Putting a painted mini on eBay

[penguin]

Well, I have been thinking on this for a while.
I am not at this stage seriously considering putting a mini on eBay (nor have I painted for comission), but I was wondering what you guys thought about it: pros, cons, best way to do it etc. I know the hourly wage would be poor, but it would be kinda cool to get 50 quid by selling my ogre. I have no idea what price to expect, or anything like that.

Help and advice appreciated!

~Bill

 

[schoon]

I mostly sell non-miniture items on eBay, though I have sold a painted figure or two, and here\'s my very short primer:

1. Until you have a solid reputation as a painter, your figures will sell for less than you think they\'re worth
2. Building said reputation is a long process, so don\'t expect to make a mint on your first sale
3. Make sure you have professional auction descriptions, either by writing the code yourself or by using a commercial/shareware auction creator
4. Make sure your photography skills are up to snuff - no one will buy if the picture is blurry or you can\'t see detail
5. Promote your auctions on sites that allow such things - make sure to check before posting

Good luck.

 

[penguin]

Thanks for that advice Schoon I think if I did decide to sell a mini, I would feature it here. Good value

 

[james9487]

I have sold a few on ebay. Ebay is a great way to get commissions if you are interested in that. Create an \'about me\' page with sample pictures, prices and all that stuff. The thing about selling minis on ebay, in my experience, is that there is just a lot of luck. For example, the first balrog I painted sold for $132.50 so I bought another and painted it much better IMO and it only sold for $80. It matters a lot on how many people want your particular mini that week. Another example is Matt Verzani. His most expensive one was a chaos knight on a horse and it sold for nearly a thousand dollars whereas his usual greatly vary between $75 and a few hundred. I think in the long run, a lot sell for less than you expect and you get some really great surprises and it evens out in the end.

 

[vincegamer]

I\'ve only sold a couple painted minis. They weren\'t GW mini-of-the-week either. They were little-known brands.
IIRC I got betwen $12-18.
Don\'t expect 50 quid.
I looked at your latest, and it\'s nice and all but you will do better with better pics. At least put a color-fade background rather than your back yard.
It is GW so it would probably do better than mine did just because you\'ve got a pre-made market, but it will hurt if you are proud.

Basically, if you don\'t really have use for it and have got your fun out of it, sell it. Expect to get less than you want, but if you do it a lot, you will get more and more.

Oh, and if you really want to get top dollar, win a Golden Demon first

 

[penguin]

Originally posted by vincegamer
Don\'t expect 50 quid.

Don\'t worry, I won\'t
I looked at your latest, and it\'s nice and all but you will do better with better pics. At least put a color-fade background rather than your back yard.
Yep, the photos suck, I was using a friend\'s camera and I don\'t know how to use photoshop
Basically, if you don\'t really have use for it and have got your fun out of it, sell it. Expect to get less than you want, but if you do it a lot, you will get more and more.

Oh, and if you really want to get top dollar, win a Golden Demon first
lollolI\'ll try my bestlollol

Thanks for the advice

 

[krom1415]

Yup, thats good advice from all before. I have had some good sales of my stuff on ebay. But dont count on it.

Do your homework and look at whats selling first, ogres generally dont go for much, unless your called Margo She painted some great ones.

Its fun though! good luck.

 

[penguin]

I\'ll wait \'til after GD for selling anything, because if I make first cut I can call myself \"double first cut Youngblood Golden Demon entrant Bill Jobling\" lol I bet that would help

 

[vincegamer]

I actually got way more money for a box of bitz than I did for a painted mini. The bitz were mainly broken 1970s lead.
Turns out the buyer recognized the first mini she had ever owned and REALLY wanted to get it.
It was a matter of chance basically. Lucky timing is big in Ebay.
Mostly I sell games. I saw a copy of a game I had not yet listed go for around $75 when usually they had been selling around $21. I had to ask the winner why. He said he wanted it for nostalgia, was new to ebay, and didn\'t realize others would come up eventually.
timing - I missed that bannanna boat.

 

[penguin]

Mmmm... interesting... thanks for that advice. So overall would it be worth putting my ogre (or maybe one of my other minis) on eBay? I suppose there is no way of estimating the bids I would get... difficult. I doubt anyone would be interested in buying him, because he\'s a blue ogre. Yeah, I\'ll wait.

Thanks for all your advice guys

~Bill

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I\'m just starting to take the Ebay plunge myself. I just want to fund my hobbie. Selling them painted,is it reasonable to expect to at least break even on the cost of the mini?

 

[Yaki]

Ive been selling models on Ebay on and off for years. I think if its atleast a decent paint job, you will get your money back. I have painted models and gotten as much as 6 times my money back. I think reputation has a lot to do with how well your model sells. Ive seen some orion models sell for over $300 and then I put one on with a comparable paint job and get $70 bucks. Go figure.

I find dragons sell very well, and I get most return for my work with them.