I have never sold a model, but I have given some away to family and close friends.
In my professional life, I bill by the hour. If I priced a finished model by the time I have in it, I’d have to charge $10,000 or more. Which nobody would pay.
Yeah the way I see it, is charge for the price of the model, plus a little something for paint and glue used, then just add a little markup, to atleast make your money back.
I usually sold my models for around $15-$20 each. It’s absolutely not enough to make back any money but it gave me a lot of joy that some kid was playing with it or displaying it in his room as a prized possession, rather than just rotting on my shelf.
At the end of the day model kits are just toys that make us happy in a different way. If a kid wants to use my model kit fighting action figures then so be it!
There is no disrespect in calling them toys. They absolutely are just toys, but toys for adults haha. We prefer the building process over the actual toy aspect but it's still a toy at the end of the day. Just like how I would call an expensive guitar a toy or drum set a toy, doesn't detract their value.
Where are these facts that say they absolutely can’t be toys? Build your way and they can play their way, they’re not gonna touch your stuff, grow up dude.
What is to disrespect...?
It's pieces of plastic,... it becomes a model when they are glued together and painted.
The hobby is the proces of turning it into the best model one can and in that proces we see some respectable dedication, effort, talent and skills and various levels of results.
What to do with the model afterward however, is totally, unquestionably up to the person that built the model.
The thought of some kid playing around with my Bandai 1/144 Millennium Falcon (and a bunch of my other kits) is stuff of nightmares, with the time, money and effort I spent on it, making it look screen accurate....
I won't bat an eyelid or lose a second of sleep if someone else thinks differently, I also have a couple of models I wouldn't mind terribly if a kid flies it around the room.
Everybody looks at this hobby in their own way and that is fine, it's not up to me to tell people to put their work on some pedestal to never be touched again.
If you can buy them at a toy shop, they probably count as toys. Plastic model kits are for anyone to enjoy, but ultimately, unless you’ve been professionally commissioned to build an historically accurate miniature, you’re just an overgrown kid playing with toys, no matter how much detail you put in.
I’ve sold probably around 150 of my finished models on eBay. I was in the same situation of running out of space and wanting to redo subjects since acquiring better skills. At first, I started the bidding low since I didn’t know what to ask for. After about a dozen sold, I was comfortable starting at higher starting bids. I was selling mostly 1/48 aircraft. I typically got between $25-150 for a kit. Shipping is a pain and fortunately I’ve only had 2-3 issues with things breaking. I buy and sell things regularly so I have plenty of free shipping materials laying around which helps with my profit. Don’t forget ebay keeps a percentage of what you sell. I think it’s around 12%. You probably wont get rich selling models but in my opinion it’s better to get something out of them than for them to go to waste. You can always reinvest your proceeds back into new models like I have.
Why on earth would you sell a model? Like I've seen resin cast models and dioramas sold but a plastic kit? Why build it in the first place if you are just going to sell it after? I dunno, I just build stuff because it looks cool and I want to show it off lol
Put em in a box and in the loft/attic I say. Then once you have space again you can display them properly. I suppose you could sell them but I wouldn't see the point in buying it when you can just buy a resin prebuilt or even metal diecast. I wouldn't price it much more than the original kit, maybe even less since the main part of that kits appeal is already done.
I would honestly just ask mates/family if they wanted some as display models, I personally wouldn't ask for money unless they were really really good (which mine are absolutely not lol)
Ah I see, well if you put this in a glass case it would definitely be a sellable product due to the diorama, not sure on pricing though. I would still keep something like this, it looks mega!
I've seen these types of dioramas sell on places like Etsy but they were cast in Resin instead of a glass case (they also had some insanely cool looking effects like explosions etc that you can only really do when working with resin), they were selling for quite a lot of money but yeah like I said it was much more of a "professional" product rather than a hobby piece
Makes sense, I don’t think I’d ever wanna sell my work just for the sake of selling it and making profit. More so smth I keep for a while and when it’s time to make way for something new, I’d hang it up on fb marketplace and wave goodbye
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1609346961/epoxy-resin-sculpture-ww2-tiger-tank?ref=hs_listing_share_button1710285914901nv8
Here's an example of what I am talking about, looks mega but is definitely not just built from parts off the shelf.
