I've got over 200 items on ebay currently, which are shifting quite nicely, but they keep downgrading the formating to make my pc display look like a mobile phone, and are now upping their fees again in return for ditching Paypal, paying the money direct into your bank account after a couple of days, deducting fees at that point rather than billing monthly. Which is going to be a pain in the ass for my accounting, as these are private sales, not business sales.
Like many others, bit sick of their constant changes, often without warning. Is there an alternative selling online venue that people have been using?
Or, isn't it time someone set up an auction/selling house just for wargamers? There are niche selling sites for antiques, clothes, books, "vintage", so why not?
Thoughts?
Think both Amazon and Google have somthing similar.
LAF, I think.
I looked at the Lead Adventure Forum, it appears you can only have one active post at a time, so it's a bit restricted if you're shifting a lot of stuff. I've 20,000x 15mm Napoleonics to go, and some 6mm moderns, to be replaced by 10mm goodness :D
I did find this fairly new site
https://minisbarter.com/
So it looks like a possibility.
I still use Pay Pal for ebay.
If you run a blog you could list them there. Or even see if Hinds wants them, you won't gt such a good price, but you will get lots less hassle.
Interesting. I've been thinking about downsizing my 10mm SCW collection.
I've started using the Minis Barter site:
https://minisbarter.com/search/pattern,15mm+napoleonic
and will gradually move my ebay stuff over as it doesn't sell there. It probably won't sell on this new site either, unless the site gets a lot more social media attention.
From what I gather buyers will still be able to use Paypal to buy stuff on Ebay, untill 2023 at least, it's sellers that are going to be "transitioned" away from it by July 2021 in theory.
I have sold stuff to Hinds before, got a fair price for some 15mm DBR Ottomans, but I'm not in a position where I need to sell these to pay the rent, only to pay Pendraken's rent (!)
From memory a friend struggled to flog off his 15mm Nappies a year or so ago.
There's a wargame bring and buy group on facebook. No idea if its any use.
If allowed, this forum would be an obvious place for 10mm to advertise and then PM for the haggling. At least they would go to a good home.
But, of course, its hard to imagine anyone wanting to sell 10mm . :D
I've sold a lot of surplus 'stuff' previously at local club Table Top Sales - and done very well out of it - but what with Covid restrictions that is not currently an option - also Bristol is well served by local clubs doing TTS's (sometimes a couple of times a year) and also lots of gamers willing to buy the surplus stock.
I've stopped selling @ Bring & Buys at Shows after a disastrous weekend event up at Nottingham one year - I was playing in a competition but kept on being called over the tannoy to deal with people making silly offers. I had stuff stolen, broken - lots broken up and sold without my consent and other lots were just simply 'lost' by the inept organisers. Never again.
I used to sell on eBay - but it was/is such a hassle (especially with international buyers - I wont sell abroad after having a number of lots disappear in the post to Italy & France) - and now eBay have removed PayPal for sellers I am less likely to do so in future.
Word of mouth on forums is usually a good way - I bought a couple of really nicely painted 28mm medieval armies from a gamers widow off a forum.
But eBay was good for getting rid of those 'odds & s*ds' left over after completing an army - the 3 spare 28mm Landsknecht pikemen or extra spare 10mm Centurion tank ;)
Most of my stuff is sold at local TTShere in Bristol as Mark says. So much easier and safer than other options mentioned.
Yeah, unfortunately here in Lancashire we have the lowest population of wargamers per square km than anywhere else it seems, very few clubs and no shows (unless you consider St Helens as part of Lancashire), so face to face sales are rare.
Anyways, if it interests anyone, I have for sale 15mm Ottoman Turk Napoleonics, then other 15mm Napoleonics, 6mm planes on stands, some micro-armour, and 15mm WW2, mostly Shermans left.
Definitely worth a post on LAF - while you are limited to a single for sale post you can list many items on it
This forum site was recommended to me as I was looking to buy some of the items in a ' stash clearout', and I was well pleased with the result.
Note: once signed up to the forum, you have to make' several' (in my case, 2), posts before you can 'personal message' to give email addressses, etc.
http://www.thewargamersforum.com/index.php
Or, there is Colonel Bill's. I have NO IDEA about ''selling' stuff to the site...have only bought from it.
https://www.colonelbills.com/
Quote from: sultanbev on 27 April 2021, 07:50:44 PM
Yeah, unfortunately here in Lancashire we have the lowest population of wargamers per square km than anywhere else it seems, very few clubs and no shows (unless you consider St Helens as part of Lancashire), so face to face sales are rare.
