet offered must post within a certain timeframe to get a ticket. The tickets will then be randomly drawn to determine who will get the pet and pay for it. In a flaffle, you do not have to pay unless you are drawn to get a pet.
In one type of flaffle, you may enter for a specific pet in the flaffle, and your name will be put into the list for only the pet you specify.
In another type, you may enter for a ticket for the flaffle in general. In this type of flaffle, there will be as many tickets drawn as there are pets; the first person drawn gets the first pick of the pets in the sale, the second gets second pick, and so on down the line, until the last person gets whatever is left.
RP flatsale: This type of flatsale is a contest. An RP prompt (a set roleplay situation to which all the people trying to win will respond) will be posted, and a set time given. The people running the flatsale will read over all the roleplay entries posted within that time, and the pets will be sold to the people who the judges feel have posted the best responses to the prompt.
RP flatsales are usually held by shops in which a lot of roleplay is expected and/or required.
Raffles
In a raffle, you will buy tickets to get a chance to win a pet. You pay for as many tickets as you want and can afford; your name will be put into a list as many times as you have paid for, and at the end of the time set for the raffle, the person running the raffle will randomize a winner. The winner doesn't have to pay anything else.
Ticket prices are different for different threads and different events. Check the thread to see how much the tickets cost and what account you should send your trade to.
In a raffle, you are not guaranteed to win, unless you're the only person in the raffle. What you're paying for is the chance to get the pet.
If you enter a raffle, be sure to check back when it ends - if you take too long to pick up your pet, it may end up going to someone else who is there and paying attention.
Auctions
In an auction, you can bid as much gold as you're willing to pay for the pet that's being offered. The person who's willing to pay the most will get the pet when the auction is over.
The SB, or starting bid, is the lowest price that can be bid to start the auction.
There may be a price increment set in an auction. If the price increment is 100 g, you need to bid 100 g more than the last bidder to have your bid counted, and so on.
The AB, or autobuy, is like the "Buy It Now" option on eBay; if you autobuy an auction or bid gold and/or items that add up to the autobuy price, you have bought the pet. Not all auctions have autobuys. Check the thread to see if this option is available.
You may or may not be able to bid items in an auction. Bidding with gold only is called bidding in pure gold, or bidding in "pure." Most auctions allow you to bid monthly collectibles, and some auctions allow you to bid evolving items or specific valuable items. Check the thread to see what's allowed, and at what value. Many threads use
Tektek to set the accepted value for items used in an auction.
Don't bid what you don't have. You'll be expected to pay as soon as the auction is over, so bid only what you can pay.
Retracting bids is also usually not allowed. Be sure you want to bid what you bid! If you change your mind later, you may not be allowed to take it back.
Don't talk about how much gold you have to bid with, whine at other bidders, or otherwise try to intimidate someone out of bidding or make them feel guilty about it. It's rude, and most shops don't like it and/or don't allow it.
Some auctions may have "snipe guard" rules. These rules are designed to keep someone from waiting until the very last second, then bidding and snatching a pet away from someone who may have been willing to pay more to get it. One type of snipe guard is that you may have to bid before a certain period of time to be allowed to bid in the final part of the auction, so that people are aware that you're interested.
Another type of snipe guard is a little more complicated. If you see a rule that says "Snipe guard: x minutes," x minutes is the time that must pass without a new bid before the auction is over. If someone bids right before the end of the auction, the auction time will be extended by x minutes, to give other people a chance to put in another bid. If someone else bids during this time period, the auction will then be extended by another x minutes. This will continue until someone's bid has stood unchallenged for x minutes. At that point, the auction is over and the final bidder wins.
Events
An event is a special chance to get a pet or pets from a particular shop. There are many types of events. Some events are based on roleplay, some on random numbers, some on trivia, some on other things, some on all of the above. Events may have a holiday theme or other theme, or may be random. Events often have flatsales, raffles, and auctions, and may also have chances to win or be given free pets.
Some events may be run by owners, if they have babies from a pet breeding to give out. Owner-run events are usually free for the winner/winners.
To find out what you should do to get a pet or pets from an event, READ THE EVENT RULES. Events vary widely, but each one will tell you what to do to get a pet.
Customs
Customs allow you to get a pet according to your personal specifications. When you get a custom pet, you tell the colorist what you want the pet to look like, and the colorist will make the pet the way you want it. Custom pets often cost a lot more than flatsale pets; this is because the colorist is making the pet according to what you want, rather than coloring a random pet however they want.
A shop will usually announce in advance when custom slots will be opened. To find out how to get a custom, read the custom rules for the shop.
Semi-customs: A semi-custom pet is one in which you get to specify something about the pet, usually a few colors, and then the colorist makes up the rest. Semi-customs are usually cheaper than full customs.
Full customs: You tell the colorist exactly what you want the pet to look like, and the colorist will make the pet to your design.
Edited customs: Most shops have a specific set of lines that the colorists color. With an edited custom, you can get something special added to the usual lines, such as special or unique hair, jewelry, or clothing.
Cosplay customs: Many shops will allow you to get a pet edited and colored to look like one of your favorite characters, as long as that character isn't already owned as a pet by someone else. Please check the rules in the specific thread to find out if they allow cosplays, and if so, how you can get them.
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Customs: Good Idea ... Bad Idea
If you tell a colorist to make you a random pet, don't complain about what you get. A random custom is just that - random. The colorist will decide what you get. If you have something specific in mind, PLEASE say so!
If you're giving the colorist reference pictures, DON'T just give the colorist pictures you think are cool, cute, awesome, or whatever. The colorist needs to see what the different parts of the picture look like. Look for pictures that show ALL of the outfit, or give several pictures that show the different parts of the outfit. Find pictures that show anything you really want to see on the pet, like detailed markings or patterns. Find pictures that show the colors you want to see on the pet.
If no slots are marked "open," there are no slots open.
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How do I find out what time the sale/raffle/auction is in my time zone?
Since most shops are owned and run by Americans, the time zones you'll most commonly be dealing with are Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), and Pacific Standard Time (PST). To convert times, you'll need to add or subtract hours. Each time zone is an hour apart; EST is the latest, and PST is the earliest.
EST time = CST time +1 hour = MST time +2 hours = PST time +3 hours
CST time = EST time -1 hour = MST time +1 hour = PST time +2 hours
MST time = CST time -1 hour = EST time -2 hours = PST time +1 hour
PST time = MST time -1 hour = CST time -2 hours = EST time -3 hours
If you're in a time zone other than the North American time zones, you can use the
World Clock Time Converter page to find out what time you need.