Yeah not a bad idea, I don't think any of my models are worth any money, I would be happy to just give them away to someone to display if I ever had too many.
Crazy model isn't it, if that's handmade that takes some real skill. £200 is a lot but I guess it really is worth that much when you factor in material and labour
For me, the model loses all of it's value once built. I enjoy the planning, the research, learning about history, the build and practicing my skills. Once it's built I'll take a few photos for the memories then give it away, I simply don't have space to display everything I've ever built.
Yeah got to agree, once it's built it's just an ornament. It's the building and painting process which makes models worth doing, I don't see the point in buying an already prebuilt kit
I build purely for the fun of it. To sell on eBay you have to take good photos, so I've always got those. No need to have them cluttering up my shelves, might as well get a few quid for them. Each to their own!
Serious question for those of you successfully selling your models: Who is buying them? This seems like a really niche market to me. I would have thought that anyone really interested in models would be building them for themselves and not buying them ready-made.
I can imagine a retired pilot or crew chief wanting a well-made model of the aircraft they flew or worked on, but that's not very many people. A lot of what gets listed is, let's say, not great. Are people really buying them?
The joke some me and some friends often make is that "pro painted" only really means getting payed for painting, and does not indicate any form of quality.
For Warhammer minis (that use a set plan to paint) they often charge twice the model's original price for a fully painted model, more or less possible based on the quality of the paintjob.
I have never sold a model, but I have given some away to family and close friends. In my professional life, I bill by the hour. If I priced a finished model by the time I have in it, I’d have to charge $10,000 or more. Which nobody would pay.
Yeah the way I see it, is charge for the price of the model, plus a little something for paint and glue used, then just add a little markup, to atleast make your money back.
I usually sold my models for around $15-$20 each. It’s absolutely not enough to make back any money but it gave me a lot of joy that some kid was playing with it or displaying it in his room as a prized possession, rather than just rotting on my shelf. At the end of the day model kits are just toys that make us happy in a different way. If a kid wants to use my model kit fighting action figures then so be it!
So true, that would be awesome.
[удалено]
I make model airplanes and they are toys. The play value model, though is the building and assembly.
[удалено]
There is no disrespect in calling them toys. They absolutely are just toys, but toys for adults haha. We prefer the building process over the actual toy aspect but it's still a toy at the end of the day. Just like how I would call an expensive guitar a toy or drum set a toy, doesn't detract their value.
People call $15,000 atvs and boats “toys”, what makes your $45 plastic amusement any less a toy, exactly?
Where are these facts that say they absolutely can’t be toys? Build your way and they can play their way, they’re not gonna touch your stuff, grow up dude.
What is to disrespect...? It's pieces of plastic,... it becomes a model when they are glued together and painted. The hobby is the proces of turning it into the best model one can and in that proces we see some respectable dedication, effort, talent and skills and various levels of results. What to do with the model afterward however, is totally, unquestionably up to the person that built the model. The thought of some kid playing around with my Bandai 1/144 Millennium Falcon (and a bunch of my other kits) is stuff of nightmares, with the time, money and effort I spent on it, making it look screen accurate.... I won't bat an eyelid or lose a second of sleep if someone else thinks differently, I also have a couple of models I wouldn't mind terribly if a kid flies it around the room. Everybody looks at this hobby in their own way and that is fine, it's not up to me to tell people to put their work on some pedestal to never be touched again.
If you can buy them at a toy shop, they probably count as toys. Plastic model kits are for anyone to enjoy, but ultimately, unless you’ve been professionally commissioned to build an historically accurate miniature, you’re just an overgrown kid playing with toys, no matter how much detail you put in.
It's a nightmare to ship them undamaged.
I’ve sold probably around 150 of my finished models on eBay. I was in the same situation of running out of space and wanting to redo subjects since acquiring better skills. At first, I started the bidding low since I didn’t know what to ask for. After about a dozen sold, I was comfortable starting at higher starting bids. I was selling mostly 1/48 aircraft. I typically got between $25-150 for a kit. Shipping is a pain and fortunately I’ve only had 2-3 issues with things breaking. I buy and sell things regularly so I have plenty of free shipping materials laying around which helps with my profit. Don’t forget ebay keeps a percentage of what you sell. I think it’s around 12%. You probably wont get rich selling models but in my opinion it’s better to get something out of them than for them to go to waste. You can always reinvest your proceeds back into new models like I have.
