"Why’d You Sell Them Off?" Topic

Concerning the last reasonably-sized* lot of miniatures you sold off: why did you ditch them?
*(More than just a handful- but you know, you make the value judgment here)

a) You were young (at heart) and needed the money.

b) You found love in the arms of another scale.

c) You're getting out of gaming that period.

d) They were the lovechild of an "Ooh, Shiny" moment.

e) You weren't sure you wanted them, but they were too good a deal to pass up.

f) You're replacing them with nicer (equivalent) minis from a more preferred manufacturer.

g) They had paint jobs that were not up to your standard or the wrong color, or whatever.

h) You bought them with the notion of flipping them.

i) They were part of a purchase or trade lot, and you never really wanted them.

j) You justify buying more minis by selling off stagnant projects.

j) You can't convince your Lead Mountain Sherpas to prime or paint a damned thing!

"Sell Them"?? I don't understand the concept.

x42

I sold off some 28mm WW2 Americans recently. None of your proposed categories really fit. I bought them and started to paint them. Then decided they were just going to cost too much to finish out. Someone I knew was asking around about second hand forces for sale. These figures now feature in games almost every week. Hard not to like that.

k) Needed the money badly.

I suppose b,c, and j. I have more than will ever get painted and in some cases I am no longer interested in the game/period. As to scale, I just have too many figures in some scales and am also looking at other scales.

Anyone want to buy real estate in my lead mountains?

Got kicked out of a group doing 15mm and joined group doing 25mm. So I changed scale and sold of the 15mm.

Can't say that I remember the last army sized lot I sold.

Usually, I give figures away when I'm done with a period or scale.

I see the gift of figures as a way to get players into a new period, or a new gamer into the hobby.

K.

B – went from 28mm to 40mm

two reasons:

1. As I approach "the long dark staircase leading to the waiting room of eternity" I wanted to make sure the collection wasn't going to go to the bin, or a bad home.

2. I really HAD to cut down the periods I did, even so it still stands at five.

Since you ask

I did neglect that one, ecaminis- I guess that would be broadly stated as a "shift in gaming group dynamics"?

I also left out "got sick of dealing with rule changes/prices/etc. associated with a particular miniatures brand".

B. I tried 28mm. They didn't fit on the table, not even close. I tried 10mm, not enough detail on the winged hussars. I tried 15mm and it was just right.

I was like the Goldie Locks of the eastern renaissance.

Since 2012 I have sold more than half of my collection, some 6500 figures and about 500 ships in all. My most recent sales were to fund a trip for my wife. Prior to that all sales since 2010 have been to pay down medical debt incurred from my wife's massive (180 degree) retina detachment and 5 subsequent surgeries.

The criteria for sale was:

- have they ever been on the table? If not, sell.
- are they an unfinished project that is not currently highlighted on the wheel-0-interest? If so, sell.
- is the army so big I will never have enough room to play it at my home? If so, sell.
- was it a whim buy in the beginning, or something that was a deal too great to pass up, but have not touched them since? If so, sell.

I bought them to convert and paint, not play. Once they were converted and painted, I was done with them.

Not the same thing as I bought them to flip them. If I did that the selection of the minis would have been driven by financial concerns (what is popular? what is the best deal? what can I do the best valued added to?) rather than aesthetic ones.

C&K.

H. The last big batch was a box of stuff I picked up at Little Wars. There were a couple of thing in there that I wanted, but I knew if I just made an offer I could get the whole box, I could sell off the rest, make alot of people happy, get the stuff I want and still make a profit.

I do that alot now and it really helps to fund the hobby. The goal at each auction or convention I go to now is to buy enough things to sell that it will cover the cost of them and the things I buy for myself, aiming to at least break-even.

I'm not sure where it would fit, but there are a few times I've sold armies worth of minis that I collected and then realized I just wouldn't get around to them and so I sold them to someone who would. Sometimes it's just worth it to see the minis in-person before selling them on.

