over-priced customs on Ebay
 

I can't believe there is currently a set of 4 of the new Nick TMNT figures that were custom repainted on Ebay, and the starting bid is $200.00 and someone is actually bidding on it. It kinda reminds me of the whole Neca repaints epidemic from 2007-2009, where people were making big $$$ just by painting the bandanas lol.

I'm just more surprised that people are actually paying that much for figures that someone else customized, rather than customizing their own figures.

Maybe, just MAYBE, some people aren't any good with painting. Like myself. If you're good enough to make the figures look like some people's, would you want to take on a custom for just the price of the figure plus shipping?

I'm currently bidding on one Donatello, and if I had the money, I'd bid on encino's custom 4 Turtles he has on eBay.

It's not always as simple as 'just picking up some paints and doing it yourself'.

Heck, even that can get pricey....

Hence the prices people charge for customs. The time and energy that probably goes into one figure is amazing to me.

yea I see what you mean about people not having the time or skill to make their own customs, but still though, it can become a really fun hobby if you give it a try and just keep getting better at it, I am by no means calling myself an expert customizer, I still have a hard time with sculpting things to look perfect, but I feel I have improved my custom skills over the years, nobody taught me how to do it I just got into the hobby and learned new methods of customizing over the years, and how to improve from previous customs, so basically if you make your own customs, you can pretty much have any toy/character/design that you want, not just limited to the customs that are on ebay...

Luckily, I have friends who are sculptors by trade and hobby.

I agree with DonatelloFan and Jester here, but only to a point. I think a $200 starting price, while reasonable, isn't going to snag a buyer. If a custom is good, and there's enough interest, you can start the auction at a $.01 bid with no reserve and by the time it ends you'll see the $200 price for a set of 4(if not more). I'm more inclined to bid on something when there's a low starting bid too, but that doesn't mean that I won't consider throwing down big bucks for a quality product, and some of these ebay customs aren't simple bandanna repaints like the Necas were a few years ago. Applying layered paint takes some time and patience. So in some of these cases, you're getting your money's worth.

Consider also that they might really like the end product of there customs and they don't really want to part with them unless they get a nice chunk of change. Some of these customizers do it for a living so they charge by the hour they put into there figures. $15-$20 a figure plus $5-$10 in paint and there only charging $20-$30 more per figure that probably took them a few hours over the course of as many days, I don't think they are overcharging anyone. Customs aren't toys they are articulated pieces of art and those who don't want to just customize the figures themselves should expect to pay "art" prices. That's my 2 cents on the matter.

Don't like it don't buy, easy and whine-less

While a high starting price seems ridiculous, customs tend to go there anyway. I start my customs low, typically whatever the initial figure cost, and I can count on them breaking $100. If someone is willing to pay the price then so be it, it's their money for the time being.

I have heard this same thing I have heard for years while doing transformers customs..

the fact still remains, some people pay thousands of dollars for some paint on a canvas, some people pay for 3d art on one of a kind customs.

Factor in the cost of figures, the materials, the years worth of experience to make something look like it does... If, lets say, his set only sells for $200, that is $160 profit. And it take about 3-5 hours to paint one of these up nice, so lets say 16 hours total, that is only $10 an hour(that is super low end) for skilled art... not that overpriced if you ask me.

but I do agree, people should always give it a try themselves. That is why I do the youtube tutorials. helping others to not make all the mistakes I have made. But yet, that is the best teacher.

If it were truly ridiculous then it wouldn't already have 1 bid on it. I expect more the day it ends. If everyone could make customs, they would, simple as that.

And the ONE Donatello custom that was being sold by himself went for $56. So for $200 this is cheaper per figure, at the moment, than the Don figure went for.

