I'm not seeing the reason to NOT have a reserve, NOT use BIN, and start ridiculously low starting price. For something with little demand (assuming this since it didn't sell or fetch a good price), how is that going to help? What if it sells for $.99 and actual shipping costs? Then he is basically out of a figure and his hard work.

I know it's tempting to follow this advice and generate more interest in your customs - but don't sell yourself short either. I suggest to start the auction at your minimum price or use a reserve - but not in any combination with BIN.

 

That's the risk. Typically, when someone puts something up on eBay (customs especially), it's fair to say that they're looking to make a decent amount of money in return. Sometimes, there's a set price or a perceived value. Other times, there isn't a number attached and the seller(s) leave it up to the bidding market to decide. Either way, they're looking to get something significant in return. To do this, you can't set reserves or ridiculous BIN prices. You're basically asking people NOT to bother with the auction. Part of the eBay experience is giving everyone a fair shot at your custom. A $500 BIN right off the bat isn't the way to do it. Setting a reserve price scares off bidders because they're essentially being told that there's a set value, which isn't all that different from a BIN, and all efforts to procure said item at a desired low price are useless because there's a specific amount that has to be met.

 

That is the key word to why I don't subscribe to the theories mentioned here. I'm not a risk-taker. I don't want to gamble on the current demand of an item. At the very least, I know what it's worth to me (or actual money invested) and won't sacrifice my work/money just simply to sell it. Of course there are special circumstances which the OP may be currently dealing with. This is obviously my personal stance on the issue and am an admitted eBay-hater.

It just still seems odd to me that the OP is looking to make money and is being told to eliminate all methods of minimizing his losses. Sometimes patience is the best skill in selling an item for an acceptable price for everyone.

 

If guys like encline and frenzy_rumble are basically saying the same thing as me (and they're successful on eBay), then there's no reason to believe that the OP can't benefit from said advice.

 

yep. there's a risk, but if you want to dive in, you gotta dive in head first, and not test the waters with your toes, so to speak. Lots of people give up when they "fail", but you gotta be persistent, and get back up and try again. Cater to all collectors, but do customs that look original and unique. No sense putting your first custom of Bumblebee on ebay, 8 weeks after the movie came out. I wouldn't even do that...

I had some floppy auctions in the beginning. I still do now. Ebay is a tricky place. You need to know who's watching, when they are watching and what they are willing to bid...and there's really no way of knowing any of that.

 

Bingo.

When selling a form of art like this, you can't simply go in and say "I put $50 into it, plus my time, and that should get me $500". Maybe it should, but you have to put it up low and let the bidders raise it. As Mike mentioned, if it's something that is in demand or unique, odds are it will do well.

I've held off putting anything of mine on ebay, simply because I wanted to slowly do my thing, get my name out there, and have some fun with it. I'm now confident in my scratchbuilding work and my design/building skills to do just that. I wouldn't just jump off into the deep end and assume I should be raking in big money. You have to kind of prove yourself first. Once people see you have the chops, they'll come to you. That's pretty much what has happened with my commissions work. I didn't actively pursue it, it just came to me over time. People loved what I would do or build, so the questions started coming in, then discussions on prices, and if it was something like a head or parts I've built and it interested them, they came and asked. Only then did I start to advertise my work or my commissions a bit more and offer to build more of the parts I was already doing for others.

If you can build on your work and your name, the rest will come. Just do your own thing and don't try to push too hard to get something out that others may not want. Like mentioned above, a Bumblebee custom may not fetch much right now, due to popularity dying off a bit. Now if you can use the body and do a different character or swap heads, it might gain some interest. There are a lot of people on ebay willing to part ways with their money for some very cool customs work, but you need to see where the love lies and see if you can do things that may be wanted or things that are basically one-of-a-kind.

 

yep. and sometimes building a name and building hype around your work can be more challenging than the art/custom itself. I've got a little over 4 years of customizing under my belt, and (at this time) hardly accept commissions. Luckily, there isn't need to cater to smaller jobs, where (often) I get 5000 emails about a minor repaint. I've secured repeat clients that will continue to supply me w/ work for the next several years...

If I'm not auctioning a custom, I am plugging my site, working on the new site, or promoting my FB and youtube channel (Click sig below to see what I mean)

 

I see the point of the advice if his only goal was to sell it without any concerns for actually making a profit. To get rid of it or get his name out there for example. But he did mention not having a job and doing this to support himself.

Considering eBay and PayPal fees, it is hard to turn a profit even if there was a steady demand out there. That is why I still recommend covering his butt with a bare minimum of his out-of-pocket costs as starting price.

If even frenzyrumble has floppy auctions at the beginning, that is a sign of the difficulty of entry into that endeavor/profession. If that is the OPs goal then by all means sell your stuff at a loss and get some recognition. I didn't get that feeling from reading his first post though.

 

From what's been said though, if you start an auction and list something with a BIN or reserve, it can (and does) scare some away. If you start low and give everyone a fighting chance, usually those that can spare SOME cash will start the bidding and try to win it or get it for a decent price. Those that really want it or like it (and have the extra cash flow to do so), will up the bidding even more to try and win it for themselves. It's just a risk you have to take in order to make money at this. I don't have this risk at the moment because I have pretty steady commissions for heads or parts (and questions about some of my customs I'm working on or building). If/when I do put a custom up for auction on ebay, I know it will need to be low in order to attract more possible bidders to the mix. And with the "don't undercut yourself" thing you mentioned earlier, if you set a BIN or reserve and it does go for that, you may end up undercutting yourself when it could have possibly gone for much more.

I can't be the only person who has heard the saying, "you have to spend money to make money". You can't do the bare minimum and expect to reap a huge payday. No one says he should sell his stuff at a loss. He's free to set a BIN or reserve. It's just that it may not attract as many people and that set price may be either over what some are willing to spend or pushing some away, knowing that it's out of their reach now. And I know plenty of big name customizers who have had auctions go for huge and some go for very little, where they didn't make their money back. It's just a risk. It's like playing the lottery or the stock market. If you go in thinking you can buy one ticket or play the market very little and come out a millionaire, it ain't gonna happen. You have to keep at it and eventually it can pay off. I know the odds are much worse for those things, but it sort of relates my point. If anyone wants to make a living at this or at least use it as supplemental income, you have to keep at it, build your name, get your work out there, and in the case of auctions, start low and let the custom and hype do the talking. If it's unique and in demand, the bids will flow.

 

You won't make enough money to live on, unless you live with your parents.

Analyze your output...how many customs can you do in a month? Let's say for sake of argument you can do one a week, and sell it every single week for $200.

Take out ebay/paypal fees ($15) and materials ($20) and thats $165 per custom. That's just over $700 a month, or $8,500 a year...about $2,300 under the U.S poverty level.

 

I'm in favor of starting low, but i never post something for less than I spent on it. $0.99 starting bids may work for the big names, but it really is a bit too much of a risk for those of us who aren't as established. However, I would also never use a reserve or a BIN, but for different reasons. Reserves almost always scare some bidders off, and this may just be me, but they also turn me off from sellers sometimes, as its often comes off a really, really arrogant. I never use BINs because hardly anyone ever uses it, and the bids will often go over what I set as the BIN anyways.

I dunno about that. Customizing is all I do right now while I'm school, I make more about twice your estimate every month, and I'm quite far from a name or anything like that. You do have to keep your nose to the grind stone though. I've been slacking so far this month, and I'm aching for cash.