dargrin Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Ok I hooked up with a local gaming store to paint some minis for its club. However I have no idea how much to charge? I have no name or history of painting for someone. What do you guys think is a fair price from someone of my background? I have samples to show but no idea what to charge help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Landt Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Post some samples of your work, and some of us can help you ballpark it. Most people are going to give you this response though: Figure out how many hours it takes you to paint a mini. Decide how much money an hour of your time is worth. Multiply the # hours to paint a mini by how much you feel an hour of your time is worth. Most people shoot for the $5-$10 an hour range. It is hard to get higher than $15/hour, since the higher priced minis take so much longer to paint. Person A puts 2 hours into a mini and sells it for $20. Person B puts 40 hours into a mini and sells it for $400. They both made the same amount of money - $10/hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubbdog Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 I would agree with the statement of posting some work and we could help give some pointers and such. Its hard to give a number without seeing anything. There are people like Jester that paint minis in about 3 hours and get $75-150 each. Then you got people like me that paints for 20 hours to try to get the same amount. So, its just tough to say without seeing anything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubilee Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 The owner of a local game store I go to (and display my work at) has told people in the past that a base price for a painted miniature should be twice its original, unpainted cost. This would be the price I would consider reasonable for very basic, table-top quality, though, and is generally the price I would start an ebay auction at (hoping it'd go up, of course). I feel free to modify this based on how attached I am to the model, how much i put into it, and whether or not it is limited, and if people won't pay that, I won't sell it. :) I don't have any good advice for comissions, though. Do you have any idea what these people are willing to pay you? You probably ought to find out what THEY expect, if you're going to have a good working relationship with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dargrin Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 Do you have any idea what these people are willing to pay you? You probably ought to find out what THEY expect, if you're going to have a good working relationship with them. Since this "service" is new to thier store they want to see if there is a market for it. They are taking a 40% cut for now. Bit steep but I need a start somewhere. I meet wth both owners on Wednesday to talk terms. As for sample of my stuff, click on the WWW button at the bottom of this post for some of my older stuff on my web page. It definately needs an update because I have much more resent stuff. I will most likely update this on Tuesday so I can show them and anyone else that is interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azreii Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 If you want to know what to charge for your service (what is your painting worth) post an item on e-bay. this is a good way to see what people are willing to pay for your stuff. set the start price and the retail price of the miniature and see what happens. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubilee Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Ebay isn't really a good judge for someone who's got no or little feedback, because most people are unwilling to risk alot of money on someone unknown, especially if they can't be sure the mini looks in person what it looks like in a photo.. If they are taking 40% of your profit, make sure that either they or the client is providing the mini. if the store takes 40% and you have to pay the base price of the miniature, you're going to get screwed alot. Also, to get the % they are taking down a bit (or removed), you might consider either asking that the people who buy your minis pay you in store gift certificates, or that all the miniatures you paint for people from the store club also get the miniature from the store. A 40% comission is really high, imo. I don't think they should get more than 25%. *shrug* Don't settle for something bad just because it's "a place to start." I made that mistake and I'm still suffering for it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Sorry, I have to agree 40% is pretty outrageous cut for the store to take. Are you simply displaying your work in the store, or are they actaully setting up commissions for you? I suppose if they are doing all the grunt work to get you commissions then it might be reasonable. If its nothing more than giving you some space to display and then to sell your display pieces then 40% is pretty high for a pretty minor amount of space that they are giving over to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BunnyPuncher Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Eeep.. 40%?? You'll be down to about $1.00/hour Unless as was mentioned, they are providing the mini (which to them is 50% of retail in cost). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 The discount isn't any better on miniatures for stores dealing with distributors so the cost for figures, for most stores, is 40% of the retail price not 50%. Depends on the store and if they qualify for better terms from the distributor which is usually based on the volume of business from the store. There is at least one manufacturer that has a short discount of 30% on some of their lines (can you guess which one ). So you should NOT be paying for the miniature if they are taking a 40% cut. Provide all other services, prep, prime, paint, but the client or the store must supply the miniature to you at no cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dargrin Posted January 3, 2005 Author Share Posted January 3, 2005 As I understand it, this is how it will work: I display samples of my work in a case near the register (dozen or so mixed pieces). I will have some sort of buisness card on the outside of the case. If a client wants some work they will call me and tell me what they want thier mini to look like. The client will give it to the store and I will pick it up and return it when I'm done. I will collect my commsion then. They are not really doing any work except for holding the mini while I either pick up or drop off. Technically I would be taking up preminum display space that is why I thing of the increased cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital M@ Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 At that large of a cut, wouldn't EBay be better? Try negotiating that fee. How about offering to start a mini painting club at the store? How much do you spend at the store? How much do they value your business? Offer to run demos of games, painting classes etc. All of these sevices bring business into the store. For instance, if people become more interested in painting, they will buy more, minis, paints, brushes etc. There is also the personal benefit of people/customers getting to know you which will increase the average price of your work. Do they have a bulleting board for gamers to post ads? Try printing a quality photo of your work with contact underneath. IMO, 40% is too steep and should be able to be negotiated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BunnyPuncher Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 10% would be fair Or a flat 1.00-2.00 dollar commission. At 40% it is just nuts. Esp. since the client is likely buying the mini from them already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mengu Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 If someone is selling miniatures for twice the cost of the miniature, it probably has mold lines, was not primed, and has one coat of paint on it. If it was a multi-part miniature, I would almost pay someone double the cost to do the filing, prepping, pinning, and puttying with no paint on. If you can't make at least $7 an hour, try to find a new arrangement. However much you might enjoy painting miniatures, you can't really work for peanuts. After a 40% cut, you will not be making any money. Also things to consider. How much is your work worth for you? How much is your time worth to you? Do you have things you would like to paint for yourself? Do you want to paint bulk gaming quality minis (probably 90% of game store commisions)? Or do you want to paint higher quality minis? For instance if you paint a mini for someone else, and are selling it for $40, all the while thinking you would pay $50 to keep it, then you need to re-examine your objective, or your prices. Anyway, good luck, and please do yourself a favor, and don't undersell your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbuddylee Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Looking from the consumer perspective, I'd say that you should charge more than you would on Ebay. If you have a mini that sells on Ebay for $20, sell it on site for $30. The extra 50% is well worth it to hold something in your hand, I'd be much more willing to buy sometime seen than through pictures, and I'd pay more for it. So, on to what to charge. Are there other painters in your area? If so, you're going to have competition unless you're either much better (or much worse) than they are. I'd say you're going to get the bulk of your sales through comissions that aren't done through the store. If I were you, I'd push that aspect. If you're going to pay 40% to the store, you can either mark them higher than your comission pieces and charge people that contact you directly less, or you can look at it like you're not going to make any money off of those in the store anyway and you can sell them cheap to get your name out and charge a higher price for custom pieces. Of course, it looks like the store is going to be your 'pimp' so they may come looking for a cut even if you do custom solo work. I would suggest you renegotiate the 40% on the basis that if they want 40%, you display your extras there and any custom business you get through them, they get 10%. And, looking at the minis in your www page, I would think you could get anywhere from $10 - $40+ per figure, (quite a range right :) ), but if this is a trial, I would start low and increase price, if you have the inventory to spare and aren't worried about profits right away, this is the best way to get your name out and show the store that your stuff sells. Increase price later as your workload increases and if you can't negotiate now, negotiate when your sales increase and they're making money off you. One final suggestion, if you're certain you can make money, offer to buy the space for a set price per month. Like $50 per display case, that way they get money regardless and you have the change to make quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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