A and B

B since it was from 6mm to 15mm
A since I went back to 6mm…

f) You're replacing them with nicer (equivalent) minis from a more preferred manufacturer.

g) They had paint jobs that were not up to your standard or the wrong color, or whatever.

Any private sales I make are for hobby reinvestments.

I sold a small 28mm Foundry ECW collection a few years ago (about 600 figures) that were neither use nor ornament without adding the same again to field both sides. Other reasons were to CREATE STORAGE SPACE, for another period with a manufacturer offering a 40% discount for a big order – I bought £3,000.00 GBP worth with the proceeds of the sale, and I'm still painting them in dribs and drabs.

I sold the two Trafalgar fleets more recently because I couldn't find rules I liked to fight big fleet battles. That money bought a few hundred more SYW Russians and Prussians for an existing collection. They are all painted now.

Never sold any sizable amount of figures off, but I have roughly 2 extra SAGA factions that I have not played and probably never will (Skraelings and Anglo-Saxons). Enjoyed painting them, but I would consider selling them. So it's a combination of D & E I guess.

Going through J at the moment. Recently retired and moved to a smaller place. Not enough coin or space to justify all the projects. Selling off stuff to concentrate on only a couple or three game systems.

Would add 'Nobody Plays' as an optional answer. Solo gaming is its own reward but it gets harder to justify to the missus when there's a layer of dust on the storage boxes.

f) You're replacing them with nicer (equivalent) minis from a more preferred manufacturer.

Did this with 2 15mm ACW armies, then with the third followed below, which is the main reason I sell off old figures:

j) You justify buying more minis by selling off stagnant projects.

Also, having same period in multiple scales (ie: W.W. II in 15mm and 20mm, ACW in 15mm and 28mm, Vietnam in 15mm and 20mm and so on).

b, c, d, f, g, k.

F) Has worked for me. Sold off my 1/72 plastic ACW collection (over 1000 figures) and bought 22mm Metal as a replacement. I love the organizing and planning. Started painting by brigade (6 CSA – 7 USA) and about 75% completed painted at this point. Only one battle fought.

Last significant lot I sold? About 1992 IIRC, Some old Minifigs which I sold because they were just not good figures (I had replaced the pikes with wire but really, no amount of remedial work could ever turn them into treasure) ..

So (f) but they were figures not 'minis'.

I learnt my lesson: always buy the best; always do the best job you can – then you never need go back …

Phil

j) sold to purchase other figures as these were a stagnant period and scale with our group.
I also bought golf clubs…..

D, F, and J

J.

You only need so many 10/28mm Viking hordes. Once you get double digits in each scale, it's time to sell, so you can get more. Right?

Mostly b and j, but I've also gotten out of projects and periods that never quite met my expectations, the rules weren't my cup of tea, or there was even less interest in my gaming projects among friends than usual.

Only well them if they break the 2 year rule. Which is if i haven't played them for 2 years on they go.

Ex wife mostly.

K. I needed the storage space

Generally I avoid selling stuff, but given that I like buying new stuff, something had to give in the end.

FOW Italian army box set, blisters and dice. The only army I have sold. I just realized I would never do anything with them, so off they went.

10mm Polish and British Nappy army. Lost interest and I was moving. Figured I would them go to a home that could get some use instead of hording them.

Just sold my G.I. Joe collection for a loss for storage space. Moving from 1 4000 sq ft house to a 1000 sq ft apartment is kinda tight.

It started as just d&j as I went through a clearout phase, but nowadays I buy some with the intention of flipping.

Of course the money I raise goes into buying more new toys ….

(f) and (g) … my interest in this hobby began in the late 70s when I was a young teenager. My limited finances (paper route money) meant I could only afford 15mms in large quantities from Jack Scruby, and later Heritage. My painting skills were fairly limited too. My mother threw away my Scruby minis a long time ago, while I and have recently sold off my Heritage figures.