I wanted to do a Street Fighter one, but I couldn't think of a really appropriate color scheme. Mortal Kombat, with the dragon emblem that always seemed backed by flames, was a bit more obvious somehow.

The only one I wanted to do that I never really got around to was a Dreadnok one.

Dremel, I sincerely appreciate the eBay tips, including a possible price range (something I would have had no clue about for customs). I do some selling on eBay, and am grateful for the free listings each month. My biggest concern is shipping (and costs thereof), and I think at some point I'm just going to have to box one of these up and see what it would cost.

I still think $15 is a bit low. A MIB one might ship for that much, but box SIZE is also a factor to the Post Office, and fully assembled, these things can't get back in a box the same size as their originals. I'd also want to ship Priority.

I'm still not sure I'm going to sell. Right now I'm sort of exploring options for (a) bringing in some much needed money and (b) clearing out inventory. I've got apartment problems that have nothing to do with finances, and if I eventually end up moving, I'm not convinced that the Armor-Bots could come with me given the rather distinctive location I display them in my apartment. And I don't want to trash them, certainly.

If you box one up and get all of the measurements, and weight correct then the Ebay shipping calculator is almost always dead on. The important thing is that you give it the correct measurements and weight. You want to calculate on something like this because shipping it to a neighboring state may only be $12 but if you have to ship it across the continent that may run $20+. Something like this it is almost a must to do calculated shipping.

Just remember those prices are not what I would consider quick sell prices. Some may sell immediately but on the other hand some may set on display on Ebay for months or years at those prices. But that right person for that right armor bot will show up and be grateful that you had it priced high enough that it was still there for them to add it to their collection and love it.

A custom is a one of a kind piece of artwork. It is worth exactly how much you say it is worth and that is confirmed when at least one other person feels it is worth the same amount.

If you want to move them quick run them one at a time at no reserve 99cent auctions. but you will not realize even a fraction of their value. Most will likely end for less then $100 and may not even reach half of that. If you do take the auction route you want to run a couple of Generic ones the first couple of times because you want to build a buying audience before listing your more desirable ones.

But if you are not opposed to waiting fixed price is usually the best way to get the most for an item.

Yeah, I'd probably calculate price for a fairly distant ZIP Code, like my relatives in Maryland.

Well, I think I'm going to try to list a few of the Armor-Bots this weekend. I got this e-mail from eBay about some special listing offer. I plan to set them up as 7-10 day auctions and see what happens. I'll post my eBay name in here once they're up.

(I also have a very odd batch of record albums that a friend gave me on eBay right now, so feel free to scroll past those, or have a look if you're so inclined.)

If the Armor-Bots don't fare well on eBay, I may try to sell them directly in here. I'm going to try to calculate postage as accurately as possible, and try them as auctions rather than "Buy It Now", at least this first time around, since I don't think eBay's special offer extends to "BIN"s.

I'd like to once again thank everyone, especially Dremel, for their excellent recommendations.

Their special doesn't matter you get 50 free listings of either auction or BIN a month. Just saying. not sure what offer they sent but the insertion fees have moved to free for practically everyone.

I wish you luck but do not have alot of faith in customs getting bid up to what they are worth.

oops posted to wrong thread...nothing to see here

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Hmm. Didn't know the freebies included BINs.

I realize I might not get what they're worth, but I feel I need to try. Still, think I'd be better off selling them in here?

They did not use to but the spring update changed the whole fee structure. Went into effect the beginning of May.

Okay, I've got a new question. I was just doing a postage calculation here for shipping these. I know some of you said I should be able to ship an Armor-Bot for $15.00. I would very much like to know how.

An Armor Bot, inside a box, likely weighs around 5 pounds, roughly. Its size would require a box that measures 21" x 13" x 13".

According to the USPS Postage Calculator, there is no Flat Rate Priority Box large enough to accommodate this, and Priority Postage, which would be the only way to go, would cost nearly $60 to mail a package this size and weight!

