What's your price point for painted minis?

[Elbows]

It's funny you mentioned having his mates bidding on it...I actually assumed this kind of thing is simply money-laundering on the down-low...

[dadlamassu]

I only buy painted figures at bring and buy stalls (remember them?).  Quite often strip off the paint and then repaint.

Do the figures illustrated bring any advantage on the wargames table? 
A +6 on the die rolls? 
Or -4 on all enemy attacks within 12"? 
Does it have a forcefield to prevent paint chipping? 
Will he survive a grandchild dropping him on the floor and then standing on him?

Since the answers are probably "no" I'll give them a miss and invest in 10 or more boxes of plastic warriors and get several months years of enjoyment building, sticking my fingers together, searching the carpet for lost pieces, colouring in and playing games!

I suppose they will become shelf queens.

[Ranthony]

Some interesting points and I tend to agree that a figure is only worth what the buyer is willing to pay.

Daddlmassu, that's just it - the balance of what you can have for that money against a single figure is staggering.
I've been growing keen on the idea of Perry Austrian infantry of late, for £270 I can have 1058 plastic figures on my doorstep and you're right - years of enjoying them.

I suspect it comes down to prestige with these high bids, thevfigures he sells are show pieces for footsore and artizan designs websites but even then, one accident and it's money down the drain.

[Dags]

I suspect he may have mates putting in false bids?
As for the painting on the miniature Elbows posted; he’s a brilliant painter,not my style really. You can have a look at his stuff on Putty and Paint,lots of beautiful painting,fantastic inspiration if you’re inclined.
As for price point,I can paint to a certain standard reliably(at least as well,if not better) than the original post,why pay for it?
Interesting to see what Cubs,Dags,and Duff may say
Cheero
Guy

OK, I'll bite

1)   Assuming there's no bid padding or anything else dodgy going on (and afaik there's no evidence that there is) with the auction then best of luck to him. Back when I sold stuff on Ebay occasionally figures would go for well over what I was hoping for; it makes up for when they don't!

2)   Things are worth what people are prepared to pay for them.

3)   If a competent painter spends 3 hours on a miniature then the minimum it should sell for is £30. However, refer to 2) above.

4)   Almost everything in this hobby/industry/business is grossly under priced. Bryan Ansell of Foundry wrote a piece, what? 15, 20 years ago saying as much and he was right. However,  refer to 2) above.

5)   When I do sell painted minis on the boards here – and it's been a while as commission work has kept me busy over the last year – I price them ‘to sell'; when I've made up my mind that something has to go, either because of lack of space or interests have changed, I don't want them hanging around.

6)   I've got a few miniatures painted by folks I admire – including one by Angel Giraldez – you can learn a lot (and you always keep learning) by looking at pictures but ‘in the lead' reveals more

[Bearwoodman]

Personally I would pay less for a painted miniature than for an unpainted example of the same figure.

Painting is my hobby, so why would I pay someone else to have the fun? I am also happy with my painting standard, have no need of an army in a hurry, and have a limited hobby budget, so I am not in the market for this sort of thing.

Having said that there are painters on this forum (Blackwolf has mentioned a few) whose pieces are real works of art and whose work I really enjoy looking at and trying to learn from. If my circumstances as set out above changed then maybe I would pay a premium for painted figures. But I imagine I would only do so where the paint job was beyond my ability.

[armchairgeneral]

I am fairly neutral about painting. It is just something I have to do to get the armies I want to game with. That said, I admit I enjoy it when the figure is close to completion and I can see how good it is going to look. I feel you do get greater affinity and satisfaction fielding an army all painted by yourself.

I can paint to a reasonable wargames standard and probably paint even better if I was prepared to spend the time.

In the light of the above and being I bit lazy, if I see well painted figures that I want I would paint up to £10 a figure though it is usually around £5 which I accept doesn’t really reflect the time taken to do them.

[Cubs]

Interesting to see what Cubs,Dags,and Duff may say

It grinds my beans is what it does! But then I have to be honest and realise it's pure envy. I set my own prices to balance making (very little) money with keeping a full order book, even just painting part-time, I've made that decision. Someone else's good fortune doesn't take money out of my pocket or food off my table, so logically I have nowhere to go with it, but my pettiness and hypocrisy keeps me muttering and grinding my teeth.

I never get my normal commission prices on anything I sell on eBay, but then why would I? A commission is something someone comes to me and asks me for, an auction is something 2nd hand I'm offloading on the chance someone wants it. From a moral standpoint, if another seller is manipulating bids to crank up the price, well ... if someone wants to roll the dice on it and take the risk of getting caught, that's their wee adventure, not mine. If the final bidder is getting the product they thought they were getting, for the price they were willing to pay, then shrugs all round from me.

[Harry Faversham]

you can learn a lot (and you always keep learning) by looking at pictures but ‘in the lead' reveals more

Dags, a very telling comment there mate. Seeing my forty quid toy ‘in the lead' revealed one thing...
wot a tit I'd been!

[Grumpy Gnome]

If I remember correctly there were quite a number of professional painted figures at the Crisis gaming convention in Belgium a couple of years ago going in the 4 to 6 Euros a figure range.

I am not a talented painter, unlike many of the folks on this forum, certainly not a professional... just an enthusiastic amateur, although I have declined a couple of requests for commissions which are very complimentary but not something I want to undertake.

So, that said, I would not want to make a living on what folks seem willing to pay on eBay for pieces I painted. I consider myself lucky to get 1 or 2 Euros more than what the figure costs unpainted new. It hardly covers my time and materials. It is really just to make space and see someone get some use out of the figures. I feel much better trading things I painted with mates. Thanks Tom!

So fair play to the great artists that can make much more. Art is worth whatever people are willing to pay versus what people are willing to let something go for.