Beowulfthehunter Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 This part of the forums has been bare for too long. So i think I should post something. If you are someone who sells pretty regualry on E-bay: Painted, unpainted models, and or armies. Post and tell us why you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintminion Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Well, if the PTB think that's okay... Hi, I'm Sue, and I'm a Painter. (Hi Sue) It's been 3 months since my last auction. (gasps of horror...from Sue, too) I paint for the nice folks at Reaper and Dark Sword, some at Thunderbolt Mountain. I enter only a few competitions each year, teach at ReaperCon when I can, and run the Gen Con MHE stuff. Mostly, I don't do too many auctions, don't do too many commissions either these days, but I do have more stuff coming soon, all explained on my website, which my eMinion tries to keep updated and on top of. Most of the money these days goes towards medical bills, and as I have a chemo treatment today as a matter of fact, I'll be selling stuff soon to help pay for that when the bills come around again. That's it. Pay bills and clear shelf space, that's why I *sell*. If I had a choice, I wouldn't sell any of it! I like the idea of sellers posting here so I can save more of them to my favorites...I already keep track of a few of you...mostly it's the only way I either know painters have done something new I can check out, or I make sure I'm not selling the same mini at the same time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutebutpsycho Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I do! I do! Um, why? Huh, I like to paint miniatures, I don't have space for them all, so I let other people own them? They give me a little money, I get some relaxation and an excuse to paint. Sound good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dargrin Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I sell them lately to help feed the hobby and pay for my car. Well...pay for my hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I think the last painted miniature I sold on eBay was back in 98 or 99. Since then, return customers and referrals have kept me too busy to paint just to toss up for the masses. Back then though, I painted a lot more than I used...and would often paint three or four of the same mini to see what paint scheme I liked best. The others would get sold off. I had more time - but less space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Snack Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I mostly sold prepainted D&D minis, but I sold a few of my own... I rarely sell anymore, since eBay's fees keep creeping up while people seem to be bidding less. Add in the stupid new star system that allows people to rate you anonymously* and I just don't care to spend my time selling there. *Even though my lowest rating is 4.6 for "shipping charges", it still annoys me since I state my shipping up front. Add in the guy who gave me 4 stars across the board for an auction he received two days after he paid, that just reinforces my opinion that people are going to use it to shaft over sellers for no reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helltown Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Umm... I sell on eBay, but no miniatures as yet. That's all I really wanna say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest I am not a number Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I used to sell on ebay but with the new changes taking place I've deactivated my accounts for the time being. I'm also pretty tired of all the people who want to snipe and just wait until the end to bid. It doesn't matter how many watchers you have as none of them bid. That forces me to start the auction off at a higher price, which costs more money, and really it's a lose-lose situation. I've been selling on Amazon for a few years, I make more money there but the only problem is that the stuff can sit around for a long while on Amazon before someone purchases it, whereas on Ebay you are guaranteed to get rid of it in 3-7 day if people bid. Now if you would all go to the Wargamers Market, we might be able to get that place going and see a much better system for gamers take off. Their fees are lower so people don't have an excuse to charge exorbitant shipping fees there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candra Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Hi, I sell quite regular (have some up now as a matter of fact) I sell so I can buy more minis, helps feed my pewter habit ! I have the same issues as Dragon Snack said though, I also have a 4.6 star rating for postage, but the postage costs are up front on the listings and I'm quite often out of pocket as I send everything by 'signed for' mail service (national and international) so that there's a tracking number as proof of postage. But people still seem to score down on the postage fees. I also see that eBay is starting to shaft over the small sellers (apparently sellers won't be able to leave neg feedback soon ) and the charges are starting to go up even as the listing fees are going down. It's a pity there's nowhere else with that many people making up the marketplace. Yes, I've heard all about wargamers market, as mentioned by I Am Not A Number, but I honestly don't think that the site will take off in a huge way and provide the market of buyers which are available on eBay. It's all going a bit pear shaped - but, back to the point, yes I sell Candra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastl Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I'm a very smaller seller of a variety of stuff I don't need any more. The increase in final value fees is the thing making me quite upset since the