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If I sell stuff on Ebay, do you think potential buyers would prefer the existing paint-job or should I respray them black? (The painting is pretty bad)

If the current paintwork isn't great, don't compound it by putting more paint over the top...

You might get a little more for then if you strip the paint off, since that saves the buyer some work. Whether or not the difference will be enough to be worth doing that extra work yourself is arguable, though. Best bet if you're not sure it's too look at how much similar stuff is going for painted vs unpainted.

I'd agree pretty much - don't try to 'fix' them with more paint, and stripping them is unlikely to get you vastly more $$$s compared to the effort it will take to do it. I for one shop on eBay with the mindset that I'm going to have to strip and repaint already factored in.

Also, take good pictures, and be clear and honest in your descriptions and what your terms are. Cover your ***, and it's less likely you'll have problems with your buyer or eBay.

I've seen lots of re-undercoated minis on eBay and it just pisses me off.

I've bought quite a few models of ebay over the last few years and my advice is, DON'T RESPRAY!
Re-undercoated models lose a lot of detail, and are a pain in the arse to strip.

Just be honest about the paintjob and any damage to the model and you will be fine.

it's also appreciated, just in case they DO like the paint job, that you know the colors/color range/type of paint used off hand in case they ask...

+1 for the no respray. I personally only go after minis that have no paint, a very basic (Drybrush and maybe some edging) paintjob, or that have only been primed. Also get pictures from all angles and don't skimp on the resolution. I personally won't bit on a model if I cant get a really good look at it.

If the paint job is bad I'll strip miniatures. Otherwise they go up as is.

Tell you what, so that you don't have to decide, just send them to me, I'll give them a good home.

:-D

 mirrorworld wrote:
If I sell stuff on Ebay, do you think potential buyers would prefer the existing paint-job or should I respray them black? (The painting is pretty bad)

As someone who buys and sells a considerable amount on Ebay (I turned over more than a grands worth of wargaming material alone last month) , I have enough experience to know that a black respray usually garners a higher price and quicker sale than something with a mediocre/bad paintjob. It sometimes results in a slight softening of the detail, but that's rarely discernible from an Ebay picture, and so long as you mentioned in the listing that it has been painted black, there are no business issues that can arise from re-undercoating (your arse has been covered).

You often find that plastic troop miniatures which are badly painted and a nightmare to strip sell for peanuts or not at all, but a quick black spray can triple the value. The best spray I find for plastic (bizarely enough) tends to be the GW one, purely because the paint is so thin, that it rarely obscures much in the way of detail while giving an even undercoat. Army Painter spray on the other hand, is quite thick and can quickly render a previously painted plastic model unsellable. It does however, go quite nicely on the metal models that GW spray is too thin to handle.