Miniature Bids – An Interview with Gavin from Tor Gaming

Miniature Bids Interview

Hi Gaving. Many thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. What is Miniature Bids? Is it an auction site like eBay? Are there differences?

Miniature Bids is an auction site for the tabletop hobby.  It’s not as ‘advanced’ as eBay (but can you remember how eBay was when it was  first launched?) but we will be adding more functionality to it as we go along, much like eBay has done over the years.

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What about you? Who is behind Miniature Bids and why did you set up this site?

Tor Gaming is behind Miniature Bids.

Because of eBay’s recent changes to their fees, it’s now got to the point that it’s too much work for too little return to make using eBay as a viable choice for people in this hobby.

When you consider you pay a fee to list the item, only get one image, pay a final sale fee (which now includes your shipping costs, so they are now creaming of your shipping) and then pay the payment gateway fees you soon wonder if it’s just worth bothering.

So, we decided to set the site up and offer the hobby a site that is aimed specifically at them.

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What do people need to do to sell miniatures on your site?

Just create an account and have a Paypal account. Nothing else. Well, you also need some stuff to sell!

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How much would it cost, for example, if I start an auction for a miniature at GBP 1,- and end up selling it for GBP 20,- on Miniature Bids?

It would cost you nothing. Other than the payment gateway fees (which we have no control over) you will get 100% of the money the auction makes for you.

As I say, there is the payment gateway fees (PayPal) but no matter which gateway we use there would be fees there.

Shortly after launch, we will be offering monthly subscription options for those that want a little extra. These subscriptions will be available on a month-by-month basis for a small fee (and we mean starting at the price of a pint).  These then give that user access to more features such a Featured Auctions and Buy it Now options.

However, to create a normal auction (like the vanilla ones on eBay without the extras you pay for) will be 100% free for everyone.

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How will Miniature Bids, or people on Miniature Bids deal with possible disputes between buyers and sellers? How does the site protect buyers and sellers against scams?

Because Miniature Bids uses Paypal to handle all the payment processing, both the buy and the seller benefit from Paypal’s buyer/seller protection – Just the same as they do when using a reputable online store that accepts Paypal.

When making a payment, Miniature Bids redirects the user to Paypal and the payment is processed but the Paypal systems. The money leaves the buyers account and hits the sellers account straight away. No money is passed to Miniature Bids during this whole process.

As such, disputes are handled through the Paypal disputed system just as they are when using eBay.

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Will Miniature Bids offer “stores” for more professional sellers similar to eBay or Etsy?

At initial launch, no. But these are one of the features I mentioned earlier that we will be adding over time.

So, as we add more and more functionality, stores functionality will appear.

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How narrow or broad is the range of items you will accept for sale? Will people be able to sell paints & accessories? Board Games? Magic Cards? Action Figures?

Basically, the site is aimed at anyone wanting to sell anything that is table top gaming related. So, that includes Wargames models, rulebooks, RPGs, Board games, CCGs, dice, paints etc.

If there is call for something that we don’t have a category for, people can petition us to add it to the system. The site is more about what the hobby community wants.

Thanks

Gavin