True. Let's analyze the costs. I use citadel paints. Each tiny container of paint costs $3.75. Multiply that by the number of colors I would need (about 12) to customize 4 unique turtles and we're talking $48 w/tax. Now let's factor in the cost of paint brushes. I would need 5 different brushes which comes to $25. Finally let's factor time. From start to finish, including preping the figures with a good scrubbing to remove any factory oils, we're looking between 10-12 hours for all 4 turtles at the min wage rate of $8.50 and we got $102. All together the total (not including the figures) comes to $175. Now let's include the $39 it costs to buy the figures...$219. So a start price of $200 seems pretty fair to me.

These are all valid points, and this is if you're paying your artist a minimum of $8.50 an hour. Not taking into account if there was any sculpting work done, $200 for a set is fair if the customizer does more than a set of 4 and is able to come out with a final price more than $200 pet set.
Fair pricing for sculpting work is a whole other ball game. Quality is a huge factor, as well as accuracy. Fair at that point could go up by another hundred dollars(if not more).

I try to think of it this way... I myself have absolutely zero (0%) skill in doing custom work. I'll sometimes keep parts for customs and such but when it comes to painting, I have such little patience that I would rather pay someone that has the time and skill to do a great job, rather than risk making a huge mess and potentially ruining my figures.

Like everyone's stated, materials are a factor but the time & effort are just as important. It all comes down to whatever someone is willing to pay... it's not like they're price gouging, like we see in the eBay almighty thread. If you feel someone is asking too much for their work, move along. Common sense generally prevails.

The set for $200 is done by a well known customizer who commands a high price for his stuff because it's always top notch quality.

I don't really buy Plasticplayhouse's math at all, mind you. Most customizers are doing stuff with the tools they already have. MintCondition may have bought some special stuff for this project, but it's unlikely he spent anywhere near those amounts to get any of that stuff.

However, you're paying for talent and time and those two things alone can be hard to put a price tag on.

Do people abuse Ebay and "customs", absolutely. I see junk going for way too much. But I don't think that's the case in many instances.

on the contrary, my math adds up perfectly. I've been customizing for years with many satisfied customers. Donatello fan commented that its not as easy to just pick up paints and do it yourself. Jester commented that it can get pricey too. My calculations are based on if a person had to start from scratch, as jester and donatello fan were discussing. The prices I used are the exact same that I get charged for supplies when I purchase from games workshop (some of the best quality products available).

i have zero talent when it comes to making custom figures, weather they change the sculpt or it is simply a repaint, i have respect for both. when it is done well, with good products used i am happy to pay a fair price- i bought the custom m.u.s.c.l.e men turtles & shredder from Plasticplayhouse for what i thought was a very fair price, considering the time he put in and that NO ONE else has them :) the custom painted Scratch (with all four painted weapons) was 75.00 a price that the seller regretted it going for, again i thought it was a steal! These people put a lot of effort into the items and i think they deserve to get a fair price- if you dont like the asking price, try to negotiate but remember not just the cost of the supplies but the time & effort are worth something.

I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong, people can do whatever they want with their customs and money. I'm just more shocked more than anything at the prices all these customs are going for on Ebay. They're selling for way more than the regular figures Mint On Card MOC.

What part of they aren't just "regular" figures do you not understand? You said it yourself they are "customs". It's always been that way with everything.

Is this really an issue? If some guy is selling something for $200 and hasn't misrepresented what he's selling, and someone else wants to pay $200 for it, then who cares?

I was commenting on your math as if it was based on the fact that every figure custom requires you to buy all new sets of supplies. Which isn't the case. So that's where the math doesn't add up. Customs CAN be expensive, especially when you have to buy all the supplies for the figure.

However, most of your major customizers have 3/4s of the stuff they need already. They may buy one or two things, but it's unlikely they're buying whole new sets of brushes, as an example, for each new custom. Hence, the foggy math.

However yes, we can agree that if you were to start from scratch on a project, it can add up quickly.

just because they have it on hand at the time they are making the custom doesnt mean that they didnt pay for it at some point... the supplies don't just appear.

