What is a shop?

Upon entering the Requests forum, it's really easy to get overwhelmed. There's so many posts, so many eye-catching topic titles, and all sorts of fancy text and emojis dominating the screen. Don't worry; that's normal! I certainly was confused when I first came onto the Requests forum and saw “shops” everywhere. You may ask yourself, “what's a shop?” Don't worry, it's not as complicated as you'd think at first.

When you first think of the word “shop”, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Probably a store, or the mall, or some other place that requires money to buy different things from people. However, on Scratch, a “shop” has a totally different meaning.

On Scratch, a shop is simply a place where you can get what you want for your project made for you. Let's say you wanted a fancy flamingo in your project, but you don't know how to draw one. Simply go to an art shop, place an order, and boom! It'll be made for you. It's completely free, and quite a simple process.

Don't worry; a shop is not the only way to get stuff made for you on the Requests forum. You can always simply make a new topic and ask for something to be made for you instead of using a shop.

How do I order?

Almost every shop on Scratch has an “order form” of sorts. Here's an example of one, again using an art shop. I've filled in the blanks, as shown with the green text.

Username: WolfCat67
Description of art you want: I want a wolf running animation, please. It can have 5 frames for its animation.
Colour scheme: I want a mixture of grey, white, and some brown on it.
Text you want on your art: I don't want any text, thanks!
When you want it done: I want it done on June 11th, though any time works.
Other: Could you please notify me on my profile when it's done? Thanks!

It may seem strange that something like this would be there, but it really makes finishing your order a lot easier. To order from a shop, just copy and paste the order form, and add whatever you want after each section. Order forms are usually put in place so that your orders can be completed a lot easier by being shown in a more readable format, as well as easily being copied onto an “order list” of sorts.

What's an order list?

Now, keep in mind that not all shops have this; however, it's something you might come across. An order list is simply a list of all the orders the shop members (more on them soon) have to finish at the moment. It'll have all the information, and all shop members can check it periodically to see what they might be able to do. They are often shown in different colours based on whether they're still available for people to start work on, if they're being worked on and by who, or if they're completed. After ordering, you can also check this to see what's happening with your order, or if they forgot to put it on there in the first place!

What are “employees”?

These are people who have just been invited to the shop, or requested to join the shop and were accepted. These people are the ones that will finish your order for you! After you place the order, someone will (or should) come along and do it for you, and then leave it in a project, save a picture, maybe make it a sound file, or anything based on what you wanted, for you to pick up and put in your project or forum post. If you would like to join a shop, simply ask, or fill out a sign-up sheet (similar to an order form) that the creators of the shop might have made. Then, you too can help people out with what they want!

That's great! But how can I find the shop I want?

There's two different ways you can do this. First of all, you can just browse through the forum itself and look for a shop that would fit your needs. Alternatively, you can check out the Shop Directory 11.0, run by adsuri], to find a shop that makes what you want a lot easier.


Overall, shops are a great part of Scratch, that are helpful to have around whenever you're struggling to finish a project of yours or just need a banner for your signature. If you want it done, odds are you can find a shop to do it for you.

Happy shopping!

Guide made by WolfCat67. Banner by customhacker.

Needs glue me thinks.

jromagnoli wrote:

Needs glue me thinks.

Really? Wow, thanks!

Lemme get my superglue out…

Drunken_Sailor wrote:

Lemme get my superglue out…

Hehe, that glue thing is never going to stop, is it?

I've just edited the post to include an amazing banner by customhacker. I think it looks much better now!

I'm sticking this!

Reporting to be stickied!

78ch3 wrote:

I'm sticking this!

bigpuppy wrote:

Reporting to be stickied!

Thanks everyone!

Bump.

Just saw this, better get my glue!

Great guide!

Would it make sense to mention that asking a shop is not the only way to use the Requests section? It is okay to just make a new topic and describe what you are looking for and perhaps individual Scratchers will respond.

WolfCat67 wrote:

78ch3 wrote:

I'm sticking this!

bigpuppy wrote:

Reporting to be stickied!

Thanks everyone!

Your welcome. I like helping fellow scratchers.

Congrats on the sticky!

Paddle2See wrote:

Great guide!

Would it make sense to mention that asking a shop is not the only way to use the Requests section? It is okay to just make a new topic and describe what you are looking for and perhaps individual Scratchers will respond.

OK, I've made a little notice about that on the “What is a shop?” section of the guide.
Thanks!

Congrats on the sticky!

You might want to thank me for stickying this.

78ch3 wrote:

You might want to thank me for stickying this.

You weren't the only one, but still, thanks for requesting it.

I only just figured out about Code Shops and they are really good!

Need to stickify this
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Thanks a lot! That really helped!