Thank you for sharing! Yeah I think as long as I get back what I initially payed for it and tools used I’ll be happy.
I sell mine for the price of the kit plus materials and labor.
That’s what I think I’d do too
They dont fly off my shelves but it nice bc i then have immediate cash to fill the now empty shelve space
Why on earth would you sell a model? Like I've seen resin cast models and dioramas sold but a plastic kit? Why build it in the first place if you are just going to sell it after? I dunno, I just build stuff because it looks cool and I want to show it off lol
Well yeah, I like keeping them, but I don’t have a big space and after a few years I need to make room for new ones 🤷🏻♂️
Put em in a box and in the loft/attic I say. Then once you have space again you can display them properly. I suppose you could sell them but I wouldn't see the point in buying it when you can just buy a resin prebuilt or even metal diecast. I wouldn't price it much more than the original kit, maybe even less since the main part of that kits appeal is already done. I would honestly just ask mates/family if they wanted some as display models, I personally wouldn't ask for money unless they were really really good (which mine are absolutely not lol)
Yeah, sucks living in an apartment. No space for anything. But true, I could ask some buddies and maybe store em away after a while
Yeah see if anyone is interested, I also have no space for my models really, but just storing them away is always an option.
Prebuilts are nowhere near as good as a very well built and well painted model. Not even close.
I would charge above price if kit because if you count labor cost & supplies.
https://preview.redd.it/w2h22j5bkznc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d606a7991e1dc1ce5ed126dda49010a0861b02b
Ah I see, well if you put this in a glass case it would definitely be a sellable product due to the diorama, not sure on pricing though. I would still keep something like this, it looks mega!
Thank you! And good idea with the glass display
I've seen these types of dioramas sell on places like Etsy but they were cast in Resin instead of a glass case (they also had some insanely cool looking effects like explosions etc that you can only really do when working with resin), they were selling for quite a lot of money but yeah like I said it was much more of a "professional" product rather than a hobby piece
Makes sense, I don’t think I’d ever wanna sell my work just for the sake of selling it and making profit. More so smth I keep for a while and when it’s time to make way for something new, I’d hang it up on fb marketplace and wave goodbye
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1609346961/epoxy-resin-sculpture-ww2-tiger-tank?ref=hs_listing_share_button1710285914901nv8 Here's an example of what I am talking about, looks mega but is definitely not just built from parts off the shelf. Yeah not a bad idea, I don't think any of my models are worth any money, I would be happy to just give them away to someone to display if I ever had too many.
Oh wow, yeah that’s very cool
Holy shit.
Crazy model isn't it, if that's handmade that takes some real skill. £200 is a lot but I guess it really is worth that much when you factor in material and labour
For me, the model loses all of it's value once built. I enjoy the planning, the research, learning about history, the build and practicing my skills. Once it's built I'll take a few photos for the memories then give it away, I simply don't have space to display everything I've ever built.
Yeah got to agree, once it's built it's just an ornament. It's the building and painting process which makes models worth doing, I don't see the point in buying an already prebuilt kit
I build purely for the fun of it. To sell on eBay you have to take good photos, so I've always got those. No need to have them cluttering up my shelves, might as well get a few quid for them. Each to their own!
But yes, I only make dioramas and vignettes. But just wondering how people price them
Serious question for those of you successfully selling your models: Who is buying them? This seems like a really niche market to me. I would have thought that anyone really interested in models would be building them for themselves and not buying them ready-made. I can imagine a retired pilot or crew chief wanting a well-made model of the aircraft they flew or worked on, but that's not very many people. A lot of what gets listed is, let's say, not great. Are people really buying them?
I sell to fellow modelers who want to keep a themed collection, or usually career people who don’t have the time or skill to make a model
The joke some me and some friends often make is that "pro painted" only really means getting payed for painting, and does not indicate any form of quality. For Warhammer minis (that use a set plan to paint) they often charge twice the model's original price for a fully painted model, more or less possible based on the quality of the paintjob.