Anyways, if it interests anyone, I have for sale 15mm Ottoman Turk Napoleonics, then other 15mm Napoleonics, 6mm planes on stands, some micro-armour, and 15mm WW2, mostly Shermans left.
I'll mail you directly about the 15mm Ottoman Turk Napoleonics Mark
Quote from: Orcs on 27 April 2021, 01:35:47 PM
I still use Pay Pal for ebay.
Got message today that I have to sign up to the new system.
It takes up to 2 days for the money to get into your "Ebay account". Then you can opt for daily or weekly transfers. This can take up to two working days. So all in all about a week before you actually have your money.
You have to comply with "Distant sales" legislation, so the buyer can just say "I don't want it " and you have to pay the return postage.
The money for any returned goods will be taken out of funds in your "ebay account" if there are insufficient funds they will deduct it from your bank account !!
A 'Bring and Buy', or similar, section on The Forum would be a good idea I think. I can't think of any negatives.
Quote from: John Cook on 30 April 2021, 05:59:28 PM
A 'Bring and Buy', or similar, section on The Forum would be a good idea I think. I can't think of any negatives.
Thats a good idea, but I seem to remember Leon was not keen, but cannot remember why.
Hm. Maybe. BUT one HAS to consider that on a Figure Producer's Forum, 10mm gamers buying from each other, will, inevitably, have some impact on sales of new product.
Off-site activities are always up to the individual, but it would be a little strange for a business to encourage loss of potential revenue on their own site!
Non 10mm stuff... might be fair enough as stash reductions may release cash for 10mm buying! ;)
I note your point, but need to say that when I buy from another maker, it always leads me to buy more Pendraken stuff too to make up the army. I suspect the same principle might lead me into temptation if I bought 2nd-hand stuff too.
Yes, I suppose it might have an impact on sales of new stuff but if you are selling anywhere on line it would have a potential impact would it not. Perhaps, if such a thing was available through the forum, how would Pendraken taking a commission of some kind, or charging to place a small-add work?
Perhaps under the Minibits banner they could have a bring and buy type forum/ Column. I would happily pay a listing fee and 10% commission when whatever sold.
If 10mm stuff were sold, it may impact on their sales, but they would get a commission fee on stuff they had already sold once, and if it was painted the commission may well be more than the profit on selling the equivalent number of figures.
Quote from: Orcs on 30 April 2021, 05:36:57 PM
You have to comply with "Distant sales" legislation, so the buyer can just say "I don't want it " and you have to pay the return postage.
The money for any returned goods will be taken out of funds in your "ebay account" if there are insufficient funds they will deduct it from your bank account !!
I've uhm-ed and ahh-ed about trying to sell stuff on Ebay for the last couple of years, and it's always things like that put me off.
I think when we've discussed it in the past it's been the potential loss of 'new' sales that's put me off having something here. Obviously people are going to sell them somewhere anyway so it's hard to judge how much that impact would be. I don't think I'd want to be charging folks commission or one-off fees to post their sales here though, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that.
I'll have another think once we're settled in the new place and see if we can figure something out.
Quote from: Leon on 03 May 2021, 11:20:25 AM
I think when we've discussed it in the past it's been the potential loss of 'new' sales that's put me off having something here. Obviously people are going to sell them somewhere anyway so it's hard to judge how much that impact would be. I don't think I'd want to be charging folks commission or one-off fees to post their sales here though, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that.
I'll have another think once we're settled in the new place and see if we can figure something out.
Once you're settled in with public access normalised, you could have in-house table top sales/barter days :)
Quote from: Leon on 03 May 2021, 11:20:25 AM
I think when we've discussed it in the past it's been the potential loss of 'new' sales that's put me off having something here. Obviously people are going to sell them somewhere anyway so it's hard to judge how much that impact would be. I don't think I'd want to be charging folks commission or one-off fees to post their sales here though, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that.
I'll have another think once we're settled in the new place and see if we can figure something out.
Obviously anything like this is up to you, but if your not happy taking a commission or listing payment. How about an agreed percentage going to a Pendraken Charity Fund. You could then pass it on to a suitable charity of your choice.
Making it a voluntary donation would probably get a bigger response.
Money aside, I think Leon is best wary of allowing a trading page because as the host site owner, he'll inevitably get dragged into any disputes that occur. So terms and conditions would have to be tightly covered beforehand so that doesn't happen.
Quote from: sultanbev on 03 May 2021, 12:03:54 PM
Making it a voluntary donation would probably get a bigger response.
Money aside, I think Leon is best wary of allowing a trading page because as the host site owner, he'll inevitably get dragged into any disputes that occur. So terms and conditions would have to be tightly covered beforehand so that doesn't happen.
Yes I can fully understand that