Commission Ebay?

[Sardonic Wolf]

As there are no jobs in my area there haven't been for months, commission painting sidelined with the odd handy job seems like the only option,

I've got a plan set out,
Website,- set price levels here, Blogs, I've got my friend who makes websites semi professionally to sort mine out,
2. Advertise join multiple forums to raise awareness,
3. Keep my eyes out for local painting competitions and enter any that arise,
....and step 2 and 3 would be repeated again and again

But to raise some intial intrest and cash i was planning on putting some on ebay are there any particular models that sell particularly well or can offer a highish profit level even if their only painted to a medium standard
Along side all of this i'm getting in a much painting as possible across a range of models to practice various techniques, colour schemes and to have some examples
Are there any other steps/stages that i've missed or tips you guys can offer?
Thanks in advance

[Vulpus Rex]

One thing I'll say is get advice on taking great pictures. It's important that you sell yourself and your work. That's about all i got.

[grimdisco]

Check out Barrtertown here is a link.
You can talk to an admen and set your self up as a painting studio.
The people there are willing to pay for good fast painting services.
http://www.bartertown.com/trading/
Hope this helps.

[Pherion]

Good pictures are a must. If you dont have a good digital camera, that's your first investment. Second is making sure you can get those pictures online and accessable. I asume your web design friend will take care of that stuff, but a professional clean website is a must if you want to do this online.

Forums are you best best. Most of my customers are from out of my state, and found me through the net. You've got to get out there and show people you exist. Make sure to put a signature link on every forum you visit. That way every single post is an advertisement!

Prices are your choice. I've recently hiked mine (optionaly) as I've found myself spending more and more time on minis. You can always offer a lower quality "Table Top" version of your painting for a lower price. This is what I'm doing right now.

Ebay is a bad option. You'll find very very quickly that people on Ebay will only pay for phenominal paint jobs, and they will not be willing to pay the going price for them. You'll get shot down left and right with 10 watchers and no bidders. (at least this is my experiance). The other big problem is that once something is painted, the perspective market for it is essentlay cut down by at least a third. Think of space marines. If you're selling on the sprew marines, anyone who plays can buy them. If you paint them as Blood Angels, now only Blood Angels players can buy them. Shrinks your market signifigantly.

Good luck!

[Kishvier]

Yeah ebay people are on there to get a deal or a crazy well painted model. If your not Golden Daemon standard you may have trouble getting a decent sale going.

[ledfloyd]

I do remember reading about someone who was selling some painted models (solos not units) and it seemed that the LotR models would sell really well compared to 40k or WHFB. He thought it was that he tapped into the RPG-er and LotR fan demographics.

[grimdisco]

Battletech stuff sells for lots... The players want the minis to look the part of that ever house or merk unit but they pay well,