Ever feel bad for custom ebay sellers?

[Sniper33]

Better explanation of title is this: Anyone ever feel bad for the people that make custom figures, put them on ebay, and then not have them sell? Not talking about the people that just throw something together just to make a quick buck, but the people that actually put in alot of work and time to make the figure.

[Trout606]

Quite like nearly every other industry, most of it is image and popularity. Like Jin, he makes great customs, but they didn't start going on eBay for billions of dollars until after he got into Toyfare and the SDCC panel and he really took off. Now Jin is almost a brand name in custom figures :p

[Protoform X]

Good point Trout606. Pairadocs makes equally as detailed and superb customs yet his sell for much less than Jin's.

[suggadug]

As a customizer I have varying critiques of other customizers, some good and some bad. Personally, I think a customizer's prestige and price range should be equal to the quality of his work, not based on whether or not he's been published.

[Masked Moron]

As a customizer I have varying critiques of other customizers, some good and some bad. Personally, I think a customizer's prestige and price range should be equal to the quality of his work, not based on whether or not he's been published.


Agreed.

an ugly piece is an ugly piece regardless of who made it.

As for feeling bad for non-selling customs... No, I don't feel bad. When you put yourself & your art out there, ou take a chance... that's just the way it is.

What I personally don't like seeing is people pointing an laughing, rather than offering constructive criticism. (if they get all whiney when you offer opinions on what to improve, then go ahead and point & laugh ;) )

[Slave]

nice topic. if they put a lot of time in it then yes because i'm human. same time some custom look super nice but the price can go up to $500 from the start...that can turn almost anyone off. like i saw a tudercats set for $1,000 on ebay . i got the $$$ but i don't want to buy it because of the price range...hey i got collage and kids n bills to pay.

[Karnis]

"As for feeling bad for non-selling customs... No, I don't feel bad. When you put yourself & your art out there, you take a chance... that's just the way it is."

Agreed. I've had varying degrees of sucess selling custom painted figures, and MM is exactly right....it is what it is. Some of them I've done I thought would sell well didnt move, & others I've done that I personally thought werent as good went for +$100. Go figure.

[-=LoneWolf=-]

it's a risk they all have to put up with. nothing with potentially high gains comes without risk. it's up to you to understand it before you get into something

[kramwartap]

No, I can't say that I feel bad for people who are attempting to unethically profit from the intellectual properties of others (I'm assuming we're talking about people selling customs of copyrighted characters and not original creations) and aren't succeeding at it. I make figures myself, so I respect and appreciate the amount of work/effort that goes into a custom, but I can't sympathize with profiting from someone else's intellectual property without their consent/renumeration.

[Karnis]

Interesting POV kramwartap, but I'm not sure I totally agree with it. I tend to agree IF its something made from scratch, like a custom MADE bust or a statue, but if someone buys a figure & repaints it or does other custom work to it & resells it, what the difference between that & buying an old car, restoring/ customizing it and selling it?

[kramwartap]

Well, that's a valid point as well, Karnis. I'm not sure what the actual legal status of customs is as far as copyright goes, as defined by the law. I remember reading that Barbie fans had a stink with Mattel over making and selling custom Barbies a while back and Mattel backed down. Certainly something made from scratch is pretty cut-and-dried, but customs are something of a gray area. Regardless, I think we all can agree that, quality aside, it's the character in question being customized that is arguably the driving force for selling the figure (i.e., all things being equal, a "popular", copyrighted custom character is going to sell much better than an original creation). So, from that standpoint, a customizer is selling his/her product on the name recognition, if nothing else, which I would think is still sticking it to the intellectual property holder.

[Karnis]

All good points, kramwartap.I would be curious to hear what the manufacturers think about this subject. Anyone from McF available to comment?

[Daywalker UK]

On the basis that the custom market isn't cutting in to sales of the original figure (i.e. someone had to buy the figure in the first place before they could customise it) I shouldn't think the intellectual property owners have any real concerns over it.
I would expect that the standard secondary market hurts sales a lot more than customisers ever could. Every Spawn figure bought 2nd hand is one that won't be bought new, for example.
The only reasons I can see for (let's say) McF to get upset over customs is if

a) someone was customising figures to look exactly like a current or upcoming figure. But then, who would go to that bother?

b) someone was customising figures in a way that could offend or upset others and may lead to bad publicity for the company.

[Masked Moron]

The only reasons I can see for (let's say) McF to get upset over customs is if ....... someone was customising figures to look exactly like a current or upcoming figure. But then, who would go to that bother?

Agreed.

If the company doesn't sell a figure of "this character", then some guy selling a custom fig of that character can't be considered a lost sale for the company.

[crowinghorse]

Quick answer to question: yes, I feel sorry for some of the customizers who put a lot of their time and effort into a figure that's - IMHO - a work of art and they don't get a lot for it on eBay. But, as others have said, that's the chance you take when selling a custom...

One man's trash is another man's treasure...and vice versa....

As for customizers making figures of characters already out or soon-to-be-available figures, I've seen some customs of figures that are WAY better than the production piece made by a company and it only demonstrate the amazing abilities of some of the customizers out there and their own love for a character or property.

Example: even with Gentle Giant making a 12" Master Chief soon, a guy over at www.onesixthwarriors.com made this amazing 1:6 scale Master Chief and I have no doubt this guy would get a very very very decent price (who says $800+?) for this figure if he were to put it on eBay right now...

Posed w/ pistol...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/erikbarclay/halochief3.jpg

Posed w/ rifle...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/erikbarclay/halochief2.jpg

Shows how magnets hold the accessories/weapons attached to armor...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/erikbarclay/halochief1.jpg

Next to a regular 12" figure...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/erikbarclay/halochiefcomp1.jpg

[Karnis]

I'm not much of a Halo guy but that MC looks hot!

[craigjames]

As a customizer I have varying critiques of other customizers, some good and some bad. Personally, I think a customizer's prestige and price range should be equal to the quality of his work, not based on whether or not he's been published.

absolutely