Advice on starting selling miniatures?

[VagueMonkey]

Hey guys, I've been in the hobby for about 3 years and I figure that I may as well try and make some money out of it as well as have a great time. To that end, I was thinking of starting to sell minis rather than just keeping them on a shelf somewhere. I need advice on where to start, what sort of prices I should be asking for, etc. I've posted a photo of one of my minis to give some indication of my current level of ability. Although slightly out of date by now, it is still a fairly accurate measure.

Many thanks,
Vague

 

[Yuggoth]

Hello Vague and welcome to the forums!

I`m in no way a professional painter or seller, but I have done some banners on commission and sold some stuff on e-bay.
So here are my 2ct:

1. Present your minis as professional as you can. Photographing on scenery like you have done is a good idea (it sure beats mommas kitchen table, something often seen on e-bay) but most of the top painters go for a neutral backround (like gradient paper used in a lightbox, pimped up in photoshop)

2. Don`t expect to make big money. Calculate how long it took you to paint the model. Even If you go for a low price/h ratio you will find that you could most likely make more money by lawn mowing, not to speak of more qualified jobs (I spoke to a top painter in germany recently. He was able to sell for Prices of over 1000 each. That sounds like an awful lot of money. But considering that his top pieces took 60h+ to finish puts things into perspective.) simply because most people will not be willing to pay that prices.

3. Try to get local contacts (ask your local gaming store if they allow you to advertise or even sell your pieces on commission). Often people who don`t know sites like this or are uneasy to use ebay will be more impressed by your skills and you will be able to paint "on demand" (thats how I got my banner commissions ;-D)

4. Considering your standard, I would advice to sell in small units. A big unit or even a whole army painted to a high standard almost never gets the price it deserves (at lea<st on ebay).

5. i don`t know how much you could ask for. I would try to sell a single piece on ebay as a "test ballon" Make sure you have good photos, a propper description and a 10 days runtime. This might give you a good first impression what people might be willing to pay for your stuff.

 

[locutus]

hi VagueMonkey,

i've been trying to do the same thing.

What has been a great help for me is to look at all the closed actions that are grade wise near the project/model i want to sell.

You then get a good idea what prise you could ask for it on ebay.

Good luck!!

 

[nels0nmac]

Best advice for Ebay is get a really good picture first. The better the pic the more people can see what they are actually looking at. If the image is blurred or unclear then it will put people off as they cannot be entirely sure what they are buying.

A ten day auction is best. Start on a Thurs night so that it finishes on the following Sunday evening. That way you get 2 weekends worth of people viewing whats on offer, and as most people are in on Sunday night (they have work the next day) you are more likely to find people hovering over the end of your auction.

Post your pics here on CMON and pay the credits to highlight your auction. It does wonders when you advertise to the people who actually like what you are selling.

Be prepared to sell overseas.... the more people you allow in on the auction the better chance of getting higher bids. There is a higher risk of something going awry in the post or being stiffed by an overseas buyer, but to be honest I have sold loads of stuff on Ebay and the only trouble I had was that some unpainted minis got lost somewhere around Macedonia.

As for price.. bit of a hard one. You have to be realistic, unless you are an amazing speed painter you are not going to get a good hourly rate for your minis. I would suggest starting the auction at around £15 -£20 and see what happens.

Good luck

 

[Baz]

Great advice so far in this thread.
Back when I was working for GW I was doing the odd commission piece at decent rates. Nothing too complex, no NMM, basic bases etc and I was making around £200 a week in my spare time. After I had a few awards under my belt I was approached by an "agent" of sorts who had been in the mini painting biz for years and had a huge list of contacts. The first load of minis I did for him, a LOTR orc battleforce, about 20 orcs 10 uruk hai a lurtz and a cave troll went for $1600. Sounds good but asides from a few army orders there was never really a reliable constant demand. I stopped taking commissions for a few years and have only recently started painting again.

The main things I learned from this are -

1. Piggyback the painting on top of another job. You'll never make enough on it's own, even if you can pull down huge amounts for a mini, one change in the economy and you're sitting with nothing for months.

2. set a base rate. Stick to it. The amount of times I had someone approve a paintjob and then ask for major changes and then expect that to be covered is astonishing. That brings me to...

3. Nothing is impossible, it just costs more. Make sure everything is appropriately priced.

4. Keep a log. Note all of your paint mixes and processes. People always want something you've already sold.

5. Set a price list and stick to it. i.e. - Basic paintjob 1 level highlights and shading £20, 2 levels £25, freehand +£15 etc. People always want an incredible paintjob and expect to pay nothing. Let them know what they're getting.

6. Get a reputation, posting WIP's and painted mini shots here and on other forums is the best way to let people see how your work is rated by others.

7. Don't be afraid to walk away. Sometimes people will want to negotiate prices. Sure if you're wanting a custom converted and painted 2000 pt marine army at a high level you can throw in some freehand but when people are taking you below you're base rates tell 'em to go fish. Time wasted negotiating is time you could be painting.

8. there is a 50/50 chance that painting professionally will destroy any enthusiasm you have for painting and gaming within 6 months.

 

[freakinacage]

Rep is very important. Get well known for quality and good service. Better photos. I hate eBay but it's a good starting block. And everything else already mentioned....

It seems you are better of doing many tabletop jobs than fewer high quality ones

 

[nels0nmac]

It seems you are better of doing many tabletop jobs than fewer high quality ones

Ain't that the truth. It is far easier to paint quick clean tabletop jobs and get a fair buck for than it is to really go for the high end stuff. Sure if you get a really high reputation like those in the top 50 on CMoN you can get £250+ for a single mini, which looks good on paper but if you ask them how long it took to paint it probably doesn't add up to a particularly good hourly rate.
I paint in the evenings and get enough painted that the stuff I sell pays for the stuff I keep and a bit more. The most I made in a year was about £1,200 - and that was about 150 figures, including large pieces like marine dreadnoughts that were painted to an OK standard.