Shop (forums)

A shop is a forum thread, usually in the Requests forum, where a Scratcher can get resources and media (like sprites, scripts, music, and more) on request. They can be very useful, for example, if one wanted to make a game with fish, but did not know how to draw them, they could find a shop that "sells" art. People may make shops to get out into the Scratch world, make new friends, or simply may want to offer their skill to others. However, shops in the context of Scratch tend not to require an exchange of money to receive the product.

Art Shops

Art shops are forums that "sell" sprites, logos, or other things related to art for other Scratchers to use. Sometimes shops will contain a specific type of art for others to use, such as animals or fantasy objects. Other times, Scratchers can request specific sprites, backdrops, signatures, and more. These can then be used in many ways such as advertising and in a user's project.

BBCode Shops

BBCode shops help users with more advanced BBCode features for post formatting, such as text color gradients, sometimes including '[scratchblocks]' This service is usually incorporated into a larger shop as a side-shop. BBCode services include custom colors on scratch blocks and other advanced techniques.

Review Shops

Review shops are forum topics which give feedback on certain projects and other pieces of work. Review shops will generally review any media type, but some specialize on projects or art. Review shops give feedback in various ways, such as forms or comments.

Sound/Music Shops

A sound shop (or music shop) is a forum topic that sells sounds, sound effects and music for other Scratchers to use. They may offer as well musical explanations, or musical reviews. Some of them specialise in a single type (or genre) of music, while others may offer several.

Voice Acting Shops

Main article: Voice Acting

A voice acting shop is a sound shop with voices, where Scratchers can request voice actors for a project or animation they might be making.

Script Shops

Main article: Custom Blocks

A script shop (sometimes called a coding shop) is a forum where you can request scripts to use in a project. These are useful when one does not know how to make a script work properly, such as when making a cloud list. One of the most common types of script shops is a custom block shop, where Scratchers create Custom Blocks for others to use. There are also other shops where you can request scripts from different coding languages.

Idea Shops

Main article: Idea Shop

An idea shop is a shop where Scratchers can get ideas for projects. Much of the time these are located in the Project Ideas forum instead of the Requests forum where most shops are located.

Writing Shops

Writing shops are generally fairly common, but are usually just a side-project of general shops. They can offer fiction and non-fiction writing pieces as well as inspirational poems and grammar checking.

General Shops

General shops, or multi-purpose shops, have a lot of order forms for many different products, such as art, music, scripts; or they might just have one general form for everything they provide. These are the most common type of shop in the forums and have generally been the most successful over time. However, some believe that more specialty shops should exist.

Shop Federations

Shop federations exist in which shops perform other activities in addition to selling their work to increase community interaction. Some shop federations also open out to collaborations and partner with other federations to expand. Shops can often join these federations by filling out a form. Activities include monthly shop reviews, giving banners and BBCode to shops.^[clarify]

Joint Shop Federations

These exist as shops which sell things as well as do federation work like giving perks to partners just as federations do. Some perks include giving monthly reviews to shops, helping out with BBCode, giving banners, etc. They also increase interaction in the community by organising events, competitions and other activities.

Shop Directories

Shop directories are usually used by Scratchers looking for a place to order from. They are usually sorted out for ease of use and allow for advertising for smaller and larger shops. This way, Scratchers looking to order from a shop can scroll through the directory and find one that looks right for them. The current shop directory is the Shop Emporium (also known as The Shopping Directory 20), run by Scratcher 78ch3.

Ordering From Scratch Shops

Shops on Scratch often provide an order form to fill out, however, if a user is having trouble finding or using the form, they can politely ask for assistance from the shop owner or staff. Order forms can vary based on the product.

An example empty order form.

Making Good Requests

A good request should be filled in with lots of detail so the customer can get exactly what they want. Being polite while ordering is important as employees are likely to try harder. ^{[citation needed]}

• Remember timezones when setting a time limit. It is also helpful to consider whether you would be able to do it in that amount of time or not.
• Do not ask for anything too complicated.
• Look for a good-quality shop! While larger shops are very trustworthy and reliable, many find that orders at them can get drowned down. While they do provide more examples, which can be useful, smaller shops usually have more dedicated members who want to advance their shop. It is recommended to look at the newest Shop Directory if you want to find a good shop.
• Be specific. You can only blame yourself if you receive a white sheep when you actually wanted a black sheep, but didn’t specify it in the order form.
• Ordering at multiple shops is a good idea; however, be sure to let them know in the order form so they are not disappointed if you don’t use it.
• Be polite. They are doing a service. Many know from experience that a simple ‘please’ can make one much more happy to complete an order.

An example completed order form.

Shop members

A lot of shops ask for people to join their shops, to help them out. They are sometimes known as employees or workers, and they work for and help out the shops by completing orders. Some shops entice their members with followers or using points, but this is not practiced by all shops.

Partnering with Shops

Some shops offer an option to allow other shop to partner with them via filling a form. By partnering both shops give each other benefits like allowing to exchange orders, advertising each other, etc.