It may appear that way right now. Some Masters are taking their great WindowBlind older skins and updating them to work with win 7 and win 8. The time to update takes much less than the time to make one from the start so you are seeing them quicker at this time. Doesn't take away the fact that each WB has taken weeks and hours to make. Master Skinner have taken years to earn the title they have and deserve. 

So you have heard the skins are like music. Not even close. When a song goes to iTunes or the other places for 99 cents the artist has already made Millions. A Master making and selling WindowBlind skins will be lucky if they make a couple hundred dollars.

If when on WC you go to the top. Explore and go through a few pages you will find many quality free skins. You stated you can't find anything useful. I take that as you can't find any WindowBlind skins you actually like. Not sure if that is you just looking at the screen shots or actually downloading and trying a skin. Screen shots only show a small part of the OS changes. Trying one will show all the customization through out the OS. Based on you not being able to find anything you find useful. I don't believe it would matter if a skin was sold for .99 or what they sell for now.

It's only this year that the percentage for the skinner has been bumped to 70%/30% in favour of the skinner... over previous years it has been 50/50... link..   you also deduct from that the 20% members discount it adds up to many hours labour for a very meager amount, depending on how much time the Master puts into the design of his skin.  Apart from the thoroughness of a Masterskin with all areas being skinned, you also need to take into account the superior graphic skills in creating each aspect of the design... some also being done in 3D now as well which is a further skill that takes time to learn and perfect.

Until recently, Masterskins have been required to be for XP, Vista & 7 as the different Windows versions grew... this vastly increased the amount of time spent and made them very laborious.... fortunately, Windows 7 then became the standard and now 7/8.

The new, more favourable % incentive has happily boosted the number of these superior skins on offer... and it increases choice for people.

It should also be noted that just recently, there are more than usual in the gallery due to older classics being updated for 7/8... and that's great news for people who have previously purchased these skins so they can continue enjoying them and get greater value from their purchase.... and great news for newcomers who may have missed out on these skins, to have the chance to add some classic skins to their Windows wardrobe.  Thanks to all the Masters who take the time to update their blinds.

I'm thinking if you sat over the shoulder of say, vStyler, and watched just what went into one of these Masterskins, you would be pretty embarrassed by that statement...  

You're kidding, right?  There should be more Master skins.  Do you want quality or cheap crap?

Quoting neone6,

reply 7

Masterskins cost WAY too little is my opinion. The work put into them is Humongous !!

Sure you have to skin a lot of parts and have to make a concept for the skin but it is not that much work compared to making a app that can be bought for a lower amount of cash.
Just compare the price to some prices for android games, these also have design elements to it, just take a look at those prices some are very well below 5 USD and they also have to code the whole thing.
While i do pay the price for a skin that i want , like many pay for an iPhone simply because they want to have it even though the shit is overpriced.
I have to agree with Pixelpunk that lowering the price tag may result in better sales, just like the fellow guy ( do not know his name ) did, who sold the clock gadget,  that many here bought as you can see in the monthly screenshot section.
Guess it is up to the skinner to decide what is best for them. 

Well, cheap crap is not accurate.  Blinds other than Masterskins are uploaded by members of the site who are hobbyists... everyone starts somewhere... they are offered/shared generously for people to use and in return they gain feedback and critiques to help them improve... some will end up as Masters... most won't... but it's not a competition or a money grab... the site is essentially for millions of customising enthusiasts, a percentage who will skin, not just download, who enjoy sharing their skinning... and some elite skinners who get to be rewarded for putting above average time/effort/graphic skill/design flair up for us to purchase if we wish.

Just compare how many people have android phones and tablets compared to how many people have Windowblinds... 

LightStar you don’t need to be disgust by my comment even though you make a living of it,  I bought your latest skin.
Im just saying that there is apps out there that have way more work included than a windowblinds skin that’s the reality and some do not get seen by millions there is only a chance that  they will be a hit on the market.
My personal feeling is that many don’t buy skins because they offer only little for the money while there is enough free skins out there that does the same.
As you and others said that they put a lot of effort into it , I know how long it takes to make skin, it’s not like I never have done any.
But keep in mind that many here even Master skinners provide the same quality for free over and over or have been doing so over the past so I can agree with the point of Pixel there. You can hate me for it I don´t mind.
I simply said that it is up to the skinner to decide if they are willing to lower the price,  I wasn’t forcing anyone I just think it would be worth a test to see if  you can could actually make more profit that way and reach a wider audience.
That’s all…

Unfortunately benmanns, no matter what price a Master Skinner charges, people flat out just don't like to have to pay for anything. So lowering the price would not do anything at all, except making it not worth making any skins in the first place. Why do you think there are so very little quality Master Skinner's left on the site? It is because the return on the amount of work required to make a Master Skin is extremely low. I also sell my skins on my own site, and I am lucky if I can make $20 a month there. The only active Master Skinner's left doing quality work here on WC are (IMO) myself, vStyler, adni18, and basj. I sure do miss Xiandi's and Vampothika's work too and I wish they would come back, and someone who should be a definite Master Skinner and isn't is neone6! Why he isn't a Master Skinner I have no idea.

I really do appreciate your purchasing my work though, every little bit helps. Thanks.

In case no one noticed, the OP hasn't been back, and probably won't be. Just sayin.

I have no problem paying for a Master skin - current price or even twice the price.   I appreciate the hard work it takes to make a quality skin and I have zero problem paying a person for hard work.  

I haven't bought a Master skin in a long time.  Not one skin I purchased is on my hard drive anymore, some never get past the first hour.  I'm fussy.  I know it.  I just wish there was a way to take a 5 or 10 minute run with a skin before purchasing it.  The screen shots don't always offer an accurate perspective on menus, highlighting, transparency, etc.   I'd happily pay more for a skin that I know I am going to keep and use without a lot of modfiying.   Paying for something that gets quickly deleted and not used isn't satisfying.  

Hope that doesn't take this topic off on a tangent.  Like others above, I am certianily not looking to argue.  I'm happy to find a way for the Master skinners to be better compensated for their work, but as a customer I want to feel satisfied with the value too.

Goodness folks.  Relax.