Since we are all talking about ebay-ing minis......

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tabithatan

New member
well... this is not sooo much about ebay per se as it is about mini-selling......

This is really me going \"meeee----oowww\"... so its a little nasty.... :p


here\'s something I DONT understand.... and I\'d like some comments as it might help me to rationalise things a little

I painted up a mini THIS ONE ACTUALLY and it netted a price... not quite wat I was looking for on ebay... (so I didnt sell it on ebay.. altho it was eventually bought at a much higher price by a private collector.)

Then, 2 months down the road, I see the same mini, but with lower score, being sold for a much much higher price....

I am ....well... to put it mildly.... flummoxed.... ???
And so are the people with whom I have shared this particular case....


Am I doing something wrong? Should I NOT take really zoomed in close ups of the minis Im selling?(which I have been doing for the ebay pics.) Or should I change my painting style altogether? :(

I have wanted to ask ppl about this for a long long time but after indirectly prodding around a lot I decided to go for a direct answer.

Cos I am currently putting THIS MINI up for sale, and the sales response has been..... :p I thought it might be a problem with exposure, but doh... I go everywhere to advertise it.
 
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Gypsy

New member
Maybe it was just coincidence. Those people who look for painted miniatures on eBay now aren\'t necessarily the same who are going to look in 2 months.

Could you post a link to the other one?

But you could be right about close-ups. They can reveal all those nasty tiny little flaws in painting which you wouldn\'t even see if you looked at the mini from 10 inches or so away.
 
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tabithatan

New member
well I generally like to take close ups of minis Im selling so buyers know that what they see is ACTUALLY wat they get... although now I see honest advertising doesnt really pay....

anyways, I didnt want to post a link to the other mini... cos it might sound too much like.... well.... \"cat-scratchin\'\" but for the sake of comparision JUST CLICK HERE FOR A LOOK.
 
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t_haye2

Guest
again this covers the \'the other painter was better known than you\' category me thinks...an unfortunate reality when selling minis. People by quality divided by prestige.... if the other painter was a better known one, than it\'s natural he got a better price. thing to do is flaunt your work as much as possible, be active on sites and forums, enter and win comps(and brag about it!) etc etc.....
 
Valander

Valander

Member
I agree with Tammy; I think part of the reason for the price difference may be the eBay \"reputation\" of the other bidder. I know that when I first started selling on eBay, it was really hard to get anything at all. After I got a rating of above 30, though, I\'m much more able to get reasonable prices.

I think another thing may actually be that your camera angles don\'t show the face as clearly as the other one does, and well-painted faces are really important on eBay!

Getting a good camera angle that really makes the mini \"pop\" is important for selling; any marketing, actually.
 
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tabithatan

New member
unfortunately as cmon doesnt allow for updating of actual photos of the minis once the minis submission was made, I was unable to show a 4 sided view... including a good face shot.. which I managed to include in the actual ebay writeup.....

I have done a lot of posting in various forums of related interest and such to increase viewership.... which has also attracted a lot of attention to mini-painting.... I daresay in fact Andrea has probably made loads of bucks from my showin that particular mini around... judging from the amount of \"where did you buy that mini, cos I want one too\" question I have been getting online and offline. (just yesterday too in fact...:p)

as fur joining and winning competitions has been something I have been doing all along.... and it has recently netted me a prize of a huge boxed squad of very gorgeous looking ladies from GW, but I kinda find it awkward to brag about it unless Im talking to close friends, cos it just isnt habit for me to do so in public.....

Altho I gotta say my one greatest regret is my inability to fly anywhere to attend a GD... :( It does help loads in terms of reputation...... SIGH
 
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t_haye2

Guest
well, even comps like toadstool and comps from online stores are good to add to your cv...and believe me, bragging about your accomplishments for ebay sales counts as product promotion! I\'m still flogging the dead horse of me being an ex\'Eavy Metal painter...it helps people remember who you are, and helps with the hits as well...;)
 
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Herb the bitter

New member
(I\'m probably wrong but...)

The current piece you have up for auction has an awesome paint job, but the flowers on the base make it look very \'feminine\', which may limit who is interested in it. I think a toned down scenic base would make it have a broader appeal, but what do I know, I don\'t buy painted minis.

HtB
 
Chrispy

Chrispy

Active member
Well, It\'s like I always say: at least charge the mini\'s base price, so you can get another and paint. That way, you\'ll have an almost endless supply of minis in a rotating fashion, keeping you in practice. If not that, then charge at least 3/4ths of the price you reasonably want. For the Legolas, I would\'ve started it at around $30-40. It\'s true some people do well with better ratings, but I don\'t usually check them (better start, someone cancelled one of my last Half.com orders). Plus, getting a really high rating is almost unreal, as I usually only sel once every 6 months or so and I tell myself not to shop on eBay too much (they should have a link for auction gambling addiction at the bottom). :p
 
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tabithatan

New member
Herb the bitter:

hmmmmm I kinda suspected that roses might kill some ppl\'s desire for the mini... however I cant seem to prevent myself from making roses..... its like catnip or a bad case of flower addiction.... unfortunately there arent any guy-only flowers around.

