PRO Painted eBay auctions

[Dekulus]

Is it me or are a lot of "PRO" painted miniatures not "PRO". They look terrible !

I'm not "PRO" but I'm sure my minis are better from 18 years ago.

[freakinacage]

Yeah it's often the way

[TrystanGST]

Pro is a keyword, nothing more.

[hajmoid]

yeh it's gay and just as bad as the 'OOP' title for a mini still available :P

[TheMiniatureWorkshop]

I put pro painted in most of my auctions but this is because I am a professinal model painter, painting is my sole source of income so therefore I would class my work as pro painted. I use the pro painted keywords to show people that I am a reliable seller who does this professionally and that they can trust the work I send them will be the same as the pictures.

Just because someone is a pro does not mean they are good at what they do, there are many professional sports people who vary in skill.

I do agree that a lot of the models on ebay are of a low quality but I don't think the Pro Painted keywords are the problem, if someone was putting display standard or golden daemon standard then that would be different.

[TrystanGST]

While you're technically correct, insofar as anyone that does it for money can be considered a professional and therefore entitled to call their work Pro Painted, when viewing auctions people tend to see that and expect a certain level of work. With no defining criteria for what's "Pro Painted", you're going to end up with a very useless description.

[TheMiniatureWorkshop]

I'm not sure that everyone who sells a few models could be classed as professional, I mean people sell stuff on ebay all the time some for profit some just to make a little extra cash, I wouldn't call these people professional sellers.
I agree that people see pro painted and expect a higher standard of work but surely that is a misunderstanding on their part and is not neccessarily the sellers fault.
I'm not trying to defend everyone who uses "pro painted" I just think that its not a clear cut as some people think.
In all my auctions I make sure I have multiple images of the item that is for sale this way people bidding can be under no illusion as to the standard of the painting they will receive. I think the problem comes when someone uses the pro painted keywords and doesn't provide many images or the ones they do are badly lit, this way people are unsure of the quality and may be influenced by the "pro painted" wording.

[MightyChad]

People try to make the "PRO" tag into a measure of quality, but as TheMiniatureWorkshop says, it really means doing it as a primary source of income. Turning out a tabletop army in 2 weeks, every 2 weeks, is also Pro-painting. But does not mean it is display/competition quality.

[TrystanGST]

People try to make the "PRO" tag into a measure of quality, but as TheMiniatureWorkshop says, it really means doing it as a primary source of income. Turning out a tabletop army in 2 weeks, every 2 weeks, is also Pro-painting. But does not mean it is display/competition quality.

That may well be, but there is nothing out there telling the eBay browsers that. It's open to interpretation, and that's probably what's causing the confusion. That and underhanded eBay sellers.

[PegaZus]

So if "pro painted" is cliche, and leads to large quantities of non-professional paint jobs (quality wise in this contex), is it then a useless keyword? I'd be interested to see the search results for "pro painted" vs just "painted". The debugger in me says that it's not the "pro" that is pulling in the views.

[MightyChad]

That may well be, but there is nothing out there telling the eBay browsers that. It's open to interpretation, and that's probably what's causing the confusion. That and underhanded eBay sellers.

I agree, it's a shame really. Usually the photos speak for themselves.

So if "pro painted" is cliche, and leads to large quantities of non-professional paint jobs (quality wise in this contex), is it then a useless keyword? I'd be interested to see the search results for "pro painted" vs just "painted". The debugger in me says that it's not the "pro" that is pulling in the views.

I think I would just put painted, then let the photo do the talking.

[nels0nmac]

Ebay has a search filter ( also an option when you list the item) that states whether or not the mini is painted. It makes no distinction as to how good it is actually painted. TBH the word 'pro' in listings is vague ( as TrystanGST has pointed out) but I feel that on the whole it is used by people to attract attention to their listing - and probably to associate their listing with minis that have been painted to a high standard.

I wouldn't necessarily call that underhanded - it's just using the system to attract attention and maybe realise a higher final value by having potentially more people look at the listing. It's only natural to want to get the most money from what you sell. The photos are normally a very good indication of how well the mini is actually painted.

Personally I don't use the 'pro' tag on my listings - I find that adding 'painted' to the title and ticking the listings box for painted attracts enough attention.

[Dragonsreach]

Ebay Pro-Painted Thread (Version 27).

Use the search Facility, Read then Dismiss.

[RuneBrush]

It's a marketing buzz word, the same as "OOP" or "rare". It also winds me up when people go "I'm a professional" - actually no. I could set myself up decorating tomorrow but that doesn't mean that I'm a professional decorator. Like a lot of titles it's actually one that should be given by customers - if they're happy with a service and the quality of product and you get that consistently then fair play, you can class yourself as a professional.

Ebay Pro-Painted Thread (Version 27).

Use the search Facility, Read then Dismiss.

Does seem to be a recurring topic - along with GW prices

[kathrynloch]

I've seen a lot of auctions dropping the "pro-painted" tag and moving toward "well painted" and that's the one I use as well.

[Dragonsreach]

Does seem to be a recurring topic - along with GW prices

Touché.

[freakinacage]

And to be fair, the discussion seems better this time...

[uberdark]

Why don't we see what happens when someone brings up a teacher using their tenders to paint butterflies on paper and the ethics therein? lol.....I remember that one.

[Wicksy]

While you're technically correct, insofar as anyone that does it for money can be considered a professional and therefore entitled to call their work Pro Painted, when viewing auctions people tend to see that and expect a certain level of work. With no defining criteria for what's "Pro Painted", you're going to end up with a very useless description.

and also by that definition, anyone with a job is a professional.......be it bin man, teacher, doctor or soldier. I tend to class professionals as those who can legally sign off passports etc...

[Patyrn]

I've never seen a "pro" or "well" painted mini on ebay which I would define as even passable.