I'm an ebayer. Just browzing causes me to run into interesting things. A day or two ago, I called up the Leopold to see what i might pick one up for. I noticed a couple of guys had built them and had those up for sale. Well, one of those built models is up to $500. Now this guy's stuff is good, and he ain't the one jackin the price up, but man. Gives one pause. Animal you and gunny could give up your pensions by selling all those gorgeous scratch built trucks you've been building

yeah, I saw that too...

It sort of makes you wonder though..I did ONE free kit in exchange for a review for IPMS waayyy back when. and it was a drag. I did not pick the subject and building and documenting for a deadline was no fun for me. I didn't do it again.

The kits I build for myself are labors of love and I'd probably not part with, otherwise it would be hit or miss as to finding a buyer. You might have good luck selling K5 railguns for a while here, but even that market has to be saturated at some point.

If I was to part with a recent Panther kit

Tamiya Panther G $30ish..
Anvil Tracks $20
Barrel $10
Aber fenders $8
Aber skirts $15
Eduard Etch zimmerit $20
Aber deck screens $8
Fine Molds scopes $10
Eduard etch set $20
Fruil Idler $8

or $139 for just the materials.

At even $6 per hour I have at least 50 hours in the thing, so $300 more...

I'll even consider paint, glue, evergreeen plastic and reference books 'sunk costs' and not include them. I'd even throw in the AMPS silver medal for free...

So pretty quickly a $35 kit becomes a $439 model, IF I was willing to sell it.

Just food for thought.

Mike

Just remember, eBay is a fickle place to sell kits on. I have seen Built Hobby fan conversions for the 5 ton wrecker sell for $350.00 and also not get a bid. Both built to the same standard. This story could be told over an over.

The main impetus for the Ebay stuff is that it is new and people want cutting edge built...buyers will go after teh first well built kit of something like rabid wolves...then calm down. One or two kits may go high, but the rest will settle down. eBay is a place to mainly find hard-to-find stuff, or else get a good deal on something.

It's important to look at perspective here, I think. Most of us like to do the building rather than buy a built up model. Several hundred dollars is not out of line for a built up model, if you look at the economics as Mike did. That being said, the quickest way to kill your enjoyment of your hobby is to turn it into a job.

The other thing to remember is that ebay is populated by vast numbers of people who don't know what their bidding on, use underhanded tactics to increase the bid values, or are just plain foolish. If you want something on ebay, do your research, establish you comfort zone and stick to it, and don't let the actions of others influence you.

Oh, I agree entirely, I prefer to build. create my own masterpiece. Sure guys like animal make my versions look pitiful in comparison, but it is my own work. There are those out there I am sure who want only the best and realize their limitations (as Dirty Harry says.... a man's gotta know his limitations) they have the money, buy that piece of perfection. I kind of envy the guy who is doing this, but I treasure my "collection" and the though of parting with one of my really high quality builds is something I couldn't do.

Unless I had a personal connection to the subject and just wasn't capable of building one for myself, I simply don't think I would get that much satisfaction from owning a model someone else built. And as for selling models on ebay, as said, it's a very fickle place, and quickly becoming saturated with "pro-built" models. Before long, you won't be able to give them away there, as I'm sure the pool of potential buyers is small.

Another problem with selling built kits to the "average" consumer is that the vast majority of people who do not build models have no idea how expensive this hobby has gotten. Your average non-modeler only remembers the days when they went to the dime store and spent $2.50 on a Monogram airplane or 1/32 scale tank. Try to tell them you have $200.00 worth of materials and 150 manhours (at least) in a model an they look at you like you are nuts (well, maybe a little nuts.)
Second, I have seen some nasty "pro-built" models on Ebay. I don't really know what it takes to qualify as a professional model builder but I would suggest that some of those folks keep their day jobs...

Shaun

I've been "professional" for some time now - and thanks for the compliment. Personally, you'll never find one of my miniatures on eBay - at least sold by me. Most bidders don't know what they're looking at, some like to engage in sniping tactics that drive up the selling price of the miniature, and some (allegedly) have "seeders" (friends) putting in these outrageous bids to jack the price up. "Pro-Built" is now a term that makes me chuckle when I look at some of the stuff offered up there. Anyone can claim to be a "pro" by finding someone willing to pay them for a model.

Gun Trucks and vehicles like the LaCrosse Missile Launcher or the Honest John have brought me very nice commissions above the hundreds of dollars range, and allow me to finance my hobby. Adding a professional side hasn't hurt my love of the hobby at all - contrary to early fears 10 years ago. Same with my participation on Internet Forums like this one here at Armorama. I learned to adjust my schedule and modeling time - and today I get twice as much done as I did when Armorama was born. I just duck off the Internet for brief periods of time to get modeling done.

I just keep things in perspective and never let the professional side become the single focus of what I do in the hobby. I don't advertise - and most here don't know that I am a professional builder. A super-project like the LaCrosse is great fun because of the people I meet. A group of LaCrosse Missile Battalion veterans are helping me with fine details on the model. So much so, I could write a book. But, just modeling a Skybow M41A3 Walker BullDog right out of the box is equally as much fun because I just plain love model building. There's no difference in the quantity or quality of the modeling - and I think that when modelers have acheived that balance - they're on the road to really going "professional". This is something I plan to do in retirement - and want my enjoyment of the hobby to match my professional success.

Gunnie

I have been building models for my cutomers for a number of years also. What Gunnies says is very true and I concur with him. If I was building just to make a buck I would quit all together in a heart beat. Most of the models that I build are donated to museums ot to the individuals who supply the info on a particular project. Don't get me wrong I do get paid a fair price for some projects. Like Gunnie it gives me the capital to stay involved in the number one passion of building models. I love the challenge of scratch building, but I equally love to build a kit straight out of the box. I totally enjoy being a member of this site and talking to all the execeptional builders, young and old alike. I learn something new every day by visiting this site. I would never sell my models on e-bay. I have bought a few items on e-bay but I find that it is more of a game than a bargin. In fact most items up for bid are highly overpriced. But it is not to say that e-bay is not a good thing. I have been able to find some invalulable sources for items that I may need.

Self proclamation as a professional is all it takes.

From a technical viewpoint, if you got paid once for a model you built, you could qualify as a professional, as opposed to an amateur. Remember the old arguments about professional versus amateur atheletes being involved inthe Olympic?

Yeah the term Pro built is used rather freely on Ebay. I chuckle a lot when I read it and then check out the actual item. As far as selling anything on there, the trick, if you will, is to have very clear pictures and be up front and honest when you sell. I have sold an OOB Tiger (Italeri at that!) for several hundred $$. I described all the work involved and made sure my pictures were top notch, thanks to the Nikon coolpix 450. You dont have to spend and small fortune to make some cash. I dont sell a lot of my stuff as I like it too much to sell. I will however crank out something that I feel will sell if I need a little extra cash. As many kits as I have sitting now (1800+/-) I can probably afford to build and sell off a few. "Q"