Selling figures on Ebay

[ochoin]

I began several months ago, selling unwanted 1/72 & 20mm painted & based figures. I've sold over 800 to date at about $1.50 per figure (profit - after fees & P&P are taken out). I don't get paid for my painting time but I figure this pays for the figure & supplies and (most importantly) clears out the deadwood. There's a steady ticking over of sales to customers only in OZ. And there's empty storage containers in my figure store.

My aim is to have armies that suffice for a Game Night. About max. 200-300 figures a side. And an equal sized foe for them to face. I've only sold one entire army (ECW Parliament) to date, mostly selling individual units or, lately, small "armies": extra figures from existing forces.

It's hard to work out the vagaries of buyers. The current big seller is Napoleonic - especially French. Lots of 60-90 figures go within the week I list them. I even have followers & one nice chap says he's put my figures on display in his house. This says more about his taste than my dubious skill. Some quite stellar units don't sell, a couple of rubbishy ones were snapped up (I'm looking at you, HaT Nubians).

I'll move on to Prussian & Anglo-Dutch Napoleonics next. I have 3 Bronze Age armies I love (NKE, Mycenaean, & Hittite) but my pals aren't overly interested. They may all go. As we do the AZW, do I need my large Sudan armies?

Someone told me I'd regret selling my figures. The answer to that is, "Nope". I don't think I'm even half done yet.

donald

[Essex Boy]

That's a very impressive clear-out Donald. I've been telling myself for yours that I simply must take the ebay plunge - not to sell my painted stuff, just the inherited bits and bobs and the lead mountain.

I've done nothing, naturally, but the very lovely Mr Timothy Hall has offered to help me get the stuff to an auction house. I gather such an approach means the auctioneers do do most of the donkeywork.

A project for the Autumn I feel.

Iain

Ps I still think you're selling your lovely toys too cheaply (which is meant in a purely complimentary way).

[Paul]

It takes a lot of stamina to keep up the Ebay treadmill, Especially relisting figures that don't sell so I salute you.
It is very cathartic to get out from under those unpainted figures that will never get done though.

I'm currently, reluctantly shifting a lot of older figures for systems that aren't played so much anymore, mostly fantasy types. I do cherry pick figures that i want to keep that can slot into other things though.

I've recently offloaded all of my 6mm stuff...except the sci fi and even that might be drifting towards the exit!

The problem is knowing what to do with those odds and ends in the larger scales because posting a couple of figures is both expensive and a pain in the posterior.

[FreddBloggs]

That's a very impressive clear-out Donald. I've been telling myself for yours that I simply must take the ebay plunge - not to sell my painted stuff, just the inherited bits and bobs and the lead mountain.

I've done nothing, naturally, but the very lovely Mr Timothy Hall has offered to help me get the stuff to an auction house. I gather such an approach means the auctioneers do do most of the donkeywork.

A project for the Autumn I feel.

Iain

Ps I still think you're selling your lovely toys too cheaply (which is meant in a purely complimentary way).

Clearing space for more purchases from the count?

[ochoin]

Ps I still think you're selling your lovely toys too cheaply (which is meant in a purely complimentary way).

Iain, apart from over rating them, my figures will not sell for higher. It *is* an auction, after all, so if Joe Public thought them worth more, he'd pay more. Nearly every one of my listings has sold to one bid. Only two have had a 'Bidding War'- the last one got 4 bids & went from $24 to.....wait for it....$27.10 for 32 Punic War figures that were fairly ordinary. Sorry, very ordinary.

I actually think "cheap" is a far more important factor than "quality" on Ebay.

donald

[ochoin]

It takes a lot of stamina to keep up the Ebay treadmill, Especially relisting figures that don't sell so I salute you.

This confuses me. Ebay automatically re-list anything not sold. I just leave it on till it sells or, in 3 cases, decide no one wants it & I remove the listing by two key strokes.

The other good thing about selling hundreds of figures is if I stick a sneaky order into Newline for 36 figures, I don't feel guilty.

donald

[Paul]

It takes a lot of stamina to keep up the Ebay treadmill, Especially relisting figures that don't sell so I salute you.

This confuses me. Ebay automatically re-list anything not sold.

Not my auctions, it might be a setting somewhere that I haven't hit? Are yours Buy It Now or Auction?

[Buff Redux]

It takes a lot of stamina to keep up the Ebay treadmill, Especially relisting figures that don't sell so I salute you.

This confuses me. Ebay automatically re-list anything not sold.

Not my auctions, it might be a setting somewhere that I haven't hit? Are yours Buy It Now or Auction?

I can see that it is useful to a seller but it is one of my pet hates as a buyer. When you get a seller with no real idea of the value of his stuff or which category to list it in and you see pages of the same overpriced dross come up week after week.

[Willz the Wargamer]

It takes a lot of stamina to keep up the Ebay treadmill, Especially relisting figures that don't sell so I salute you.

This confuses me. Ebay automatically re-list anything not sold. I just leave it on till it sells or, in 3 cases, decide no one wants it & I remove the listing by two key strokes.

The other good thing about selling hundreds of figures is if I stick a sneaky order into Newline for 36 figures, I don't feel guilty.

donald

Go into settings Donald and switch to manual input, automatic relisting reduces your selling price by 10% each time.
I do it manually every 2 weeks and flebay gives me a selling deal.
I'll relist my items reducing the price a bit on some, others I won't.
had some Ahole who agreed to buy an item for £45 and then said he would only pay £40.
So I told him to go away and put the item up for £60 and I will not reduce it .

Willz.

[Essex Boy]

Clearing space for more purchases from the count?

Is it that obvious?

E