When it comes to auctioning, who do you aim for?
- Thread starter Infidel Castro
- Start date
I\'m laughing at myself - I JUST noticed that this is a months-old thread from some of the time stamps. The Coke can must have been a distraction...
Anyhow, here\'s the response I typed out, even though Reverend probably has his ebay feedback in the gazillions by now. Maybe my blather can help someone else.
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I\'m running a store for myself and a few friends on ebay and we\'ve noticed a few things:
1) Sex DOESN\'t sell. In minis, at least... but that Coke machine sure explains a lot of impulse buys!
Anyhow, we went roaring into ebay with the idea that succubi would fly out of the store and sometimes we had to relist... and relist....
2) Monsters do sell. Fast-painted monsters, especially Reaper cheapos, offered at a starting price of $10 - $15 get instant bidding wars. You don\'t get rich on any one figure but monsters are a great way to supplement character sales.
3) \"Characters\" sell like they are on fire. Everyone wants their \"dwarf cleric with mace\" or their \"sorceress with staff\" looking as good as they can get them, and I\'m guessing that people might browse through a mini auction and make a cognitive \"latch\" onto a figure that looks like their game character.
4) GW is really popular and outperforms even my beloved Confrontations. (sigh) Anyhow, since our local store is almost entirely Reaper we stick primarily with their figures, which sell pretty well. Celtos figures are a personal favorite of my roommates, and even though they look fantastic when she\'s done with them, they don\'t sell.
I could ramble on for a while but I think that\'s the gist of what I\'ve noticed so far. And reputation is really important, because the more figures we\'ve sold the higher our bids get.
- Otter
\"Never send a ferret to do a weasel\'s work\"
Anyhow, here\'s the response I typed out, even though Reverend probably has his ebay feedback in the gazillions by now. Maybe my blather can help someone else.
*******************
I\'m running a store for myself and a few friends on ebay and we\'ve noticed a few things:
1) Sex DOESN\'t sell. In minis, at least... but that Coke machine sure explains a lot of impulse buys!
Anyhow, we went roaring into ebay with the idea that succubi would fly out of the store and sometimes we had to relist... and relist.... 2) Monsters do sell. Fast-painted monsters, especially Reaper cheapos, offered at a starting price of $10 - $15 get instant bidding wars. You don\'t get rich on any one figure but monsters are a great way to supplement character sales.
3) \"Characters\" sell like they are on fire. Everyone wants their \"dwarf cleric with mace\" or their \"sorceress with staff\" looking as good as they can get them, and I\'m guessing that people might browse through a mini auction and make a cognitive \"latch\" onto a figure that looks like their game character.
4) GW is really popular and outperforms even my beloved Confrontations. (sigh) Anyhow, since our local store is almost entirely Reaper we stick primarily with their figures, which sell pretty well. Celtos figures are a personal favorite of my roommates, and even though they look fantastic when she\'s done with them, they don\'t sell.
I could ramble on for a while but I think that\'s the gist of what I\'ve noticed so far. And reputation is really important, because the more figures we\'ve sold the higher our bids get.
- Otter
\"Never send a ferret to do a weasel\'s work\"
V
Vidja
Guest
I usually do not make myself so many problems about what will sell and what won\'t - I paint what I wish to paint in a given moment, since I have enough minis around to last me for a lifetime!
But when you\'ve auctioned enough minis, people will bookmark your eBay page and occasionally write to ask what\'s boiling, and they might give suggestions about what they\'d like to see, like \"Why don\'t you paint a Lizardman?\" and such. I\'ve had a guy who asked me once, \"Why do you never paint stuff for Bretonnia? Do you hate Bretonnians? You racist!\" (I had to answer him that, indeed, I do hate Bretonnia, but I auctioned a Joan of Arc-type female paladin nevertheless, and he got the final bid.
That said, I must confess that I don\'t understand how a buyer\'s mind works... Morrigan sold for 1 $ more than the mini\'s cost (which is always my starting price), and it was by far my best mini, beside being a sexy chick: maybe it\'s because of the snakes? Many people hate snakes, but then, what you would find disgusting in real life becomes cool when it\'s mini-related... gore, severed limbs, skulls, ugly beasts.
It\'s Ok with me, mind you, since my aim is maily getting the basic price of the mini back, so that my hobby keeps substaining itself... but when I think that I got a 12 $ bid for the quick job on the White Dwarf... I don\'t know... :duh:
But when you\'ve auctioned enough minis, people will bookmark your eBay page and occasionally write to ask what\'s boiling, and they might give suggestions about what they\'d like to see, like \"Why don\'t you paint a Lizardman?\" and such. I\'ve had a guy who asked me once, \"Why do you never paint stuff for Bretonnia? Do you hate Bretonnians? You racist!\" (I had to answer him that, indeed, I do hate Bretonnia, but I auctioned a Joan of Arc-type female paladin nevertheless, and he got the final bid.
That said, I must confess that I don\'t understand how a buyer\'s mind works... Morrigan sold for 1 $ more than the mini\'s cost (which is always my starting price), and it was by far my best mini, beside being a sexy chick: maybe it\'s because of the snakes? Many people hate snakes, but then, what you would find disgusting in real life becomes cool when it\'s mini-related... gore, severed limbs, skulls, ugly beasts.
It\'s Ok with me, mind you, since my aim is maily getting the basic price of the mini back, so that my hobby keeps substaining itself... but when I think that I got a 12 $ bid for the quick job on the White Dwarf... I don\'t know... :duh:
vincegamer
Active member
Would that have been the \"Joan Of Arc\" from Dark Ages special edition (\"gods\") series? sold for a bit over $40??
vincegamer
Active member
That\'s too bad because I am pretty sure you can\'t get it any longer. Looks like the series is strictly limited and that one no longer available.
tabithatan
New member
I usually paint what I like and hope it sells...... for instance,... I am gonna do a diorama with a mage up in a tower casting a big spell and an assassin sneakin up on him.... bases removable for play and all..... will it sell? I dunno.... but I jus wanna do it anyways......
but but if I find that I get a lotta enquiries over a particular figure and good feedback that it\'ll sell, I\'ll paint it and sell if even if I dont really like it.....
it\'s sorta like, if you see an opportunity to make some cash to continue the hobby that you like, why not take the necessary action? That\'s how I view it......
but but if I find that I get a lotta enquiries over a particular figure and good feedback that it\'ll sell, I\'ll paint it and sell if even if I dont really like it.....
it\'s sorta like, if you see an opportunity to make some cash to continue the hobby that you like, why not take the necessary action? That\'s how I view it......
