There be Pokéballs in here!

[VirtualPlay]

Sorry about the semi-crappy image, but that's my computer camera with poor lighting.

This is something that I'm going to be making a bunch of soon to sell at Anime Boston. For those who can't tell, it's a small Pokéball charm that has a loop to attach to a chain so it can be a pendant/necklace. It's made out of Sculpey, and painted with the PLAID brainds of paint (in this case, Apple Barrel White, Apple Barrel Black, and FolkArt Lipstick Red). It is approximately 1 inch in diameter.

Like I said, I plan to be selling them soon, but have yet to decide on a price. This is mainly because I don't know how long it takes me to make a batch of them (this was a single trial Pokéball). Soon as I do that, I'll figure out a reasonable price.

[Kurosakura]

Mike, make one for me, I swear I'll pay you and stuff! I just need to find time to drive up north.

[abunaidesu]

Nice. Are you planning to sell them in different sizes?

[Blademaster]

Does it expand to three times its original side and contain the ionized life essence of a supernatural creature that I can command to do whatever I please?

[Houndoom_Lover]

It does that and makes a good cuppa tea-Can we buy them in bulk? They're absolutely precious X3

Please tell us how much they cost ASAP!

[VirtualPlay]

Kurosakura: We'll talk, considering I haven't gotten anything decided yet.

destructive: The thing with Sculpey is that if I make the ball any larger, it could get too heavy to stay on the loop without falling apart. Also, while I can go smaller, if I make it too much smaller then I won't be able to get all the details I need or have the little hoop on top be secure enough. I could, however, make there be other Pokéball items made out of Sculpey (for example, earrings).

Blade: Alas, if I could do that, do you honestly think I'd be spending my time here showing you people?

H_L: Well, I suppose once I start actually making them in bulk you can order them. However, like I said I haven't been able to judge how many I can make in a certain period of time, so I have no idea on a fair price. Keep your eyes on this spot, though; I'll let this space know as soon as I can make a reasonable price.

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Also, I plan to make more than just normal Pokéballs. Yes, this includes making the oddly shaped Pokéballs (such as Great, Master, Timer, etc.) which I don't think I'll charge extra for. To start I'm only going to be able to make Pokéball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, and Premier Ball because I only have the paint colors for those four at the moment. I need to pick up the colors for the other balls before I can make them, but if people mention what they want then I'll know which ones to get sooner. Master is coming first, though.

[Houndoom_Lover]

Oh yay!! They're just so cute ^_^ I hope you can make tons on them and make a nice profit for yourself ^__^

Hmmmrm, other Pokeballs? *dreamy eyes* My eyes shall be glued here!

[VirtualPlay]

Okay, so I'm making my first "batch" today. Got 10 hardening right now. So far, the time I've spent on the balls themselves has been almost five hours. The hardening and cooling will take a little under an hour, and then I get to paint them. With luck, it won't take more than an hour, hour and a half to paint all 10, which would bring my total time spend on them to around seven hours.

As such, I believe I can start the price at around $10, with discounts for bulk orders. I might even follow the games and throw in a free Premier Ball with every 10 Pokéballs. XD Of course, unlike the games, I'll also have Premier Balls for sale separately.

Anyway, the list of balls that I can make right now (without needing to buy more paint):
Pokéball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Premier Ball, Timer Ball, Luxury Ball, Repeat Ball, Fast Ball, Cherish Ball

I am also considering creating "custom" balls, where you design the color scheme and shape (if you want; be very descriptive if you do though some might not be possible) and I make them specifically for you. If you want one or more of those, I'll need a color swatch (basically an image with all the colors on your ball) so that I can mix paints to match if I need to. Note that these are the only balls I'd be mixing paint for, and therefore it would be very hard to duplicate (so if you want multiple of a custom ball, it's best to order them together).

Unfortunately, this is all still in the planning phase, as currently aside from receiving cash or checks in the mail, I have no way to receive all the money for a payment. Paypal gouges any money you receive unless you're a business account owner, and that costs. Although, if the demand for them is high enough (and I get a surge of orders), I might upgrade anyway.

So…yeah, if you're genuinely interested in purchasing them, post here and say how many you'd be willing to buy. Assume for now that any purchase over 5 balls will get you $1 off each ball, and over 10 will get $2 off each ball (so 4 balls would be $40 and 5 would be $45; 9 would be $81 and 10 would be $80). Also I do think that if you do make an order of 10 or more balls, I will send along a free Premier Ball for every 10 (just because of the game; also they're the easiest to paint).

NOTE THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL ORDERING PHASE!!
This is just to gauge how much genuine interest there is in these.

EDIT: Upon suggestions from multiple people, I have raised my initial estimated selling price. Please comment on whether you would buy them at the current $10 price, or at what price you would be willing to buy them.

[abunaidesu]

How much would shipping be?

[Houndoom_Lover]

I'd see them going for even more, but starting at ten is a nice price. You'll sell them super fast, and then you can raise the price of them as you please.

This is such a clever idea! I'm going to have to see- but you deffently have a potiental costomer on your hands! :3

[VirtualPlay]

Shipping would depend on exactly how much a fully packed envelope or box ends up weighing. If my calculations are correct, though, each ball only weighs a little more than half an ounce, so unless the box/envelope weighs more than .4 oz (and the USPS doesn't up their prices) it shouldn't be more than $1.22 + cost of the packaging to ship within the US. (Unlike some places, I won't overcharge for S&H.) International…will have to be dealt with individually, although a quick glance tells me it won't be too much more than that.

For an estimate for right now, just assume between $2 and $2.50 for the full S&H price, though it should be less than that for a single Pokéball. If you order more, though, I'll find out exactly how much it'll be, but you can at least get the shipping cost (not the packaging) here. Just add about 75¢ to $1 for packaging for now; I'll find the actual amount when I get enough interest.

Also, I've finished painting another couple types of balls:

If you don't know, it's the Premier Ball and the Great Ball. Let me tell you, I constantly over-calculated how much clay I needed for the tabs on the top. Still put too much on one of the tabs. Oh well, that gives it individuality! And uniqueness!

I should have some Ultra Balls in my next picture, just didn't get to them tonight. I still have 5 balls to paint, and two of them shall be Ultra.

[VirtualPlay]

Double-post only because I have new info and pictures. First, the Ultra Ball:



This one was a PAIN to paint right. The yellow "H" top kept messing me up, and many times on the first one I had to paint back over accidental yellow painting. The second one I only messed up on a couple spots, so I should be able to get the future ones right without much problem.

And finally, here's all the Pokéballs that I have completed so far:



That's 5 Pokéballs, 2 Premier Balls, 2 Great Balls, and 2 Ultra Balls.

[Lady Vulpix]

Nice work! What's sculpey? Some kind of clay/ceramic/porcelain?

[Blademaster]

I looked it up. It's clay.

[Master Rudy]

If my calculations are correct..........

Finished your quote for you bro ^_~

But seriously that's some damn good work. Hell depending on the material costs at even $5 a pop I think you could potentially turn a decent profit on this project. Hopefully everything goes well for you at the convention.

[VirtualPlay]

Blade's right Gabi, Sculpey is a polymer-based clay that's very good because it doesn't dry out or harden in the air, it only dries when baked.

Rudy: The only reason that people have suggested $10 is because of the sheer amount of time that I spend putting into them. If I were to get faster at them then I would lower the price (which might just happen by Anime Boston in 4 months). In any case, this is all still a trial run. I'm still getting the feel for mass-producing them and finding a fair price.