I don't mind paying for customs simply because it took someones time and skill to make it. Now some customs are better then others, and some people need to realize they aren't that great and shouldn't be charging that much. But if I find a good custom I don't have a problem dropping some serious bank for one.

well, there is something to be said for having a one of a kind item... anyone can get a MOC figure- but if you are talented enough to sculpt your own... holy moly- that is far more awesome in my book.

Thank you. Considering I have all the necessary materials, I may try to do just one turtle in a similar style and see if I can get that kind of mark-up.

Maybe I shouldn't have said "over-priced" but instead perhaps "impressively-priced" would be more appropriate. I realize customs take time and money to make. As far as the costs go, I do have all the tools on hand though, just a one time fee, and I even have a bunch of spare figures to customize, only things I need to re-stock on regularly is paint and apoxie sculpt. But that's just me, everyone has a different way of doing things, which is why I see now why these customs sell so high. I've even seen customs selling for prices comparable to MOC Scratch.

I'm going to have to buy more supplies myself soon, and my customs don't normally sell for sh!t.

and see, it's over $300 now with still and hour left. 13 bids by 4 people only. watch it spike during the last minute.

It ended at $405, over TWICE as much as it was originally listed as. See, the $200 opener is nothing to even discuss now, and it never really was as I mentioned in a previous post.

4 people were on it all week until 1 new guy snagged it within the final 5 minutes.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160842462551...t_10305wt_1165

that is how the auction system works- if your proxy bid is set under what the sniper is willing to pay- they win :) 405 for a set of 4, too rich for my blood but if they have the money- i say congrats to the winner!

Amazing, $405.00, I'm impressed, amazing how painting them darker colors/outlines makes them worth so much more, good job, congratulations!

Since I have Raph and all the same colors of paint that he has, I think I'm going to try my hand at one of these in the same style and see if I can't sell it for $50+

Glad there is still a link up!

Good luck with your auction, ***Son of Ch'rell*** . I'm sure you'll get a good price, there seems to be good money to be made with customs on eBay.

Wtf, that's insane. The weapons might've taken a bit of work, but it doesn't look like he gave the figures themselves much more than a black wash!

Maybe I'm just a super-duper nice guy, but I'd feel like a scumbag taking that much money for such a simple touch-up. :P

I addition to the wash, it looks like he also repainted the belts a darker brown, washed those two, and painted in the details like the stitches. Not 100% sure how one does a proper wash, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You'll need to mix whatever color paint you have with water. I don't use an exact ratio every time, because sometimes you'll want a thicker wash. The more water you add the thinner your dark areas will be when you apply the wash.
There are tutorials out there on the internet. I prefer Jin's guide.

http://www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsao...ntingTips.html

Furthermore, to go a step farther than his guide... I sometimes use a hair blow dryer at a distance of about 2 feet to expedite the drying process. Be warned you may have to come back and do a few touch ups after a paint wash.

Edit: sorry for the off topic reply.

My usual painting method is base coat > wash > drybrush of base coat > drybrush lighter shade. Don't forget to give your figures a good scrub in warm soapy water first, else the paint won't stick properly.

When I first saw it, I honestly couldn't see the difference at first either, but then looking closely at the comparison pics, it looks like they had been painted the same colors in darker shades, and of course all the outlines and marks etc had been painted. I didn't know they were "washed" with black though. Though the changes seem minimal, they do look better then how they originally came from the factory.

Exactly. I've had periods of time between jobs where my only source of income was customs I could sell on eBay, and there is no accounting for eBayers' tastes. Sometimes, figures that I would literally spend 2-3 full 8+hour days working on wouldn't ever move (some are still on my shelves...and will stay there, 'cause I have a well-paying job, now), but incredibly simple (and ugly) repaints that took me 15-30 minutes would sell within minutes of my putting the up on eBay.

Whether or not any of *us* think that these Nick TMNT customs are worth $405 is irrelevant, as long as the person who won the auction thinks that's what they're worth, then that's fine. I'm glad the seller was able to get that much for his work!