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I recently started this website to allow people who want to hire a commission painter get a look at their choices. The site is currently limited, I just completed it tonight and need the permission of about 15-20 more painting studios before I'll have a half way decent list of choices for people. It's basically just a registry with a bunch of links and eventually more art from those artists so potential buyers can get an idea of what they would be paying for. Again this is very much a WIP and I have a lot more to add so please be gentle. I'm working on getting my own domain name so it's easier to find too. For now comments and positive Criticism are appreciated! As time goes on and i get more artists and posts going I'll bring up the link now and again.
Check out my site! Come visit and tell me what you think.
https://dmckennon1992.wixsite.com/sitpaintandplay

Do you investigate/vet the services before you post them to your site?

I ask because Blue Table Painting has a mixed reputation and has had some high-profile public fiascoes occur in the last few years.

Does yell.com do that, I think not? A directory should start as just that.
A review function would be nice though.

The ONLY way something like this would work is if studios are not allowed to advertise or be "sponsored" studios, which is something Blue Table Painting would do in a heartbeat.

If you want the service to be taken seriously, no painting service should have any advantage over others beyond examples of their work and verified reviews from customers.

Get ad revenue from other companies, like BattleFoam or other peripheral sellers. Otherwise you run the risk of looking like you are in cahoots with X studio and that will wreck the reputation of the site in a heart beat.

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
Does yell.com do that, I think not? A directory should start as just that.
A review function would be nice though.

Had to look up yell.com. So for us Americans that is the online version of the Yellow Pages.

Fair point that a directory is just a listing of businesses, however a directory usually has more than four entries. I realize this is a new undertaking on Sitpaintandplay's part, but if 1/4th of a directories' entries have troubled histories, well, it seems to me the directory is leading the very people it is purportedly intended to help down a bad path.

There could also be something said about the editorial process of choosing which businesses appear on a directory that caters to a specialized niche of a niche hobby. For a curated list, as this site seems to be providing, I think there is some expectation that a level oversight and review takes place. This isn't a public directory listing all businesses in an area (like yell.com), this is a private site listing painting services for hobbyists. There is a huge difference between what yell.com offers and what sitpaintandplay.com are offering their users.

Its fine to claim in the legal section that the site isn't responsible for bad transactions which occur with any businesses listed, but the directory's reputation will be tied to users experiences with the painting services they find through the directory -- fair or not as that may be.

If I used this directory and got matched with a bad painting service there is a strong possibility I'd never use the directory again, especially if I was given the impression that the directory backed the painters it presented.

Take a look at the language used on the painting section:

Here we have a variety of painting studios and painters to choose from at various levels and styles, take a look!

The we implies that the painters are in someway endorsed by the directory. Otherwise why use the pronoun we when other language could be utilized instead?

 Aerethan wrote:
The ONLY way something like this would work is if studios are not allowed to advertise or be "sponsored" studios, which is something Blue Table Painting would do in a heartbeat.

If you want the service to be taken seriously, no painting service should have any advantage over others beyond examples of their work and verified reviews from customers.

Get ad revenue from other companies, like BattleFoam or other peripheral sellers. Otherwise you run the risk of looking like you are in cahoots with X studio and that will wreck the reputation of the site in a heart beat.

Absolutely agree with this.

I think you will have a very hard time making this venture worth your time.

For that matter, even the commission painters you're linking to are having the same problem

One thing that I could see working out somewhat(albeit a pricey endeavor) is to "secret" shop various studios to paint the exact same model at their lowest and highest quality offerings, and to write up reviews of each.

 Aerethan wrote:
One thing that I could see working out somewhat(albeit a pricey endeavor) is to "secret" shop various studios to paint the exact same model at their lowest and highest quality offerings, and to write up reviews of each.

This is exactly what I thought. And a way to search by price point, that allows you to compare models within a price level versus what the painter claims is the level it is painted to. They all seem to use the same buzzwords, but all have different definitions of what those words are.

Update!!! The domain name has bee changed to sitpaintandplay.com, improvements on the site are still to come in the following weeks. I have a list of 15 painters already willing to have their content posted on the site, please give me time to create their pages and get them functioning properly. Also, I appreciate everyone's views and Ideas, keep them coming. Again this isn't for my benefit honestly its for the communities, I will eventually open a small web store and sell some small time merch and maybe use google adsense to get advertisement traffic revenue and even that is very minimal when it comes to, so basically I want enough to keep the site open year to year for free, which is about 100 bucks total. Anyways thanks for any positive thoughts or ideas guys! cheers and Merry Christmas!

Keeping a site like that open is 7 bucks total for the domain name + complimentary free hosting if you don't count your time in there and the "partners" host their own pictures.

Anyway, the big problem with commission painting is professionalism and repeatability, and unless someone could shed some light on that...