(This is estimated from my Zip Code in Arizona to my relatives' Zip Code in Maryland, more or less cross-country)

Where do you get $15!?

That $60 estimate seems very high for a 5 pound box even if it is oversized. I think you must be doing something wrong. Heck I can ship an 15 pound box with larger dimensions to Korea for $80. Just using that because it was a recent item for comparison. You are defintiely doing something wrong. The best way to do it is simply enter all of those items into Ebays calculated shipping, it is pretty refined and works perfectly %99+ of the time. That way people that live close to you will get it shipped for roughly $10 ranging all the way up to the cost of shipping to zone 10. With a large sized box like that there can be an extreme difference in shipping price from zone 8 to zone 9.

Calculated shipping is the way to go. I personally would add an extra pound to the weight just to make sure I was covered if packing got a little heavier then your original packed item as well as adding a couple dollar handling fee. Remember the calculated shipping is usually dead on but it is only as accurate as the info you enter into the listing about weight and size.

I used the USPS Web Site -- http://postcalc.usps.com.

For a five pound box measuring 21" x 13" x 13", from Zip Code 85741 (which is me in Arizona) to a roughly coast-to-coast destination in Maryland at ZIP Code 21771, the cost for Priority Shipping was $58.50.

I agree it sounded high, but this is what USPS gave me.

I've never tried to use the "Calculate Postage" feature on eBay, but I don't know why it would be different. Doesn't it use USPS?

It would not be different but it would allow people closer to get dramatically cheaper shipping.

You also should offer parcel and priority shipping for domestic shipping. They are both just as safe and can both be tracked with DC (making sure you have DC is the important part) added and can both be insured, International you only want to offer priority though and if total cost goes over $250 you want to make sure your international shipment goes express mail and that you get add singnature confirmation to your domestic delivery.

My MCC can ship to zone 10 for $68 priority or $26 parcel post and it is much larger but it will ship to zone 1 for $17 parcel or $24 priority, and it is much larger. It is packaged at 22 pounds and dimensions of 30x21x14

It looks like with your dimensions and at 6 pounds (added a pound for safety) it will ship to Alaska from Missouri (the most expensive shipping in US) for $15 parcel post, $60 priority or $63 express mail. So looks like your calculation was right.

So basically the answer is to ship it for $15 anywhere in the US you need to ship Parcel post this is due to the oversized box and the USPS dimensional rate for Priority. You are actually paying for a heavier item due to box size. If you bring the box size down to 12x12x12 then the priority shipping would drop to roughly $15 but due to the oversized box anything going to zone 9 or 10 gets the weigh adjusted for anything over 1 cubic foot of box.

So As you can see it is very important on oversized packages like this to use calculated shipping and also very important to offer parcel post.

DREMEL, serious thanks for your help. I hadn't really considered the Parcel Post option. And frankly, I don't see myself allowing International Shipping on these behemoths at all, except perhaps to Canada. It would just be too much, and who knows if they'd show up intact?

I knew the dimensions would be the killer on these things. Even if I somewhat disassemble the Armor Bots (which I might), that's not going to alter the dimensions all that much. Nice to know that eBay corroborates what the USPS calculated. I was stunned by the postage amount, but I didn't think I'd messed it up.

If you can pack them well enough to ride I would highly recommend international sales. I sell nearly half of my Joes over seas. Shipping international would range from around $30 to Canada to between $40 and $55 to the rest of the world (Express mail would be about $10 higher). As I said I shipped a $200 vintage coffee pot to North Korea (glass carafe and all) with no issue. Make sure to insure the item in case it does break. It is a slight larger risk but alot of the world is currently richer then us with more disposable cash so the pay off can be substantial when talking about auction format.

Once again if you are using the calculated shipping all of those international buyers automatically know exactly how much they will pay for shipping.

No problem about the help. I consider myself very intimate with Ebay been having a serious love hate relationship with the site for nearly 10 years now and has been my sole source of income for nearly 7 years.