hardest hit is the sweet spot where most of my auctions end up. The inherent unfairness of the feedback changes can't last very long. One-sided feedback is no feedback at all. You'll see more and more sellers not leaving feedback so there's no way to tell who is what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zinzig Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I sell pretty much everything I paint on ebay (if it's not a gift). Why? I don't play any RPG's, wargames, etc. I paint regularly and enjoy that part of the hobby a lot. I then sell it on ebay to buy more mini's or other things I would like. I usually paint up a dozen and then list them. I paint slowly, so my listings are usually once every 2 months...give or take a month or two. As for ebays recent changes...for what I sell mini's for, it's roughly a wash. I'll pay less on the front end since I usually add gallery and extra pictures and pay more on the back end with the 3-ish% increase. I'm not entirely thrilled with the changes (the feedback one is the worst) but where else are you going to go to get that kind of market? I charge 5.50 for shipping which is packing and priority mailing, adding 50 cents a mini for multiples (for the most part). So, yes, I sell mini's on ebay. Yes, I'll keep selling mini's on ebay. -Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Snack Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Now if you would all go to the Wargamers Market, we might be able to get that place going and see a much better system for gamers take off. Their fees are lower so people don't have an excuse to charge exorbitant shipping fees there. I've visited before, I just don't like the layout of the site. I did notice that they changed some stuff, hopefully they continue to make changes. I like their prices, but if there's no traffic it won't help me sell much. Are they really advertising more? I haven't seen any ads on sites I go to. It's a great idea, maybe I should at least throw some stuff on there and see how well it sells (again, probably prepainted stuff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest I am not a number Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Now if you would all go to the Wargamers Market, we might be able to get that place going and see a much better system for gamers take off. Their fees are lower so people don't have an excuse to charge exorbitant shipping fees there. I've visited before, I just don't like the layout of the site. I did notice that they changed some stuff, hopefully they continue to make changes. I like their prices, but if there's no traffic it won't help me sell much. Are they really advertising more? I haven't seen any ads on sites I go to. It's a great idea, maybe I should at least throw some stuff on there and see how well it sells (again, probably prepainted stuff). Well, I think it can work out if CMON and other mini sites promote it. Right now, a lot of people are watching it, but very few people are using it. A few big sellers on Ebay have set up stores but haven't put much of their inventory online yet. They still have issues with the software to work out as well. I did list one item just to see what it would cost, and it costed me 0.17 to list, and they don't take any FVF so it's way cheaper than Ebay. Nobody bid on it though. I have many large crates of miniatures in blister packs sitting in my garage I may put up there for very cheap to try and draw people to the site sometime in the future. The main problem is that the only minis I buy on Ebay are OOP stuff that you can't get anymore, and unfortunately the people who tend to sell them usually don't know what they are and only know about Ebay, so I still buy stuff there. From what I have heard, the new CEO wants to radically change Ebay and get rid of the 'flea market' dealers, basically the small guys, basically the only reason I use Ebay is to find stuff that was made 20 years ago and is super rare now from the 'flea market' small sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beowulfthehunter Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 Since I am the one who started this. I go by Beowulf on most forums, Chuck in the chatroom, and Chuck_the_painter on E-bay. I sell to fund my habbit. If I kept everything I painted and what I spen came out of my minis I would be living in a poor house (made out of said minis). E-bay allows me get rid if them and buy more, plus it gives me a reason to buy certain figs. As far as the changes go....eh I'll eat an extra few cents. As far as the no buyer feedback, I'll see what that does. WGM seems like an ok site, but the agressive marketing and small site has turned me off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest I am not a number Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 You'll be losing more than a few cents, the FVF is going up from 3% up to 66%. Also, if your DSR falls below 95% your items won't even show up in the searches even though you are still paying to list them. Not to mention if you have any enemies or competitors, with the new feedback system they can ruin you now with a few well placed bids and negative feedbacks. I really don't know what will come of the feedback changes but it doesn't matter to me as I don't rely on Ebay. Occasionally things show up on there that simply can't be found any other way. Sometimes you can save a few bucks, but it's mostly a hassle unless you have a sniper program to manage your bids for you. Really I thought Ebay was a dumb idea in 1996, I thought was even dumber in 2000, I didn't use it for several years and only came back because I was tempted by items that are literally impossible to find anywhere else listed up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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