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NEOPIAN MARKETPLACE - Galleries, this should say it all. That one word will
evoke feelings of either tremendous excitement or tremendous annoyance. Either
way, very few Neopians are unaffected by galleries.
What is a gallery? A gallery is when a Neopian becomes obsessive over a particular
item offered in Neopia. A ‘collector’ aka ‘seriously addicted Neopian’ will
go to great expense to purchase these treasured items. This Neopian will then
place the items in their shops at unbuyable prices, which is anything over 100,000
Neopoints, thus creating a gallery.
What kind of items can be used for a gallery? It can be anything in the world
of Neopia that you would like. If you can put it in your shop, then you have
the makings of a gallery. It’s one of the simplest Neopian pleasures you can
experience.
Why do Neopians have galleries? On the surface, it looks like many Neopians
love the challenge of finding new things. They also love the thrill when they
place their new found treasure into their shop and price it at that obscene
unbuyable price. Then of course, there is the feeling of victory when you have
completed your gallery and there is nothing left to buy. These are all good
reasons to have a gallery.
However, there is another hidden reason we have galleries. It is because of
our never ending quest to frustrate ourselves to no end trying to collect something
in order to feed our obsession with said Neopian item.
This would bring us to the one factor that both gallery owners and non gallery
owners share. The incredible frustration felt when they can not buy an item
for a reasonable price. It’s called the cycle of gallery life. Here is how this
works.
Desired items are marked unbuyable. A non gallery owner can not buy the item
they need. However, another gallery owner is also unable to buy the item needed
to place in their own gallery. Some would call this ironic. Some would call
this justice. This author just calls it funny.
There's nothing a gallery owner enjoys more than a bit of humor. Trust this;
they would have to have some humor to own a gallery. Humor can also help in
those situations that all gallery owners face, dealing with the ‘informative’
‘rare breed’ of Neopian. In a nutshell, this breed of Neopian will Neomail gallery
owners to inform them that the gallery of items is over priced and no one will
buy from their shop at prices that high. Primarily, as gallery owners, they
may tend to wonder at what time the ‘point’ of the gallery was missed. However
in the spirit of answering the most typical comment made to a gallery owner,
you just put on yer pirate face matey and tell dem land luvin’ ‘rare breed’
that yer treasure is kept safe from them scurvy dawgs that roam the shops.
So with all this information about galleries, would this mean that galleries
are a good thing to have or a bad thing to have? It all depends on your view
point. For instance, the addition of the Gallery Spotlight could have come because
so many Neopians love galleries. Then again, the Gallery Spotlight could be
the reason for so many gallery owners. It’s kind of like asking the question,
‘Which came first? The Draik or the egg?’
From the poll taken and the increase in galleries, it would seem that the majority
of the Neopian population supports and encourages the keeping of galleries.
“I think galleries are neat because people get to show off all of the things
they worked hard for and it's neat to see all the different kind of galleries
there are. I'm glad Neopets acknowledged that by making gallery spotlights.”
- windywings2001
“If you're going to make a gallery, make it ORIGINAL. Put in some real
EFFORT. Galleries can be awesome . . . but you have to put some time into it,
or it'll just look dumb.” - guardian_spectres
“I'm certain some people argue that galleries are just a way to show how
wealthy a player is, but I see some galleries as ways of showing how passionate
you are about something. They can be a great insight into the type of person
the owner is.” – beaujewel
“If you want a gallery, you need to be devoted!” - wonder_angelic
"Galleries, from what I've heard, are fun things to have (though we all
know how expensive they can get) and maintain…” -- penguinlover258
"Galleries are an excellent way to show others what you're interested in."
- lacking_logic
“Galleries are a great part of Neopian culture. They provide a new goal
to achieve... the quest for the complete collection. It is so much fun to do,
and to help others with.” - miafaery
Then you have the opposite view where many Neopians feel the frustration from
the cycle of gallery life. Even though the number of Neopians anti galleries
are in the minority, they do bring up some very good points.
“Galleries are things that players will spend thousands of Neopoints on
then have the items sit and rot in their shops. But, some are quite interesting
to look at.” - falling
“I think galleries are wrong because if you really need something that
is only sold in galleries then you won’t be able to get it.” - flower_power2003289
“What I feel about galleries is that they were nice when only a few people
had them but now everyone has them! It is getting quite annoying, especially
if you need to buy something but you can’t because no one is selling it!” -
lil_princess_0404
“I think galleries are made by people who have too much time on their hands
and lots of extra Neopoints.” - lexie117
“Galleries? They bug me. They are only used for showing off. I hate 'em.”
- kochira_koso
“Personally, I think making a gallery is a waste of money.” - bill13125
“I feel that galleries are for the richer, bored-type of Neopians. It gives
them something to do, a hobby to occupy their time, because they've reached
a point where collecting NP isn't as important to them as other things.” -
demon_in_paradise
Now you have a bit of insight into what being a gallery owner is like. It can
be both fun and frustrating. Yet in the end, it can be extremely satisfying.
So that brings us to the question, ‘To gallery or not to gallery?’ That is the
choice each Neopian must make.
Author’s Note: This article is written with humor for a bit of fun. I am
a gallery owner myself and enjoy the challenges it brings. Who am I kidding?
I eat, sleep and breathe petpets & petpetpets. I hope you enjoyed my article.
Please feel free to offer comments.
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