Selling Custom Art Commissions? Drop Shipping? What is okay to sell on EBAY

[AtulaSiriwardane]

Artists Selling Custom Commissions in Ebay. What do you think?

Recently my friend Ken, suggested me to post commissions in Ebay.
I checked and there are other artists selling Custom Commissions in Ebay. It seems fine.


I think it would work like this.
Artist posts an item in Ebay with some similar art pieces as samples. A buyer decides to get one and buy a commission and pay. He does not buy an existing piece but a commission.

Then Artist makes the piece as buyer wants and ships it just like a completed art usually listed. Only difference is that the buyer is really a commissioner who decides what he wants.

To me it seems that this type of sales may not violate any Ebay policy. I checked with Ebay and waiting for a reply.

Ebay Information is not clear on this type of sales. Ithink they should search about 'Selling Commissions on Ebay' and include clear guidelines. I think it would attract more sellers and buyers to Ebay.

And It is a nice way to show an artist is available, and famous artists can auction the opportunity. Just imagine an artist like Frank Frazetta offers to sell a sketch..

And it may bind the artist with the commissioner better with a time frame.
Ebay would charge some 8-12% from Auction to Buy it now. Is it higher than an agent, I have no idea.

So what do you think, as an artist or a collector or a fan.

Thanks


Atula

A sample description from Ebay
_________________________________


COMMISSIONS!

Order your own one of a kind sexy heroine Pinup. Finished pencil artwork on 11" x 14" bristol board.

*
Purchase covers a single character pinup. No backgrounds.
*
Additional characters can be requested for a cost of $25 per character.
*
Be prepared to provide character reference. Links to images online are fine.
*
Artist and buyer must agree on character(s) and subject matter. Examples of acceptable subject matter is clearly shown with the multiple images shown here.
*
Turnaround time averages 1 to 2 weeks depending upon details and workload.

Please contact me if you have any questions before you buy!

Professional illustrator. Please see my other auctions for more original artworks also available this week.

I only accept Paypal payments. Payment expected within 3 days of end of the auction.

Shipping is $8.00 in the U.S. See shipping tab for international ship rates.

No additional shipping fees for multiple art purchased! Multiple purchases are combined into the one flat ship fee with final invoice.

Again, please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thanks for looking!

[Modee]

This is the general list of items which may not be sold on Ebay:
http://adsense101.awardspace.com/12-...ll-on-ebay.php

I don't see that what you wish to do necessarily falls under these categories.

However, Ebay does not allow "drop shipping" which is their general ban on selling anything that you do not right then and there have in stock ready to ship. You may also run into issues with the buyer's credit card company and PayPal rights. Credit card processors generally require that goods be shipped within a certain number of days after payment is made. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule require shipment within 30 days of payment capture, unless you have written consent from the customer agreeing to a longer delay.

Now, with Google Checkout, you may set your account to authorize but not actually charge the charge until your designate. This way, you are not actually making the charge until you have shipped. This gives you a little additional time. If you have your own merchant account, you may also control the payment in this same way. No such option exists with PayPal.

I would think that this is not something Ebay will be able to give you a straight response on. I would suspect that you will get a different answer depending on who answers the email. One Ebay rep. might refer you to the banned items list on Ebay, and another might point out the "ship soon after you charge" credit card rule. Additionally, Ebay and PayPal have their own rules now that allow buyers to open disputes for non-receipt fairly soon after payment is made.


Although a little dated, read this also to learn about what sorts of intangible items are allowed on EBAY, and what are not allowed:
http://www.e-junkie.com/ej/ebay_digital_delivery.html

This basically outlines PayPal's policy of digital delivery of items:
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?c.../solutions_dgd

[Modee]

What I am wondering is how well these things - "custom commissions" would sell on EBAY? Let's face it, buyers on EBAY are primarily cheapskates, so I wonder if the end price on a no reserve for something like this would even cover your time?

I mean when I sell something that has a certain definite MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price), I usually get top dollar. But when it comes to selling art or something with no definitive "value," I think you might run into trouble. Art in general on EBAY sells for not top, but BOTTOM dollar.