Question on mini selling

Andon · Post by **Andon** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:38 pm

I know that well-painted minis tend to sell decently well, but my painting is, at best, a high tabletop quality, and usually just plain tabletop.

I was wondering which would be better:
Assembling models, painting them to the best of my ability and selling them
Assembling and converting minis, and then selling them unpainted
Assembling and converting models, painting them to the best of my ability, and then selling them

One thought that I had would be a Conversion site. People go, place an order of what they want converted, and I'd make the model and send it to them. If they wanted, I could paint it to the best of my ability. I think that this would be a good thing, if I could get people to go. I think this and a combination of one or two of the others would be best (Put the pre-done ones on e-bay and put links to my site or e-mail to send to place an order)

Opinions?

SteveBerenyi · Post by **SteveBerenyi** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:48 pm

this actually depends on your converting skills.
One of my friends thought he was a great converter so i looked as some of his stuff.

*Sorry Matt*

people there is no way that you can convince me that a Space marine Head looks good on an Ork Mega Armor for a Terminator. it just doesnt.

This may not apply to you.
honestly, people will pay for anything. so, depending on how long you want to wait to sell your conversions, you will.

My 2 cents.

Sandy Death · Post by **Sandy Death** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:35 pm

Hi Andon,
The best way to make a small fortune in this hobby is to start with a large fortune and work your way down.

My suggestion is if you are looking to make money off selling painted models is to skip it. Best just go out and get a real job.

Examples:
1.I recently sold a high table top painted (not professional) Tau army on Ebay. It had a retail of over $600. It sold for $300 and that was only because that was the minimum reserve.

2. I was bidding on a stunningly beautifully,high quality painted and converted Ogre army with a retail in the $700s. It sold for $580.

That means if the seller paid wholesale (say $375) and after painting supplies, eBay and Paypal fees he may have made a $180 for his time and talent.

Get the picture?

Sandy

Andon · Post by **Andon** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:18 pm

This is not something to make money instead of a job - This would be a thing to make a little extra money. It would be single commissioned models rather than bulk sale.

And I won't say my converting is the best out there, but I'd say it's above average. And the pieces would most likely be done to the person's order. So if they said they wanted some specific stuff, I'd do that stuff with maybe a minor extra touch.

SteveBerenyi · Post by **SteveBerenyi** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:30 pm

good luck then.

( 832 ) · Post by **MagickalMemories** » Thu May 31, 2007 1:46 am

Honestly, i'd say don't.
If your skills are just above average, nobody will pay you much for them and you wouldn't, likely, make but about $1 an hour profit for your time (at most).

Eric

http://www.underthecouch.net/utc/module ... file=index

If you're going to convert models professionally (i.e. FOR CASH), THIS is what you have to be able to achieve.

Andon · Post by **Andon** » Thu May 31, 2007 1:59 am

I could say I could do some of that stuff, but I'm not exactly sure how much as I haven't tried most of it. I have not used greenstuff yet, so I'm not sure how well it would go.

I was simply saying 'above average' because it's better to state lower than I am than higher than I am. That way no one is dissapointed.

Andon · Post by **Andon** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:21 am

Oh, and another thing: Money per hour really isn't much of an issue. School's getting out for the summer in just over a week, and I'm going to have a ton of free time. And since this kind of stuff is fun most of the time, I'd doubt that I would have issues with low prices per hour.

I was also thinking of a way of setting up prices:

converting:
Simple (Weapons swap, chaning small things)
Somewhat simple (Changing slight poses, using different kits, easy sculpting)
Somewhat Complex (Changing poses majorly, different kits, more in-depth sculpting)

Painting:
Basic (Three colors)
Tabletop (Some details)
Above tabletop (As many details as I can do)

Of course, I'd add things like 'Complex' and 'Highly complex' or 'High quality' as my skills improve in each, but I'm reasonably certain that those reflect my current ability

Edit: Oh, and MM, nice post count (1666)

( 832 ) · Post by **MagickalMemories** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:54 am

Andon wrote:Edit: Oh, and MM, nice post count (1666)

Been around a bit.

There are still a few BTowners who have more (excluding the ones who migrated from 40K Online, of course).

Eric

Andon · Post by **Andon** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:46 am

I was commenting on the '666' part

( 832 ) · Post by **MagickalMemories** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:41 am

Ah, well... THAT....

IN any ongoing sequence of numbers, that particular set of digits is bound to come around occasionally....

I guess you can just say it's the nature of the beast.

(pun intended)

::ducks the thrown objects::

Eric

Andon · Post by **Andon** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:04 pm

Heh... I've been there (Other forum). 8708 posts there currently.

But, back on topic - What say you about the price set up thing?

( 832 ) · Post by **MagickalMemories** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:50 am

Honestly, I still say don't do it.
The thing is, people don't want to pay for above average conversions. Most people can do relatively good conversions themselves. Nobndy wants to show their friends a model and say "Yeah. I know it's REALLY GOOD but not great. Thing is, I got it at a bargain price."

Also, nobody wants to look at a conversion and say, "At least I only paid half of what the other guys wanted."

If you want to see how your skills are, convert about 6 or 8 minis at the quality level you usually would. When complete, put them on ebay.
See how well you do there. That should give you an idea of whether or not you are wasting your time.

Eric