I figured now was a good time to start keeping track of all the places that I list things for sale, the sort of interest I get, and how much each of them cost.
Model Horse Connection (formerly MHSP, Model Horse Sales Pages) ($10)
This is one of the foundational websites for model horse trading! It underwent a name and URL change due to a ransomware attack, but is still an excellent spot to find the more expensive pieces.
https://modelhorseconnection.com
I pay $10 a year for a Quarter Horse level account, which lets me list up to 50 items at once with two photos each. I almost never get to the point where I use all 50, but I have been eyeing the Clydesdale level which allows 25 photos per add and 500 adds. (It’s only $25 a year.)
Historically I haven’t done that well here because my customs are on the cheap end and the market for Stablemate and below scale props is actually pretty small. (Which is why I want to focus more on the Classics and up. 🤔)
2024 Order Total: 0
Star Dapple ($29.99)
This one is a newcomer to the scene and seems to be gaining some traction. I’ve seen the website referenced a handful of artists, but the number of listings on the site (345 currently) is still much lower that I’d expect compared to other sites.
I paid $29.99 for a year’s subscription at the Buckskin Yearling level, which only allows me to list 25 items with five photos each. The next level up is unlimited items, and it’s only $39.99, so if I keep with it I may swap to that. So far I’ve had zero luck, so I will most likely go down to a free account just to keep my name out there. (It has five listing and zero photos.)
2024 Order Total: 0
Model Horse Place (???)
This site is a direct sale one, instead of MHC and Star Dapple, which are basically just listings. MHP is like eBay, so payment is done through the website. Which could cause issues for one-of-a-kind items if I’m selling them on more than one platform.
https://www.modelhorseplace.com
The free level gives me 100 listings, which is more than enough. They don’t charge any fees (that I can tell) for selling things, so it doesn’t hurt to keep things up. For right now, I’m just listing the custom order props here. I’ll need to make sure to come back and put things on hiatus once I hit the busy season.
2024 Order Total: 1
Model Horse Blab (free)
To be honest, I haven’t been on the forums in forever, but that’s something I’ve been meaning to work on. It looks like they had some issues in late 2022 that they are still recovering from, so paid accounts are no longer a thing.
It does look like maybe the site work was abandoned at some point? I’m unable to change my profile photos and their Facebook page hasn’t been posted to since 2022.
Oh well, can’t hurt to put up some listings here anyway!
2024 Order Total: 0
Etsy (??? + 0.20)
When I first started with Etsy, there wasn’t much of a model horse selection. Now things have picked up quite a bit and I’m thinking it might be time to start listing things there (right now it’s just my writing prompts). I’d still have the issue of a one-of-a-kind piece selling twice, so I may move the horses there in rotation and hide them from the Martha.net shop.
Fees are $0.20 to list and then… who knows what when something sells. There’s the payment processing fees, the transaction fees, the offsite adds fees, etc. It just means I may need to add a small bump to the prices for cheaper things (or just make higher priced bundles).
2024 Order Total: 0
eBay (13.25% +0.30)
I’ve sold on eBay in the past and it looks like there’s no listing fees now, just a 13.25% sales fee (+0.30) which is… not horrid, I suppose. I’d still rather sell direct, so I’m going to hold off on this one. I may use it to move out old stock at the beginning of next year if I can’t find another way. 🤔
2024 Order Total: 0
Facebook Groups (free)
These guys are where I get most of my interest! I do get some folks interested from the Instagram posts, but not as many. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of venues to sell the magnets (at least not that I’ve found) but there are a LOT of model horse groups that are custom and prop friendly.
| Model Horse Sale and Trade (NO PRESALES!) | Model horses and accessories, must have prices | 2024 Order Total: 0 |
| Breyer Model Horses Buy, Sell, or Trade – NO Pre-Sales Allowed | Breyer Model Horses (and Stone) including other items related to Breyer Model Horses | 2024 Order Total: 0 |
| Stablemates Buy and Sell | Stablemate size horses | 2024 Order Total: 0 |
| Breyers For Sale | Any kind of model horse is allowed | 2024 Order Total: 0 |
| Micro Minis Galore….Share, Buy, Sell | Micro scale models | 2024 Order Total: 0 |
| Custom Micro Minis | Micro scale models | 2024 Order Total: 0 |
| Model Horse Trade Center | any media of Model Horse related items (OF, Custom, Resin, China, Tack, Props…). | 2024 Order Total: 0 |
TL;DR
I am going to try posting things to all of the channels in September (and adding to this page as I find new things). Then once I’ve got some idea of how things are going, I’ll focus in on whatever’s working the best.
Or, ya know, just eBay the whole lot. (sigh)
ONWARDS!