just a quick post to show the start of my halfling ally contingent
one day i may finally get round to painting his trusty followers
enjoy
kat
Tuesday, 1 May 2018
CONFESSIONS OF AN E BAY SELLER
so here's the thing I sell on eBay. and yes I do both buy it now and auctions .now e bay is a divisive
site
with the majority of complaints being about high buy it now prices.
well my take is this .if I list a miniature I have to consider that a
big dealer will buy it and relist it a a higher price. for me
personally I want my items going to people who will actually use and
paint up the figure .and not go to a e bay scalpers. so let me break
down how I prepare items for sale .
1.
miniature is stripped of paint and checked for damage
2. I
then identify the miniature
3.
pictures are then taken
4.
using the sold listings feature I then price the item when doing this
I ignore buy it now prices.
5.after
all this I then list the item
6 if
I am lucky and the item sells I have to package the item and post it
out.
7.
after all this I then have e bay and PayPal take their cut (roughly
15% of the sold price)
so
why do I go to all the effort why do I not just photograph the
figures and list them well the answer is simple I care . I want my
buyers to be able to open a package prep the figure undercoat and
ready to go.
what
annoys me is sellers that put no effort into there listing its not
hard to to strip a miniatures not hard to identify a figure either
.but so many sellers just don't put the effort in.
so am
I greedy ?.no far from it I am happy to consider offers (just don't
take the piss)
you
see its a double edged sword yes I make money selling miniatures but
I also am a collector and painter my self
I
like to think my time is worth it.
now
moving on to scenery and terrain
some
of you may be aware that I build and sell terrain also .these items
take time to make plus I have my materials cost to factor in as well
.so how do I figure out a fair price .again sold listings I compare
similar sold items to mine and price accordingly .all scenery
listings have a buy it now or best offer
and
again I am happy to consider offers. so let me ask you would you take
a cut in your wages. would you consider it acceptable bearing
in mind you have invested time and money training to be able to do
your job. well here's the thing I have spent over five years taking
courses in various art and design courses my qualifications are below
btec
1st diploma in art and design
nvq
level 2 carpentry and joinery
BA in
fine art sculpture
not
to mention skills and techniques that I have developed and
learnt from various jobs I have held (mostly building trade)
so as
you can see I have the skills I have invested time and money honing
those skills so I can make and produce items that can be unpacked and
used straight away from the box .I think I offer these items at a
fair price considering my investment in time and money.
I
don't know maybe my items are rubbish maybe I am overcharging .who
knows at the minute I feel like I am banging my head against a brick
wall.
anyway
I don't want to come across as ranting disgruntled e bay seller
but
to me it just seems that people would rather buy some rubbish mdf kit
of a building than a hand crafted unique item.
so
what are your thoughts . I am throwing this out to you guys I really
would love to hear your thoughts on this .
and
if you have made it this far thank you for reading this
and
promise normal service will resume on the next post
and
if by any chance you want to buy an item send me a message .and for
the record anybody wanting an item gets a 15% discount on the listed
e bay price or you can make me an offer thanks
for
listening
rant
over
kind
regards
kat
https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/karuk23
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