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Maximizing your fursuit sale is all about price and staging
After researching the best places to sell your fursuit, the time has finally arrived. You are now eager to create a listing and post it online with hopes that it sells fast and brings in some serious bank. However, in a classic rookie move, you decide to take out your smartphone and take a few rushed pictures of the fursuit lying on the floor under dim lighting, and upload them asap. After the upload is complete, you notice a few cans of soda and dirty laundry in the background of the photo, but retaking would require too much effort, so you leave it be. Three months later, your furry friend is still sitting in your closet, waiting to be sold.
Regardless if you want to sell a new or used fursuit, the principle of how to maximize its’ sales appeal remains the same. If you want your furry buddy to stand out amongst the crowd, these 7 tips are a great place to start.
Here’s how to sell a fursuit
- Thoroughly clean and brush your fursuit
- Enhance fursuit appeal by staging the photo background
- Use natural sunlight mixed with additional lighting
- Post images that accurately reflects the fursuit’s condition
- Capture photos of you actually wearing the fursuit
- List all technical specifications of the fursuit
- Stand in a buyer’s shoes when determining a sales price
1) Thoroughly clean and brush your fursuit
If a photo can tell a thousand words, then a dingy and matted looking fursuit will tell a potential buyer a lot about you as the seller. Many used fursuit sellers take the lazy approach and list their suits AS-IS, without taking the time to clean and brush the suit. A clean and airy faux fur, which is the material your suit is likely composed of, tends to have more pop and appeal in a photo, especially in a closeup view. In addition, nothing says “don’t buy me” like a few stains on the fur, so make sure to get a bottle of fursuit shampoo and a good fursuit brush before listing.
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2) Enhance fursuit appeal by staging the photo background
Although you make think highly of your bedroom, customers that are considering spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on your fursuit probably don’t care to see your slippers and comforter next to their future purchase. While a suit can be a warm and cuddly object, people still want to know they are buying from a professional seller. If you need an example of this, take a look at the real estate industry, in which they spend billions of dollars annually staging homes and creating the perfect ambiance for their property listings. The reason is that they know staging the background of a photo can make a huge difference in selling the home and getting their asking price.
3) Use natural sunlight mixed with additional lighting
When tempted to take nighttime photos of your fursuit, unless you have professional studio lighting, remember this decision could delay the sale of your costume. Adequate lighting is essential in a photo so that a customer can distinguish the suit from the rest of the background. Also, if your fursuit has a lot of interesting details such as markings, colors, or built-in features, you want to make sure there is enough light to highlight these details in your photos.
4) Post images that accurately reflects the fursuit’s condition
Although having a fully transparent listing may seem like common knowledge, many fursuiters post images that don’t tell the whole truth. First, keep in mind that even after a single use, the garment is now technically classified as used. Always ensure to make this is clear to a buyer in your online posting. Second, make sure that your photos reflect the fursuit’s current inside and outside condition, including any marks, abrasions, mattes, missing pieces, etc. Being honest about its’ shape and make sure to highlight the imperfections in both the photo and descriptions.
The best practice is to take multiple pictures of the entire fursuit, and also the individual pieces. This includes capturing the front, back, side, tail, and the under paws. Typically, the more pictures, the better, and this also increases the likelihood your customers will be happy with their purchase.
5) Capture photos of you actually wearing the fursuit
Believe it or not, just because you have an excellent looking furry suit, doesn’t necessarily mean a buyer can envision themselves wearing yours, specifically. Try taking photos or videos of you wearing the costume, effectively modeling it for potential customers. If you really want to stand out, consider shooting a video using a drone and putting together a short, entertaining clip!
6) List all the technical specifications of the fursuit
When creating the details section of your fursuit listing, make sure to include the precise measurements and specifications of its’ construction. If you purchased the suit from someone else, you could use the original measurements provided by the maker.
7) Stand in a buyer’s shoes when determining a sales price
By far, one of the biggest mistakes you can make when selling your fursuit is not putting yourself in the customer’s shoes when determining the sales price. If you are selling a new fursuit, then we would recommend checking the online market to make sure you stay competitive. If you are selling a used suit, review your listing as if you were an actual customer, and determine if the asking price meets the eye test. If you wouldn’t buy your suit for that price, then chances are most customers won’t either.