I think I might have to choose a more masculine themed item for future bases.... how do the sawn off heads of bunnies sound? lol


Chrispy:
I reckon I might have to do the paint and sell by rotation as you have said.... I dun like keeping minis much although I like painting them... I have no use for them except in dnd..... and I am running out of space in my cabinets......

auction gambling addiction? ... ha ha.... you kinda remind me of some ppl over in singapore who get kicks form auctioning..... heh.
 
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Cerridwyn1st

New member
You\'re ranking on ebay is killing you

ACK!! She uses the dreaded \"Pro-Painted\" name to discribe her minis! No wonder your prices suck! NEVER use \"Pro-Painted\". Instead, say \"Painted by Tabithatan\".

Don\'t believe me? Go to www.reapermini.com and click on the \"forums\". Look up what people say about \"Pro-Painted\".

Saying \"Painted by Tabithatan\" implies you are known. Customers who are familiar with your NAME will look for it in the discriptions and bid accordingly.

What\'s also killing you is your ranking on E-bay. It\'s a 1. The comment left by your customer is a really good one, though, and that should help.

Buy some crap on ebay, and pester the sellers into giving feedback. Make sure you give then FB, too. A couple of Magic cards would be really cheap, and those cats are great for sending feedback.

Your Legolas was a stunning piece, by the way. Looks like something done by one of the historical modelers, in terms of the quality of the piece.

It isn\'t you, or the quality of your paint jobs. It just takes a while to build up your rep. Hang in there!
 
Sand Rat

Sand Rat

New member
Tabithan - Generally I try to stay out of the sales discussions, as I dont sell my work, and have enough sense to know that I\'m a hack when you get right down to it. However, from what I\'ve observed, I tend to agree with Cerridyn - the ultimate death kneal for a mini when up for sale is \"Pro Painted\", to me it implies a pimply 14 yr old who is trying to impress folks with his status - regaurdless of his skill at painting.
 
Chrispy

Chrispy

Active member
Yeah, that\'s how I get to paint the minis I want to without having to keep them. And once in a while, some of them are better than my regular work (Like the spasm warrior I did). The thing with \"pro painted\" is that anyone can do that, because technically if you were painting for free, you\'d just be doing it because you love it (Amare is latin for love and is the basis for Amatuer). But the work I\'ve seen is just silly. Maybe once you gain a following and everyone knows your name, you could do like Verzani and put \"VP\" on the end of your work, so people can search easier.
 
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tabithatan

New member
ack.... I didnt know saying \"pro-painted\" gives a pimply 14 year old image! I guess its a little late to change it now... but I\'ll put my name in next time I auction something off...

probably I\'ll go find some cheapo 0.99 cents minis on sale on ebay to bump up my score.....I dun collect magic cards... dunno wat to do with them except turn them into a house of cards.

thanks guys fur the comments on the Legolas mini...... to be honest after looking at the ebay results I kinda was wondering if the problem was the result of him having too tanned skin colour or something.......:p
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Tabithatan:
To be honest I saw nothing wrong with your Legolas. Had I painted him I would have been very proud of the quality of the figure. Had I been a collector of painted mini\'s I would have put in a bid!

I must agree with the comments about the rating on Ebay. I think that at the moment you haven\'t got the feedback and when that builds up, it will help you a lot.

Good luck with all your future auctions.
 
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t_haye2

Guest
Originally posted by steelcult
Tabithan - Generally I try to stay out of the sales discussions, as I dont sell my work, and have enough sense to know that I\'m a hack when you get right down to it. However, from what I\'ve observed, I tend to agree with Cerridyn - the ultimate death kneal for a mini when up for sale is \"Pro Painted\", to me it implies a pimply 14 yr old who is trying to impress folks with his status - regaurdless of his skill at painting.
Click to expand...

hi, i\'m Tammy and I\'m nine and i paint minis real good!! :p Hmmm, maybe i should stop using it as well.....even though in my case it\'s actually true....lollollol
 
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t_haye2

Guest
hihihihi, one day i\'m going to step on the train and seek you out, with my bestest friend bob the hatchett ;)
 
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Nelson

New member
Wait, I\'m a bit flummoxed too, as it looks to me that the one done by Brushmistress is actually a closer shot than your close-ups. I mean, It\' doesn\'t have as good lighting or as many views, but in terms of inches away, it looks closer in my eyes. Maybe try an even closer shot? :D It might be shooting yourself in the foot, but you could try....
But anyways, I don\'t really care, as your pics are awesome too, and I think it might just be a case of personal preference, and, as others have said, exposure. Your mini certainly deserves as good a price as the other, so don\'t fret it if you don\'t make big bucks at first.
Wait, here I am giving you advice lol I\'m talking as if I know what I\'m talking about. I\'m certainly not a better painter, and I\'ve never sold anything on Ebay, so maybe ignore this...:)
 
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Gypsy

New member
I\'m not sure buying lots of crap for a few bucks will make you appear like an honest and trustworthy seller. People (myself included) look at what exactly sellers sold before them and how much they got for it.
I rather buy from someone who sold five items to five different satisfied customers for $ 20 per item than from a seller who sold 20 single Magic Cards for a dollar.
And second, you have to SELL to prove you\'re a good seller not buy loads of stuff.
 
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