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You are unlucky in timing. I just sent my praetorian army away to get commissioned. 435 US dollars worth at the highest standard i just paid (but it included assembly, conversion and basing) but i wanted to let someone knew try them. Some of it went to a new guy close by for his first commission and now hes got customers.

Pretty much you are a week too late from me seeing this as i wanted to spread experience around new commission businesses.

I currently have nothing to paint but if you are all good with paying half the international shipping (i pay for it to go to you, you pay for it to come back?) then ill happily jit you up about a commission.

Do you feel confident in painting Scottish imperial guardsmen?

Word of advice OP: never pay for shipping or models in either direction. The above post will cost you; our shipping costs in the uk are high compared to other countries. I run customer account spreadsheets for each project so the client can see what's been paid, what's owed and so forth. This means I can order in models for trusted clients before they even pay the deposit pay for shipping before billing the client for it etc. Speeds things along and means when the business is cash rich I can make sure that the stuff ill need later is paid for.

Stick to your guns, don't charge less than your time. If you need to run loss leaders, eBay but first get the modes up in gw's Flickr pool (and ideally wd daily), up on c'mon (add the auction link there) and on your own blg / fb page etc). And of course (before running the auction) make sure the model is seen by as many people as possible by putting sensible (ie show wip or talk about how it was painted) threads in forums.

I've found more enquiries come through when you're less... I dunno, grasping? with how you (I mean the general you here) post on forums etc, a few good tutorials, some nice WIP, don't overdo the sales patter. Still in terms of conversion from enquiry to booking, I pull probably 15-20%. At least 30% of enquiries I get are total wastes of time (wanting high end work at £4 a model etc). You'll eventually get a feel for spotting these early on so you don't get bogged down in taking about a project they simply can't or won't pay for. About 20% of enquiries just disappear (usually after price is discussed).

The majority of your bookings will come from repeat customers, so don't sweat what seems like a low conversion rate, it really isn't that low. Just stick with it.

Is it really that expensive in UK? If so i dont mind paying shipping, PM me if you are interested anyways.

Unfortunately yes, it is. Certainly from a business point of view it cuts into the already very tight margin on commission work.

All good, fairs fair lol. Im used to it being met halfway thats all but im new to getting my armies done so eh its all good.

olim wrote:
Thanks for all the advice guys, in my experience ebay pays way less than a fair price - maybe it was just a bad experience - i did an auction starting starting low, should I be doing a buy it now at a higher price instead.

The reason for why discount at all is because I've had months of people saying they "would" commission me, I've even had two people enquire, one of which just never the replied and the other didn't go through because of a changing financial situation. So basically I'm just trying to get people to commission me so word can spread - until then all I can do is advertise and now I'm seeing if lower prices helps.

Intro price is a good idea actually, perhaps standard £15 character price when part of a multiple unit commission.

I am always realistic with times - I don't paint an army a week and I don't pretend to - but the model(s) will be done in the specified time frame

dont bother with low auctions. you will get screwed 99% of the time.

i suppose it can work every once in a blue moon usually if it's some hot new release, an amazing paint job and two people that just need to have it.

but even single figures painted by polish masters rarely seem to go for more than 200 bucks. considering they probably spend 30-40 hours or more on said figure, that's kind of laughable, even more laughable when you consider that ebay takes... what is it now? 12%???

Ebay take around 10%, and paypal take 4% ish plus

olim wrote:
Thanks for all the advice guys, in my experience ebay pays way less than a fair price - maybe it was just a bad experience - i did an auction starting starting low, should I be doing a buy it now at a higher price instead.

The reason for why discount at all is because I've had months of people saying they "would" commission me, I've even had two people enquire, one of which just never the replied and the other didn't go through because of a changing financial situation. So basically I'm just trying to get people to commission me so word can spread - until then all I can do is advertise and now I'm seeing if lower prices helps.

Intro price is a good idea actually, perhaps standard £15 character price when part of a multiple unit commission.

I am always realistic with times - I don't paint an army a week and I don't pretend to - but the model(s) will be done in the specified time frame

Always look at eBay as something of a marketing expense (if you do it at all). Doing it at a loss still gets people looking at your stuff. Just make sure that you're using it as a marketing opportunity. Your listing should link to your website (you have a website, right?) and it should also mention that you do commission work. DO NOT use eBay as a way of actually making money on your painted work because people are going there looking for a bargain. I've gotten a couple of clients via eBay sales, but it's not how I've gotten the majority of them. Using social media (Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, Flickr, YouTube) has worked out the best for me.

All is going well now with commsions. Here is some more eldar, an example of non characheter work. I think this may be my last personal project model for a while.

I've completedy first Commision, here: http://thediceodyssey.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/the-scottish-guardsmen.html?m=1

Someone may have mentioned it, but another way to advertise would be to make a smallish banner for yourself for your signature. Few pics of your work, splash of the name and have it link to your site and it should hopefully bring in a few more people.

I did a couple of Comissions last year, then stopped accepting commissions for a while until I had more time. Now I am able to accept a small commission, PM or email me if you're interested.

An amazing painter. Highly recommended!