"Painting Services and Prices" Topic

In general, do painting services charge…

a) an appropriate price
b) too much
c) too little

In general they charge what the market will bear, right?

If they are fantastic painters, then their services are going to be sought after and those willing to pay more are going to pay it.

Those who are not so good, but have a good value will do well also.

Those who don't have a good product won't last very long.

What I've been wondering/thinking about figuring out is what effect has the ever increasing cost of shipping had on domestic, as well as, international painting services.

Are places like Fernando still the great deal they were in the past or have shipping costs brought them closer to domestic services?

Ouch – can the Editor dawghouse himself for trolling?
hahaha :)

Seriously though its such a vague question as painting service prices i have come across vary between all 3 imo.

It also depends wether you are a full time painting service trying to make a living (or at least enough to pay the bills) or someone doing it part time for some extra spending cash.

If pushed though i would say mostly c) as there is a lot of competition keeping prices down.

I am usually prepared to pay more than the average prices i see quoted. Maybe its because i work in a hourly charged time based career so i value someone's time a bit more than average…

I think they charge what they can get and still stay busy. Has little to do with anything else.

mjc

Dunno.
I only used a service once. I think it was a 'good' price. I just didn't like the paint jobs… So back to the painting table for me.

I have used only Fernando as a painting service, and his prices and service were perfectly appropriate for me.

Lets face it. Gamers are the cheapest beings in the human race. They want the $10/figure paint job for $2/figure.

I think the painter can get $10 USD (or more) per foot figure if it is a character. I don't think they can get $10 USD per foot figure if they are painting a Regiment of, say, 20 figures.

The question is far to vague and subjective to give one answer.

C

In that cheap companies in emerging countries charge very little as their costs are much lower.
These companies can still pay their painters a decent days wage.

In more affluent countries painters charge much less than a decent days wage in an attempt to compete.

In an ideal world the cheaper companies would up their rates so that those that can not survive on $5 USD a day could offer the same service.

That was a bit rambly but I am sure you get my jist.

Like most wargamers, I am cheap. I look for bargains wherever I can find them and usually spend more at the convention flea markets than I do at the vendors hall. TMP and Bartertown are great places to pick up someone else's leftovers that you just can't live without.
So, I think that most painting services are way overpriced.
Please note that this is just my own opinion. All you painting service owners need not articulate how much work goes into painting or what your hourly wage is. I get it. I just don't care to pay that price.

For example, if you take the average Perry figure which cost around two bucks a casting and spend 5 or 6 dollars to have it painted that's 7 or 8 Yankee dollars for a single figure that stands less than 2 inches high. For a massed army you would need a second mortgage. Many people have no problem with this and to each his own.

Right now, I use a fellow TMP' er to paint my LOTR figures. He charges 3.50 a figure, which I still think is high, but his work is very good and I only send him the "character" types. I can slop paint on the grunts myself. By the way, 3.50 is for a basic job, he charges 7.00 for his top shelf paint jobs. I am sure that they are nice, but I just cannot justify that expense.

Painting figures for a living is probably grueling work. I would think that you would grow to hate it after a while. I know that I would. Anytime a hobby becomes a business the fun part seems to disappear.

So, good luck to those painters. Charge what you think the market will allow. Gamers will vote with their wallets as to the price being fair or not.

They want the $10/figure paint job for $2/figure.

Well, Ahhh, yeah, actually that's about right. I paid about $2.00 USD a figure and then paid $10.00 USD to have each figure painted. (metal 28mm Gauls). He painted the horses for $5.00 USD each.

Then I spent another $0.50 USD to $1.00 USD on the basing.

I could have painted these myself but at the rate I paint these I'd still be at it for another 5 years. I needed them this year.

Some of us have more time than money. Some have more money than time. And some would rather spend time gaming than painting and are willing to pay for it.

Nothing wrong with any of these approaches. Different strokes for different folks.

mjc

d) depends on the service.

I have used two USA painting services on multiple occasions. Neither was cheap but each delivered exactly the quality I wanted within the time frame I needed at that moment.

Last time I bid one project their prep charges were too much (in my opinion) for the figures in question and exceeded my budget for the project. They felt their price was fair as they didn't budge. This wouldn't stop me from getting a quote from them on another project for different figures.

I think you would almost have to set up a poll for every painting service or services by region & quality delivered to have it make sense.

LOL, right now I am getting a commission piece completed for a client for $45 USD for a single model. So, the price is totally dependent on what the client is willing to pay. I've painted a dozen tanks for $600, it was three color ambush pattern, but still, they weren't "collector" good, but very nice tabletop paintjobs – good enough to win best painted at several tournaments. So, quality and quantity have a different price tag. Also it depends on where you are willing to ship your figures. Fernando does a decent job for the price, and people engage his services routinely. Many of my clients pay my price solely because they know what they are getting when they contract and they get to pick exactly what they want and make changes in person as I don't do mail order stuff. So, it is all dependent on who you talk to about the price. My friend who does it as his sole source of income charges less per figure, is faster, and in many cases better than what I do for the same time frame. He does not do some of the fancy stuff I do, but then again, he paints to the SAME standard EVERYTIME – and I mean to the point of being a machine he is that consistent. Then again, when you've been painting for 30 years, professionally for over 20, you get very, very good at what you do, and your consistency is your stock in trade. He has repeat customers who engage his services solely because the paint job will match the stuff he painted for them 20 years ago – to the exact colors.

I offer ready painted 15mm for $1 USD and 28mm for $2 USD (that includes the figure). The figures are Command Decision and Old Glory 2nd edition respectively.

link

So you can get a good deal.

But if you want Perry & top quality painting you are going to pay more. I can only charge the above prices when I paint figures by the thousand.

Neil
reinforcementsbypost.com (Painting service)

I pay to paint people's figures all time. It works like this:You send me the figures and I paint them and then when I return them I put a brand new $1,000 USD bill in the box so you can take a vacation or just have a pizza party, invite your neighbors and watch the Resident Evil Trilogy!!! That is how I work. I don't like getting paid for my time and effort. Those who do whether they charge a Penny or a nickel are just being selfish capitalists. I do what I do for the common good!

Thanks to Combat Painter for clearing that up. I was wondering how that $1,000 bill got in there. I will be sending you a few orders over the coming month. Please return them one tank at a time ;-)

Well, I think the problem with answering this question lies in the fact that we are playing with toys. This is a hobby. Not a necessity. A house is a necessity. I need to live somewhere so I don't quibble about spending $150k on a house. I don't have a problem with spending $150 USD on groceries and gas for the week. I can see where people DO have a problem with spending gobs of money on a HOBBY.

Is it worth the investment in a painting service? Well, I guess it depends. I paint slow, like 10 figures a week. Maybe 20 if I am lucky. My painting skills aren't that great either so my work is adequate. But I also refuse to play with unpainted miniatures. It wrecks the game for others who do paint their minis. So I use a painting service. I have a job so there is no reason I cannot save some money to use a painting service.

If the person paints what I want, when I want it and how I want it then spending roughly $1,000 USD every 6 months to a year on a painting service to enjoy miniatures, to me, is worth it. Besides, there are some amazingly talented people out there and they need to earn a decent wage too. I certainly wouldn't work for $4/hour. Why should I expect someone else to work for that much. It takes longer than an hour to paint most 28mm minis these days.